Every Word

EVERY WORD – SUNDAY MARCH 9, 2025


Luke 4:1-13: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.”
➖
Understand what the *real* temptation is here, because we all face it at various times in our lives and we are certainly facing it today in light of our ongoing political situation in the U.S. “If you are the Son of God . . .”
“If you are the Son of God . . .”
Who are you?!! The temptation here is to deny yourself. It is to allow evil, materialism, human certainty, Trump or anything other than the Divine define who we are. You are *not* defined, *need not* be defined – EVER – from outside yourself. God made you to be you. Your definition of self is built in. Stand up and do not fear. “One does not live by bread alone!”
February 28 ended President Trump’s first 40 days in office. I, like Jesus, (and you?) have been in a wilderness. I am hungry and I have been tested. I am hungry for sanity. Hungry for leadership. Hungry for hope. I am hungry for a vision that leads forward in love. I did not ask for this fast – and neither did Jesus - but I have endured. So have you.
Christians took ash on their foreheads this past Wednesday. We know who we are! And with those ashes we now begin a second journey of 40 days. We call it “Lent.” During Lent we focus on what it means for Jesus (and so for us) to live as Spirit defined people in a world obsessed with power and self-aggrandizement. Jesus will choose again, and again, and again – showing us the Way - to live in love, service and community no matter what the cost. One can endure the fast, but we cannot live denying who we are.
“For one does not live by bread alone . . . but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord!”

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