Joy Division

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, [2] where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” – Luke 4:1-2

Today is Ash Wednesday. Many of you are preparing for Lent season and will give up something important to you for the next 40 days to commemorate the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert. We sacrifice for a little while as he did his whole life and, indeed, even unto death. For many of you this is such a beautiful and special time to offer up a sacrifice to God, a gesture if you will, of thanks and reflection. I respect that to no end and I encourage you as you do it.

Then there are some of you, like me, who won’t really do the whole sacrifice thing. That doesn’t make us bad people. There are 325 more days of the year to hold the line in other ways and I don’t think that God necessarily cares if I give up Diet Coke or ESPN for a month or so.  I come from a very large Italian Catholic family and I’m sure a shudder just ran through their entire rank and file. But maybe not. As an Evangelical Christian they love me but most likely think I've lost my mind anyway.

Instead I want to feast on God’s word the next 40 days. I hope you will too. Maybe you have a bible nearby all the time. Maybe you will have to dig around and find one at home. But do it. I will, because I want to reflect on what an amazing display of faith, strength and courage Jesus gave in that desert. I mean…many of us cannot even watch a movie with some caricature of Satan in it without freaking out, so can you imagine being all alone in that vast desert, squaring off with him face-to-face like that?  Confronted on all sides, with every temptation imaginable, Jesus withstood the assault. He was God, God blessed, and on display for us all. He was leading by example. For this wasn’t a battle of angels and demons; ironically it was a very human battle, it was a battle of wits. 

And that’s a huge clue, I think. Ultimately, the battle of good and evil, the very battle for our souls, is mental. In our minds we must stand firm. There can be no division of our faith, and no division of our joy. When you find yourself lost, afraid, tormented or depressed stop for a second and notice what’s going on…in your head.  

Then remember the man from Galilee who held the line…for you, for me, for all of us.