The Lenten season begins with Ash Wednesday when ashes are imposed on the foreheads of Christians representing repentance, symbolizing our origins from the dust and our eventual return to the dust. Lent culminates with Palm Sunday marking the start of Holy Week. The 40 days of Lent are reminiscent of Jesus’s 40 days of prayer and fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), where he secured needed strength and focus for his ministry. All Christians, Protestants and Catholics, are encouraged to practice the spiritual disciplines of prayer, study and self-denial during the Lenten season as a way of exercising self-control over our physical bodies and harnessing our wills, appetites, desires and ambitions to ensure that our lives are led by the Spirit, rather than governed by misplaced values and cares.
Jesus was also tempted during those 40 days. The temptations presented to him represent the same distractions that entice all who are journeying spiritually to deviate from our missional objectives. The temptations presented to Jesus challenged his resolve, discipline and determination to concentrate on his mission, to preserve his values and to pursue his purposes in life relentlessly.
The first temptation challenged him to engage in meaningless displays of his spiritual power and influence. The second enticed him to take dangerous risks with his legacy and his standing as though he was exempt from the same missteps, defaults and tragedies that others are prone to suffer; with the caveat that even if he gives in to the allure of risky behaviors, he will be spared the worst suffering because of his spiritual connections. Third, Jesus was tempted with the material stuff that is often associated with power, prestige and property, or glamour and gold. If only he would lay down his core values, and shift the focus of his worship from the True God to the material gods of this world he would acquire wealth.
Jesus resisted each of the temptations presented to him while quoting the values of his faith contained in the scriptures. In doing so, he communicated clarity and focus concerning his true identity, purpose and mission. In that same spirit, Lent presents each of us an opportunity to concentrate on the priorities and values that are most important to our identity, our faith and our life’s mission. In voluntarily denying ourselves certain pleasures, activities and even certain foods, we are really saying that there comes a time when we need to test our spiritual, moral and physical resolve and strength to pursue what matters most in life even when that entails giving up something we usually enjoy; not because we are required to do so, but because we can benefit by doing so.
The Rev. Jeffrey Haggray is senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C
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