Based on the sermon for March 9, 2025 (First Sunday in Lent) at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – Buffalo, NY .
Sermon Video | 8:30am and 10:30am Worship Services
Scriptures | Luke 4:1-13
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
On Ash Wednesday, we began our 40-day Lenten journey. Over the course of my life so far, I’ve seen how Lent can really challenge people. While Lent can have great benefits for all aspects of our lives, the words we use and sometimes the way we observe Lent can come across as judgmental, somber, heavy, and serious. Such an approach can leave some people feeling that Lent is something to be endured or otherwise avoided because it’s just too much.
But does it have to be that way?
Quite a few of my clergy friends have been talking about how best to support our people and communities when many of us are already feeling pervasive anxiety, chaos, and a general sense of overwhelm in our lives today. Do we really believe it is good or helpful to heap more heaviness from the observance of lent on top of all of the heaviness people are already feeling now?
On Ash Wednesday, our church offers “Ashes to Go” as an alternative for those who are not able to attend the noon or evening services. People drive up to the sidewalk in front of the church and roll down their windows. I have really come to look forward to Ashes on the Go during which I have very brief encounters with people … many of whom are not Holy Trinity members. I ask their names and what they would like me to pray for. Then, right then and there, we pray together. It’s evident in these conversations and in many others that people are carrying A LOT right now in 2025.
This has led me to wonder … how can we observe Lent in a way that helps us grow WITH God rather than grow AWAY from God? Is there a way for us to recognize and overcome some of the obstacles that prevent our deeper relationship and engagement with God? And what about the obstacles that come between us and our neighbor?
In other words, is there a way for us to experience the gifts of Lent without feeling like we are stuck in a spiritual deficit … stuck in the guilt and shame of where we fall short … stuck feeling like we’re not good enough? Our guilt, shame, and regret tend not to leave us alone very easily. Overwhelming feelings can re-emerge and constrain us 5, 10, 20, or more years later. Is this what God wants for us?
Let’s consider this together.
If we go far back in history to the time of Moses and Elijah, we find that each of them observed a 40-day time of prayer and fasting. This time was deemed helpful for opening their hearts and minds to receiving God and clarifying their direction. Later, in the early centuries of the Christian church, people prepared for Easter using a 40-day time for prayer and fasting. This practice was recorded at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
In these practices, is there a struggle or adversarial relationship between God and people? I don’t understand the focus being on people and their shortcomings or sins. Instead, the focus was simply on being open to God.
Our gospel reading from Luke 4:1-13 in which we hear of Jesus also praying and fasting for 40 days and night strikes a different tone, not because of Jesus’ deficiencies, but because of the presence of the devil who, according to C.S. Lewis, uses distraction as the main tool to prevent people from being in relationship with God.
The scriptures tell us that the devil tempted Jesus. The devil offered Jesus relief from his hunger, power over the kingdoms of the world, and protection for his body. None of these were “bad” things. Interestingly, Jesus already had the power to have all of these. But such things were not what this time in Jesus’ life was meant to focus upon.
Jesus’ purpose was similar to that of Moses and Elijah … to use these 40 days and nights to prepare his heart, mind, and soul for where the Spirit would lead him.
So, what’s up with the concept of temptation? This word causes us a lot of heartache. I’m guessing many of us were brought up believing that “If I am tempted by something, I must be weak. And … if I give in to the temptation, I’m a sinful and, therefore, a bad person.”
The word translated as temptation can also be translated as test. Let’s explore this. We’ve all taken tests before. Many of us might have had teachers who may have misused tests. But does a good teacher give you tests in order to trip you up, to revel in your mistakes or lack of knowledge, or to make you fail? No! A good teacher gives you a test so you have a goal to help you break down a huge subject like history and focus one specific period or event. A test leaves the test taker with two new truths: you see that you really have grown in that subject, and you also see where you need to learn some more.
What if our understanding of Lent was more like? What if Lent and the practices of Lent were to break down the huge subject of faith and help us focus on being open to the Spirit? What if, at the end of Lent, we didn’t focus on a “grade,” but on just how much we’ve grown through this season. Or maybe even how much we’ve grown through our whole life? What if Lent helped us become clearer on our growth areas – not in terms of a moral or spiritual failing, but simply in terms of growing into the life abundant that Jesus came to bring us.
This week, as you engage in the first full week of Lent 2025, be gentle with yourself and others. As you feel tempted or tested, remember that life is not a pass or fail exam, but an on-going process of faith and love and growth guided by the Holy Spirit.
In the name of Jesus. Amen!
Epicurious Lutheran 