Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ – Luke 4:8
Shakespeare once wrote: “The course of true love never did run smooth.” In Jesus’ case, it certainly was a rough road. He did not have a celebration banquet after his installation service, instead he was driven by God’s Spirit into the desert, to be tested by the devil. Jesus’ testing as reported by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, is not your typical love story. It is more of a war story, a battle. Instead of feasting it’s about fasting, instead of a candle-lit dinner, roses and music, its setting was in a desert: barren, deathly quiet, dry, dark and dangerous.
But even though the word “love” or “heart” is not mentioned in the first 13 verses in Luke 4 — love, specifically, God’s love is the powerful force that leads Jesus to this wilderness. Prior to this test of love, Jesus, had received the words of assurance from His Heavenly Father during his baptism: “Here is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Because Jesus knows that He is the Son of God; and he fully trusts and believes that he is beloved by his Heavenly Father, he is prepared to be tempted. In the wilderness he makes “Choices of the Heart,” in response to the devil’s temptations. Just like Jesus, knowing that we are children of God and that we are loved by God, greatly helps us in overcoming temptation. In this story, Jesus shows us how not just to overcome temptation, but how to love God faithfully and letting this kind of love shape all other loves in our life.
This year, Lent begins on February 14, Ash Wednesday. It also happens to be Valentines day. I invite you to come to our Ash Wednesday service on that day not just to remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return, but to affirm that God loves us and we have made the choice to love God.
As we prepare to begin our Lenten journey together towards Easter, my hope and prayer is that we rekindle the fires of our first love for God through Jesus. And for those of us who are still seeking this relationship with God, to be open to the One who loved us first and whose heart is the only place where we can find true love, forgiveness, and healing.
May God help and empower us to make choices guided by God’s own heart. Amen.
Yours in Christ’s Peace and Love,
Pastor Carla
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