A Journey Through Lent: Day 3



 

Lent Day 3: “Alone”


“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’””  -‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬


It’s no secret I’m mostly an introvert. I enjoy getting to know people and hearing their stories and I love a good get together. At the end of all that getting together, though, I need to be alone for a bit. Each year we try to make it to the beach with our family and whoever they bring along. While there is much I cherish about our yearly trips to the beach, my most cherished times are the moments I’m able to just simply sit on the beach at the edge of the ocean sitting in a chair low to the ground, feeling the waves come in and out across my feet. Alone. I don’t need much time to myself but those few hours each year my family allows me to simply sit are moments which I hold dear. The sound of the waves and the view of the vast sea reminds me God is the creator of all. I’m by myself at that moment but I’m never really alone. God’s vastness surrounds me always and is my companion in all things. 


The words chosen for this year’s Lenten Photo-a-Day challenge are all from the fourth chapter of Luke. I’ve been ruminating on this passage all day and knew I really wanted to try to keep the context of the text in mind with my reflection. Here is Jesus “full of the Holy Spirit” led into the wilderness and tempted by the devil. The first temptation comes when he’s been without food for forty days and is hungry. I can’t even imagine…. I am starving when I am told I must fast for bloodwork. Imagine how hard it must be for the physical body to concentrate after forty days without food. I’m not sure I would even know my own name at that point. So here is our hungry Savior, tempted to turn stone to bread and somehow he has the wherewithal to remember what is written. 


But what does it really mean here for man not to live by bread alone? I’m a preacher’s kid and pastor’s wife. I’ve heard as many sermons as anyone else in the Christian faith has heard at this point. I haven’t been to seminary so I try not to misrepresent myself and my thoughts. I’m no expert, I’m just a lay person struggling with what it all means like everyone else.  


Hungry Jesus, in a human body, faced his temptation by not only speaking of what was written but calling on a teaching from Deuteronomy. My thoughts are this: Life is hard. We will be hungry. We will have difficult trials to navigate. At times needs will go unmet. We will face the darkest times and maybe feel we are alone. Circumstances will humble us. And through it all, our hope is in every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Will we remember the words of Jesus? Will we have faith that we live not by bread alone? No matter how hungry we are, will we stay focused on the Living Word of God? 


“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV

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