The Lenten Journey — An Invitation to Say No or to Say Yes?

Jesus was tempted. So are we. He was tempted by Satan to be relevant (turn stones into bread);  to be spectacular (throw yourself down and not get hurt); and to be powerful (I will give your charge over the whole creation; all recounted in Luke 4:1-13). Three very big temptations. We are also tempted, as Jesus was, to be relevant (to come up with the right word or phrase to impress our friends); to be spectacular (to win the lottery or imagine that we can do something that will win us an A — be it an award, acclaim, accumulation, or approbation); or to be powerful (to least have some unchallenged authority over at least some part of our world).

But there is another temptation that has been pulling at most of us these past two weeks. It is the temptation to despair, in the wake of the illegal and evil invasion of Ukraine. Despair for the people of Ukraine, despair for Europe — and despair for us, some 5000 miles away, because worst case scenarios as to what may unfold are pretty horrific.

In the story of the temptations of Jesus, which begins the season of Lent, Jesus said no.  Three times. And because of his courage, and his grit, not to mention his faith, he was ministered to by the angels.

For much of my life, I have tried to emulate Jesus’ no by giving things up. In various Lenten seasons I have said no to French fries, drinking beer, listening to sports radio, playing video games. It is a fairly long list.

What I have discovered over the past few years, when considering the story of Jesus temptations, is that before Jesus said no to Satan, he said yes to God. His yes enabled him to say no. His yes came first.

Lent has now become a time for me to emulate Jesus by saying yes. Yes to God, yes to life — yes to the presence of God that can be seen in one another if I look hard enough.

And yes to hope. This is especially hard, because despair lurks just behind hope. But like many of us, my hope is kindled and quickened when I see the people of Ukraine, and hear its President, Volodymyr Zelensky— taking on the role of David against a venal and violent Goliath. Their hope has become a weapon. That hope may not ultimately thwart the Russian invasion, but whatever happens in terms of the war, hope will not be extinguished. Evil may win the battle, and cause immense suffering; but it cannot be sustained. Hope will prevail. That is a foundational dimension of faith.

My favorite definition of hope comes from Christian author and social activist Jim Wallis: hope is believing in spite of the evidence, and then watching the evidence change.

I firmly believe that we are ministered to by the angels when we say yes to God and yes to life and yes to hope. The yes strengthens the soul and short circuits the temptation to despair — and deepens our capacity to hope. In the wake of the continuing horror in Ukraine, let us offer our hope and our yes.  Let us join with the angels. Let us become evidence changers.

 

The Bombings We Are Not Paying Attention To

In the last few days the country, if not the world, has had a crash course in bunker buster bombs, ever since three of them literally crashed down on a nuclear weapons development facility in Fordow, Iran.  Delivered by a stealth B2 bomber, the pretext, subtext and...

No Permanent Allies? No Permanent Enemies?

No permanent allies. No permanent enemies. That was a foundational mantra of a ten day community organizing training that I received nearly 40 years ago.  It was a new idea for me, and I struggled with it. Growing up during the height of the cold war, I had been...

Love More. Resist More

  I have recently engaged my mind in a paradox that both strengthens my resolve and soothes my soul.  Love more.  Resist more.  Normally it is thought that loving and resisting need to be kept separate from one another:  you can’t love someone or something you...

A Spiritual Antidote to Fear

In 2008, toward the end of a three-day retreat in Canterbury Cathedral for about 700 Episcopal and Anglican bishops from around the world, Archbishop Rowan Williams finished his brilliant presentation on love and grace, and then asked us to reach out to another. Find...

Preferential Option for the Poor: A Needed Edit

“A preferential option for the poor” became a foundational component of Catholic Social teaching when the term was first issued by Latin American Catholic leaders and theologians in the mid-1960s. The phrase echoed the many admonitions from Jesus as recorded in the...

Emerging Moral Obscenity

It is a moral obscenity.  It is said by some that white Afrikaners in South Africa are the victims of genocide, but there is no data to support the claim. It is said that the cohort of Afrikaners coming to America are refugees, but there are indications that they are...

The Ordering of Love: a New Debate in the Culture Wars

Several decades ago, a national debate raged over a question that helped launch America’s ongoing culture war:  who can you love? One side was insistent that love – which would involve intimate sexual expression – should be confined to a man and a woman. A popular...

Make America Great Again: A Clamping Down on Paradigm Shift

In April of 1970 the United States decided to invade Cambodia, thus expanding the Vietnam War. I was nearing the end of my freshman year in college. Campuses around the country rose up in angry indignation. Protests were planned, strikes were proposed, marches were...

Teach Us to Care and Not to Care: T.S. Eliot

It is becoming harder and harder to achieve emotional, spiritual and in some cases physical distance from what is happening in this country.  I hear more and more people saying that they are reluctant to buy, sell or make changes to their home because the economy is...

Ep 22 – “The Greatest Unifier” with Rick Joyner

In this episode, I welcome Rick Joyner, a prominent Evangelical leader, author, public speaker, and founder of Morningstar Ministries. We explore how to respectfully build mutual understanding and work together across differences. Rick shares about his life-changing conversion, his strong support for President Trump, his belief in God as the greatest unifier, and the challenges and hopes that he sees for the country. We also discuss finding unity in diversity and the ongoing pursuit of liberty and justice for all.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join my mailing list to receive the latest blog updates.

You have Successfully Subscribed!