Monday, February 17

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
- Luke 4:1-13

This passage about temptation for me brings to mind the words from the Lord’s Prayer that we state every week, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” I find temptation vs evil to be an interesting dichotomy – they aren’t one in the same, are they? Temptation, in this context, represents the struggle or resistance against a prospective act or indulgence we believe may lead us astray of ethics or morality. Evil is the representation of some entity or concept with has either destroyed or has no regard for ethics and morality. For Jesus, the temptation is to question God’s will for the good of all humankind and to accept something to benefit himself in the moment. The looming evil the devil offers is a world devoid of compassion and consideration for others. Each time we speak the common words from the prayer Jesus taught us, let us remember the temptation of Jesus. May God’s will guide us to serve each other in love, and Christ’s victory be our deliverance.

Clinton Bray
Associate Director of Music and Organist