For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15 NIV

Devotion:

Read Matthew 4:1-11.

Christians all over the world are pausing at this time of the year, as we have done every year for centuries, to consider a symbolic sojourn into the wilderness with Jesus. We acknowledge the invitation with cautious hopefulness, forty days of disruption? Okay, well—for what purpose? What is on the other side? What will I take with me? What will I leave behind? 

At the outset of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days. The number itself alerts us to the prophetic and profound nature of the story. The great flood started with forty days and forty nights of deluge, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years, a sojourn that started only after their leader, Moses, spent 40 years in the desert tending sheep. In the dry, dusty desert, Moses built the perfect resume for leading the children of Israel up, out of the Red Sea on dry ground, and into a wilderness of hard lessons about the nature of God and their unique calling on the earth. 

In the Gospel narratives, our senses are tuned to the repetition as we watch Jesus emerge from the Jordan River, soaking wet from his immersion (the Greek word is baptizo). Gospel readers “hear” God’s voice speak words of delight and blessing over his own son, “In whom I am well pleased.” Then, we witness the Spirit descend on him, how to describe it . . . like a dove. We hold our collective breath as he sloshes to the bank of the river, waiting for him to speak, to explain the amazing event we have just witnessed. But he doesn’t say a thing. He is also listening. He still hears the voice, now inaudible to us, and without a word, he begins to walk toward the desert. 

The gospel narrator explains that it was the Spirit who led Jesus to the desert where he fasted for forty days, at the end of which he met the devil in a series of temptations. Apparently before Jesus was ready to preach, to proclaim that his kingdom was at hand, it was necessary for him to face down the enemy. The desert is the place of testing and trial, where the illusions of easy religion go to die. The desert is the symbolic place where we meet our own sin and grapple with our complicity in the story of the passion, meaning the suffering of Jesus. In Genesis 3, we read the story of the fall. When Adam and Eve have sinned, they are exiled from the lush garden of God’s best plan for humankind and ushered to the gate not by the vindictive character of God, but because of the nature of sin. Adam’s curse is described like a desert which he will now have to toil for the nourishment his family will need, as opposed to the abundance of the garden. It ends with these familiar words, “from dust you came and to dust you will return.” 

The annual invitation of the Lenten season is this: will you accompany Jesus to the desert? Will you acknowledge your own failings? Will you enter into the Paschal mystery, suffering little deaths in order to receive life? Maybe you’ve decided to give up chocolate or your favorite Netflix series; or maybe you're taking a break from social media. Whatever your deaths, don’t miss the opportunity to name them. What have you lost? What do you truly miss about the item you’ve eliminated? Does social media make you feel loved? Important? Heard? Does food and drink make you feel nourished, cherished, indulged? How can you look for ways that God longs to meet those desires?

Imagine Jesus pausing at the edge of the wilderness and looking back over his shoulder at you. With a gesture, he invites you to accompany him. How will you respond?

PRAYER

Dear God, as I begin this journey with you into the wilderness, I am feeling the weight of my burdens. Help me remember that your own journey to the cross means that you have already taken the load of my shame. Help me appreciate the gravity of your sacrifice and your ongoing presence. Amen.

Deidre Franklin

Pastor of Spiritual Formation

Deidre Franklin is the Pastor of Spiritual Formation at Crossings OKC. She is passionate about cultivating sacred space in which people can experience the power and presence of God

Artwork: “Silence of Adam” by Skip McKinstry, the artist who created the collection of art featured in our 2023 Lent devotions.

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