First Sunday of Lent
Bible Reading: Luke 4:1-13
During Lent and up to Easter, you may wish to make use of the Soul Food resources from the Methodist Church in your personal devotions, including a Bible Study video (around 12 mins long), which acts as a conversation about today’s Bible reading.
Find the resources here: methodist.org.uk/for-churches/soul-food/
The gospel reading for today is the ‘reason for the season’, the motivation behind the creation of Lent in the Christian calendar. Jesus withdraws to the wilderness, to fast and pray for 40 days before the beginning of his earthly ministry, and faces temptation from the devil. So, today, Christians often make an act of sacrifice – giving something up for 40 days – or take up an act of justice or discipleship. It’s a time to think about our relationship with God, to release the temptations of life in this world, and to focus on nourishing our souls.
In so doing, Jesus, and modern day Christians, are also thinking back to the time of the Exodus, with the 40 days echoing and – to a certain degree – seeking to redeem the 40 years that Israelites spent in the wilderness. The early listeners to Luke’s gospel would have seen this connection straight away, and seen Jesus’ time in the desert as an offering of redemption and healing for that period of their story.
What do we need redeeming from today? In our own lives, in our local communities, in our country, and in our world? How is Jesus at work seeking redemption and healing for the brokenness, division, exploitation and pain? How can we join in with that healing process, for ourselves and others? These are big questions, but they are the sort of questions the Lenten season begins in us. Lean into those questions over the next six and a half weeks as you journey towards Easter. Pray about them. See what moves or is triggered in you. Is God prompting you into an act of healing?
Praying for your Lenten Journey love and prayers Revd Sara
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