Lent I
The Rev. Canon Carol L. Wade
“Sweet Temptation”
It is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve only God. – Luke 4:8
The devil, taunting Jesus, said, “If you will worship me, all power in the world will be yours.” In Lent, we often consider the ways in which the devil comes to us, tempting us with thoughts, words, and deeds that don’t befit a relationship with Christ. Knowledge of sin and temptation is useful because it tells us what to avoid. But how do we know what to do to better our relationship to God?
When tempted by the devil, Jesus tells him that we are to worship and serve only God. We should pray in the Spirit without ceasing. But how do we do that? How can we live our whole lives so that they are one continuous act of worship to God? After all, cars need their oil changed and kids need lunch made and e-mail need to be replied to in a timely manner. There just isn’t time for constant worship and service. In fact, it’s hard to fit worship and service in at all. And yet, when we allow ourselves to be diverted from God’s supreme purpose for our lives, that is precisely when the devil slips in and stirs up in us an unhealthy appetite for consumption, control and competition; the very things with which the devil tried to tempt Jesus.
So where do we begin? Luke’s Gospel tells us that Jesus allowed himself to be led by the Spirit in his own spiritual journey, through the wilderness, into ministry, to the cross and resurrection. We are to be led by that same Spirit who yearns to empower us to be with and for God every moment of our lives. But the Sprit, subtle, indefinable, blowing where it will, often feels elusive and distant to us. Left on our own, we know that sin does have sway on our lives. So what can we do?
Our very bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. And if we want to stir up our sense of the Spirit’s presence among us, there is one sure-fire way that the church has always practiced: the singing of sacred songs. When we sing a rousing hymn we reach beyond ourselves in praise to God, and at the same time we stretch out our arms in love and gratitude toward our neighbor. In sacred song we become the love of God for the world. And we feel the very stirring of God’s love within us because God, who is Spirit, is as close as our breath. That is the work of the Spirit. And the Spirit is contagious!
It’s no accident that so many great Christian mystics and theologians have seen all eternity with God as being swept up into the heart of God in a blissful cosmic harmony of sacred song. In singing we discover God and neighbor. We practice love, practice service, and practice for eternal life.
As we begin our Lenten pilgrimage, I’d like to offer one suggestion for a Lenten discipline. If you’d like to grow closer to God, memorize the words of one of your favorite hymns. And watch what happens next time you sing it. Meanwhile, I hope I’ve persuaded you to burst forth in sacred song in worship and service to God. St. Augustine said that when we sing, we pray twice. Now that’s sweet temptation!