The Collect
O LORD, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
The Epistle (2 Corinthians vi. 1)
WE then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain; (for he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation;) giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
The Gospel (St. Matthew iv. 1)
THEN was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Lent I - Message in a Minute
God almighty works in our lives exactly as he worked in Israel and in Jesus. The many testings in life of the individual, the many testings in Israel's history, and the three temptations of Christ all pose the same questions, "Do you know God is in control? Do you realize that it is better that way? Do you think God knows what he is doing? Do you trust him enough to obey him? Do you believe that he is your father, and that he really loves you?"
Now the fact is that we don't do very well when we consider these questions -- and, to be fair, Israel didn't do too well either. Jesus, of course, did just fine -- as Hebrews teaches, he "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
So our first step on the Lenten path is to look at our lives not as a series of random, meaningless, unconnected events, but as a series of humblings and testings. The humblings and testings are not inflicted by a nasty, sadistic, mean God. They come from a Father who loves us and wants us to grow up. The second step is to realize that we cannot get anywhere either in understanding or in trusting and obeying without continually calling upon the help Jesus send us through the Holy Ghost. That is why we come to church, that is why we pray, that is why we read the Bible.
Remember that Israel made it into the Promised Land after all, and that the angels ministered to Jesus -- so there is plenty of hope for us too -- "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing."
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