Lent: Day 16

Part 3 of a Three-Part Series

Scripture: Luke 4: 1-13

Only after Jesus has discovered where power truly lies is he ready to exercise his own power. Jesus discovers that there is more to wish for than simply feeding a hungry world, much as he and we would love to. But the truth is that the world whose hunger was satisfied this way would tomorrow simply be hungry again. Jesus discovers that there is more to wish for than ruling the world, much as he and we might wish to. But the truth is that governments don’t finally rule the world: they come and go, while God’s rule, encountered and celebrated in worship, never comes to an end. Jesus discovers that there is more to wish for than excitement and drama, much as he and we enjoy it. But the truth is such things are most often a distraction from the transformation Jesus truly brings.

The irony of course is that Jesus did feed people, by turning five loaves into food for five thousand. He does rule the world, crowned with thorns on Good Friday and throned in glory on Ascension Day. And he does employ a company of angels, to roll away the stone on Easter Day. But he only does those things after he has discovered what true power is and where true power lies.

Of course we seek to feed a hungry world. Of course we seek to make a more just world through the offices of government. And of course we enjoy bringing drama and excitement to the world through entertainment, sports and the media.

But first we must discover what true power is and where true power lies. And that is what Lent is for. Discovering what true power is means educating our desires. That’s the point of giving things up for Lent. Just as an athlete or soldier or musician undergoes a rigorous discipline of training to make sure they can do the right thing at the right time, just so in Lent Christians discipline their bodies so they are ready to respond to God’s call whenever it may come. You fast so that you learn to hear the call of God louder than the call of the refrigerator. You train your body, your senses, your imagination so you learn to do what God wants you to do rather than what advertisers or seducers or tempters want you to do. This is true power.