Journal of Sacred Work

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. – Romans 10:12

   The sacrifices most of us make for Lent are so small they could be jokes. People like me talk about giving up deserts or skipping lunch on Saturday as if these acts were a hardship.
 
Jesus time in the wilderness called for every kind of sacrifice short of life itself. Beyond declining food, he emerged to face great temptations: making bread from stone, worldly power and the chance to prove his divinity by leaping off the pinnacle of a temple. Jesus’ refused each of these temptations with a set of messages passed down to us about the meaning of sacrifice in the face of temptation…

   None of us claim the power or strength of a Messiah. But many others have. I read recently that among the men claiming to be Messiahs after the death and resurrection of Jesus came one individual who was so convincing he drew thousands of followers. Ultimately, however, he succumbed to the temptation of money and was bought off.
   "We do not live by bread alone," Jesus tells us as reported in the Gospel of Luke. And yet we might say much of the world ignores this.   
   My older sister shared with me the example of a friend of hers who, five years ago, received a windfall of $12 million upon the sale of a bank he ran. Suddenly in retirement, he had no idea how to spend his time other than to buy things. Soon, he had four houses, boats, and other trappings of wealth. He also developed a heavy drinking habit. Within five years he found himself confined to an assisted living facility with advanced alcoholism. This individual found that the emptiness within could not be filled with the "bread" of the world. Imagine if he had chosen a life of service and philanthropy instead of self-indulgence?

  Worship me and you will have all glory and power, the Devil tells Jesus. And again we see countless examples across the world in the form of every dictator who ever lived – whether of a country or of a nursing department in a hospital. Dictators seek not only power but to be worshiped. They deny the equality of others. In so doing, they deny the humanity and dignity of those around them.
   Prove your magic, the Devil challenges Jesus in the last of the three temptations. What a hard temptation this must have been to resist. Jesus carried all the powers God can send through a human being. Yet with this he carried the wisdom and strength and grace to know that to yield to such a temptation is to abuse God and thus to lose the power itself.
   God is Love. By definition, Love is unable to express itself in the form of evil.
   Finally, there is the persistent question: Who is eligible to receive God’s grace? Is it only Christians? Paul answered this question for Christians in Rome in a response which may not have been popular at the time: "There is no distinction between Jew and Greek."
   In other words, there is no distinction among any of us when it comes to the opportunity to benefit from God’s grace. Love calls us to treat each being who comes to us with compassion and respect. Love calls us to step beyond our own needs to meet the needs of others.
   Lent is a time to consider how we are doing against the temptations of the world. And it is an opportunity for us to choose to let go of something of the world to which we have become attached. The greater our sacrifice, the more we may find ourselves in touch with the true spirit of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

-Erie Chapman