• "Trials Reveal and Strenghten Faith"
• Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent
• March 4, 2001
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

"Then was Jesus led of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil" (from the gospel, Matthew 4:1f., BCP 126).

Jesus' forty days battle is one way he fulfills the vocation of Israel. In Deuteronomy, Moses said to Israel, "You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not" (8:2). Jesus succeeds where Old Testament Israel failed.

God tests his people in the wilderness in order to prepare us to enter into the Promised Land. God promised Israel a land flowing with milk and honey. But first he tested the nation for forty years in the wilderness. The Son of God is King and Lord of all, but he came into possession of his kingdom through wilderness and Gethsemane and Calvary. God has promised us eternal life and resurrection. But, as St. Paul says in Acts, "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (14:22).

When the gospel says that Jesus was tempted by the devil, it means, more accurately, that he was tested. The distinction is important. A temptation is a lure to sin. A test is something that reveals and strengthens faith. The temptation of Jesus was not merely the devil trying to get Jesus to sin. It was a test that revealed the strength and depth of Jesus' trust in the Father.

It is God's will that we be tested. This does not mean that God wants us lured into sin. It means that God wants to reveal and strengthen our faith by trial. A muscle that is never used never grows stronger. As James writes, "Count it all joy my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness" (1:2).

The wilderness is the place of trial because it is where the things of life are stripped away and faith is revealed for what it is or isn't. Wilderness means desert. It is a dry and empty place. Spiritually, wilderness is a symbol for us; it is a category of existence rather than a place.

God leads us into various kinds of wilderness experiences. Some are imposed upon us from without. Sickness may strip us of physical pleasure and zeal for life. Financial misfortune may cause us to be in need. Disappointing relationships may leave us feeling alone.

Lent is a different kind of wilderness experience because it is a desert that we enter voluntarily. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for forty days. The best way to observe Lent is to let the Holy Spirit lead you into the kind of fasting that will challenge you in the appropriate way. What things loom too large in your life? What things control you? These are the prime candidates for the fast.

Why fast at all? The Christian lives in tension with the things of the world. On the one hand we know that the world God made is good. The Word was made flesh to redeem the world. We can enjoy the good things that God has made. On the other hand, we know that the tendency of fallen man is to make idols of created things and worship them.

We have to be willing to let go in order to remain free from captivity to things. As 2 Peter says, "Whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved" (2:19). In the Lenten wilderness we abstain from lawful things in order to gain control over them.

Because there are so many things to be attached to in our world, there are many ways to observe that fast. The basic fast involves a reduction in quantity of food and drink. Then there are various entertainments. We ought to fast from the radio, the TV, the computer and various forms of print media. There is the fast of the eyes to abstain from the lustful, greedy or envious gaze. There is the fast of the tongue to abstain from the malicious world. We fast from selfish motives and aims.

In place of the things that are stripped away, we add prayer. We reestablish worship as a priority. We spend time in silence with God, talking to God and listening to God. We spend time reading God's word. Remember, Jesus responded to each demonic temptation with a quote from the Bible. If the Word of God was his first line of defense, it must be ours as well.

And we add good works. If we save money, we give it to the poor. We look for new ways to serve and give. In place of the malice, greed and envy, we practice charity, generosity and contentment.

As we fast from things, we discover just how strongly attached we are to the things. This is an important first step in spiritual growth. This is why it is wrong to view a lapse in Lenten resolve as failure. For example, if I set out to do ten pull-ups in my workout, but am only able to do five, the workout has not been worthless. Two things have happened. I have discovered I am much weaker than I thought. And the exercise I did get is the first step towards strength. If you do not live up to your resolve today, ask God for grace and do better tomorrow. The point is to exercise our faith, not to be perfect.

Lent teaches us that Christianity is an ascetic religion. That it matters what we do in our bodies. We are not all called to be monks. But we are all called to regulate our lives in the body to the glory of God. One reason the church is not as powerful as she might be is that Christians tend to live in the same manner as everyone else. A veneer of Christianity covers a life that is captive to things.

Lent is an opportunity to change. Lent is an opportunity to take stock of where we are as disciples of Jesus Christ. This season is a gift to us from the church that invites and challenges us to do new things and grow in new ways. Let us take full advantage of it. As St. Paul says, "Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation."