In the Wilderness – 6 March 2022 – First Sunday in Lent

Luke 4:1–13

For Jesus, the wilderness is a place of testing, but for Luke it is also a setting in which Jesus experiences the leading of the Spirit. In contrast to Mark’s description of the Spirit leading/compelling Jesus into the wilderness, Luke changes the emphasis, picturing the Spirit leading Jesus in the wilderness. For the church, the season of Lent is a kind of manufactured wilderness. By simplifying and attending more closely to life, everyday comforts and distractions are set aside. Believers may expect that, like Jesus, such an experience makes the Spirit’s guiding both more needed and more present.

The greater part of the reading focuses on three specific temptations— concerning bread and true sustenance, concerning authority and worship, and concerning public recognition and trust. . . Jesus is challenged regarding that identity and calling to be God’s son. Each temptation encourages him to attend to his own appetites and desires, embracing a self-serving way of being God’s Son. . . Jesus rejects each of the temptations, turning to scripture to find the strength and courage to resist what is false and to hold onto the Spirit-given vision of his genuine vocation.

. . . Jesus deflects each of the devil’s tests by citing the Bible, and by the third test the devil is also reciting the sacred text in order to present a more persuasive case. . .

This use of scripture invites the church to reflect on how to faithfully read scripture and listen to it from a clear sense of Christian vocation marked by service, humility, and forgiveness. –– Aaron J. Couch

Deuteronomy 26:1–11

The first readings look back to God’s relationship with Israel, especially the great saving actions that are the core of Israel’s history and identity. Deuteronomy is written as an address from Moses to the people of Israel as they prepare to leave the wilderness and enter the Promised Land. Chapter 26 begins with instructions for presenting a firstfruits offering to God at the Festival of Weeks, seven weeks after Passover. What is most striking is how presenting the gift is intended to serve as an opportunity to recall the great work of God to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt and bring the Israelites to the Promised Land. As God’s people remember and recite all that God has done for them, their identity is being formed. By virtue of recalling the story, they also remember who they are. This is no less true today for God’s people in Christ. –– Aaron J. Couch

Romans 10:8b–13

Paul affirms essential elements of the faith: that Jesus is Lord; that God raised him from the dead; and that God’s saving work is given for all people. Within Romans, these affirmations are part of a more specific point Paul is making about the saving work of God. . . God grants righteousness as a gift to those who have faith. The law requires more than any human being is capable of accomplishing, but because of God’s generosity, no superhuman effort or achievement is necessary to receive salvation. . . Faith comes (simply!) by receiving the word, and it is owned by confessing one’s trust in the One who is Lord and is risen from the dead. –– Aaron J. Couch

Aaron Couch is a co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.

Homily Service 43, no. 2 (2009): 11–18.