3/9/2025 - 1st Sunday of Lent

“One does not live by bread alone.”

In today’s gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the devil that we do not live by bread alone. That’s a good thought with which to begin this holy season of Lent. He uses the term bread not just to describe what we eat, but, in the way that has become popular in our modern time, it means “money” and all the things money can buy such as food and drink, clothing, cars, big flat screen TVs, computers, the latest electronic gadgets, appliances, travel, exotic vacations, homes and mansions, and the list goes on and on. Many people think that having enough of these things is the key to happiness. And the more money you have, the more you own, the happier you’ll be. There’s truth to this, but it’s a very limited view of what goes into a meaningful human life. It completely ignores the human spirit – that part of us that yearns for something more than what money can buy. Many of the people who know this, whether they can put it into words or not, look to religion to satisfy this hunger and emptiness. They go to churches and synagogues and mosques. They pray and worship and try to fan into flame that spark of the divine and spirituality that lies deep within each of us. Our church sets aside these next several weeks of Lent as a special time to nourish that flame.

We Americans have a special need for a time like Lent. Our way of life can make it difficult to pay attention to our spiritual needs. There are so many bright, shiny things, electronic gadgets to distract us from what’s most  important.  America is a consumer society. It defines the human person in terms of things owned and consumed. There’s nothing wrong with owning and enjoying things. God wants us to enjoy the good things of the world he created. God doesn’t want us to be poor, either. But he knows that shallowness and spiritual poverty are bad for us.

Possessions and pleasure and power are nice things to have; but when they define us, when they become the sum total of  who we are, we become empty inside. This was the temptation that faced Jesus in the desert as he was ready to begin His life’s work. How could He win the minds and hearts of those He had come to save? The devil tempted and laid out a program for Jesus: get their attention, dazzle them with your power, use your power to give them material things. But Jesus had a different program in mind, one that included service and suffering, one that led to the cross and beyond that, to the fullness of life. He resisted the devil, He remained true to His own program; He was true to Himself. During Lent, we remember how Jesus went into the desert to pray and fast. In this season of prayer, penance and worship, we have a chance to get below the surface of our lives. What is God calling me to do? How does He want me to relate to the people in my life? Is there something that doesn’t belong? Is there something missing? Maybe I just need to be reminded how close God is, that God is always at my side, offering comfort and strength in hard times. In this special time of year, we have a chance to go within and, like Jesus, to find our best selves. 

How do prayer and worship help feed your spiritual hunger? This year, how do you feel the need to go within and to find your best self?                
   Deacon Robert Pang