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From the Desktop of the Pastor – Week of the 1st Sunday in Lent

Hi everyone,

I am going to get real here, I was adding the last few words to this very post… and my computer shut itself off.  I was hoping WordPress (which hosts this site) would have a backup or something saved, but alas, it isn’t here.  I should have prewrote everything onto a Word document or something and copy and pasted, but hey hindsight is always 20/20.  So instead of trying to recapture the profundity of the past hour or so of writing, I’m just going to jump right into the readings.

Here:
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15

At first glance, we might think, ok, Temptation Story.  Must be Lent.

And you wouldn’t be wrong.  We always start Lent with the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness (well actually we start Lent with Ash Wednesday at a very poorly attended service, but who’s counting?).  But upon closer inspection, this isn’t just any temptation story, but it is Mark’s temptation story.  No frills, gimmicks, or extra details to fill out the story.  Just wilderness, temptation, angels.  Bad-a-bing bad-a-boom.  Done.

But this isn’t to say that we got ripped off, or we lost some of the richness of the story, it is just to say that we get to the point a lot quicker and more directly.  Because really, does it matter how Jesus was tempted?  Or do we just need to know that he was tempted?

No frills, no gimmicks, (no saved words from the past hour or so of writing before my computer crashed,) Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, but God was with him.  God journeyed with him.  God filled Jesus with the Spirit that gave him strength through that temptation.

And that really is all we need to know.  God with us.  God journeys with us.  God fills us with the Spirit.  Thanks be to God.

Have a great week everyone!

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