The First Sunday in Lent - Year C
Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13
It may be difficult to see now but throughout middle school and most of the high school, I was a member of the Cross-Country team. I wasn’t our best runner, but I wasn’t half bad and always enjoyed supporting my teammates.
Long distance running is a very strange sport because that is pretty much all you do. Run! It can also be a very lonely sport. Sure you have your team, but once you are in the race you can easily end up in the middle of nowhere, all alone. The important thing in the moment is to slip into the groove. It’s a beautiful feeling when the world fades away. You find your stride where your breathing is calm you can easily push through the pain and all you think about is what’s right in front of you (or the sound of footsteps right behind you). The problems come in the distractions. When you lose your focus and your stride is thrown. That's when the pain overtakes you. That’s when you get discouraged along the way. That’s when you get injured.
How do you remove or ignore the distractions? By training and preparing for them. This is what happens between the races. Both physical and mental training to take us closer to our goal.
Coach Diltz had us do a lot of different types of training throughout the season. On some days we were in the weight room. Even though we run with our legs, we race with our entire bodies. If your shoulders are weak–––your posture is wrong. If your posture is wrong–––you can’t breathe properly. If you can’t break properly–––the muscles in your legs begin to produce toxins instead of being oxygenated and you develop cramps, throwing off your stride and hurting your performance. On other days we’d just run. Not race, just run . . . . all over town. I still find my way around Circleville based on those training routes. The Kroger run, Master Greenlees, the Washing-Well. Each a different distance and terrain. Each coming with its own set of challenges. But the point was just to run and not stop. Even at the red lights, we encouraged to stand at the corner and keep our pace in place.
Then there were the darkest days When Coach would say those awful words, VO2-MAX! This was a workout where we had to sprint as hard as we could for a portion of the course, lightly jog the rest, and repeat . . . multiple times. It was HELL. But it had a purpose. For one, it expanded our lung capacity and helped us breathe through. That's the important thing in the race, to remember to breathe. That's the important thing in life . . . to remember to breathe. Two, it strengthened our quick game, not just endurance. But three, and most importantly, it shut up our worsed enemies, the voice in our own head when we told ourselves we couldn’t do it anymore, we knew it was a lie because we had done it all before. And our trust was built in coach, who we knew would never do anything to actually hurt us.
Circleville High School Boys Cross-Country 2001
The testing in the wilderness is a lot like training for the long-distance race. Life is a lot like a long distance race. Those which are presented to us in the story of Jesus this morning, represent things we all go through. Things we all must overcome if we are to endure the race. Jesus is spending an extended period of time in the wilderness. He is going the distance, into the realm of pain and fear and isolation. The road through the wilderness is a long and winding and dangerous one, and not one any person should ever walk alone. Again, the same could be said for life.
When THE ACCUSER first appears, he tells the hungry one to turn the stones into bread and eat. But Jesus has the response ready, “One does not live by bread alone.” So what is the distraction here that often causes us to stumble? It is not the daily bread for which we pray. It is not the basic needs of life. Instead, it is about overcoming our insatiable need for consumption. More stuff . . . more food . . . more entertainment . . . more fillers . . . more distractions. We want the next, the newest, the best . . . and we want it now. This is why fasting is not just about skipping a meal. We want to give in. We want to stop short and drink, but God says “you can do this, keep going.” But we know that God does not identify us by what we have or what we have gained. But God loves us for simply being, that’s what creators do. That’s what parents do. God loves us for being, for living, and for loving all He loves. God has given us all we need. Although one may carb up before a race, one does not live by “bread” alone.
Then the ACCUSER shows Jesus “all the Kingdoms of the earth.”
“All this can be yours . . . . just give in, allow me to have the power.”
How often do we measure ourselves by our successes? How often do we link our self worth to the power we have, to our ability to go places and make things happen? How often do we beat ourselves up for accomplishing “too little?” But again, that is not how God measures us. Success is not determined by how many medals you win. It’s okay if we come in last in every heat. As long as we have kept our eye on what's important. Not seeking adulation, or worshiping the quick fix as we are prone to do. Faithfulness in the journey is what matters most. This is why Lent is so long. This is what Lent teaches us. I barely placed at a point that would help our team in the race, but I always finished strong.
So what about the third test? “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’
What is the distraction here? This is selfishness. Believing you are better or worth more than any other. Putting yourself above others. Using others only for your own gain. If anyone had the right, it was Jesus the Christ. Who instead of testing God; instead of giving in to the hecklers at Golgotha and taking himself off the cross, He chose us over himself. What is most important is that we run together. Lent is not only about the self, it is also about the community. One of the best feelings in the middle of a race was when a teammate would rush up or pull back to run alongside you. We helped each other. No words exchanged, just being was enough . . . enough to push us through. wasn'tsnt for the entire race, but for the moments of weakness. Jesus is always reminding us to care for eachother. To look out for those less fortunate those who are weaker than us. The other side of this selfishness is ignoring the problem, and saying, “God will handle it.” Sometimes that is all we can do, but it should NOT be our go-to. That is arrogance. Remember we are all on the same team. We are all family. It’s not always about you. It’s not just about me. It IS about us.
Now for the part of our Gospel account which I think fits best with the analogy “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.”
In order to truly compete; in order to faithfully finish the race, the training must continue. We did a lot of work in those few months where found ourselves at a race nearly every weekend. But as any good runner will tell you, the true outcome of the race the fullness of your ability on the course
was made in the offseason. If we did not practice, if we did not run through the winter, spring, and summer, we were stuck back at the beginning come fall. What we call “out of shape.”
There is nothing in scripture to suggest that Jesus was not tested from the time he left the wilderness to the time he gave up his Spirit. Since we are always tempted to consumption, greed, and selfish pride, one could argue that by taking on the fullness of humanity, Jesus also walked this road.
Jesus also ran this race. Like us, he came upon distraction. Like us, he felt pain and sorrow and anger. But unlike many of us, he prepared and confronted sins even in the offseason. He would wake up early before the disciples even roused to go into the mountains and pray. To spend time with God.
For the many in the church Lent is that first day back on the training course. It is hard, you feel every pain, every weak muscle. You notice each distraction. You are not prepared for the race. We are not prepared for Easter at the start of Lent. We are not prepared to fully receive the glory of the resurrection, because LIFE is distracting. This is Lent. This is a time for us to return, what in Hebrew is termed as a turning around. What we call, Repent.
Winter is hard, and we have been out of practice. This is why today we began with the Great Litany, its that LONG run. This is why for me at least, (we have the general confession the rest of the year) but there are times in the Great Litany that just hit me in the gut. It might be a good idea to spend a little time each day this week with a portion of the Litany and live into it.
We confront those things which distract us. We re-learn to breathe. Although it sounds counter-intuitive we build our strength through fasting and prayer. We take in the lessons of the Litany and continue to work through the pain of our own short-comings. It is not easy, but one of these days we will hit our stride. (Hopefully about Holy Week). We will feel the sweet wind of God as we pick up the pace. We will find restoration of body, mind, and spirit. And we will renew our promises, our baptism,
our faith.
Lent is a workout, welcome to the gym! Keep up the difficult work of pentatence. Let us grow through the pain, and let us run toward Easter together. AMEN?
Rev. J. Nelson - 1 Lent C - March 10, 2019
St. David of Wales Episcopal Church - Elkhart, Indiana
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