Lenten Resistance
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For March 9, 2025:
Lenten Resistance
by Chris Keating
Luke 4:1-13
An easy-peasy approach to Jesus’ temptations in Luke is to reduce his wilderness tests to merely resisting personal temptations. Instead of encountering God’s response to the powers of the world, worshipers are offered what might be called a “more or less” approach to Lent — in other words, more of this, less of that.
More prayer, more service, more giving, less chocolate, less cursing, and less hours spent cruising Facebook. (Except, of course, on Sundays!)
But Jesus’ resistance to the tempter is more than refusing a bite of hand-dipped chocolate truffles. Jesus’ path through the wilderness reminds us that Lent involves resisting the powers of the world.
This Sunday, the church embarks on Lent’s familiar journey. We follow Christ through the wilderness, embodying actions and practices that Donald McKim has described as a reminder that “God has taken the initiative to change our human situation.” (McKim, Living Into Lent).
In the wilderness, Jesus encounters the tempter’s enticements. But these are more than indulging in extra helpings of dessert or seasoning our conversations with salty curse words. His forty-day trek through the wilderness demonstrates more than self-control over personal behaviors. Instead, Jesus is resisting the tempter’s enticement to worship at the altar of worldly power.
Jesus’ actions resist the sort of powers of the world embodied by the political ambitions described by policies such as President Donald Trump’s “America First” priorities. Jesus resists powers grounded in oppressing marginalized people or unduly benefiting the wealthy. He pursues peace that refuses to negotiate with dictators and names as evil powers that would remove healthcare for the poor or entitlements for the elderly. These are the powers Jesus renounces — resisting the temptation to possess the kingdoms of the world in exchange for pursuing the kingdom of God.
Instead of forgoing chocolate tidbits, Jesus suggests Lent’s better path is trusting that one does not live by bread alone. Instead of worshiping the batteries of human power, he reminds us that true power is found in giving his life for the sake of that world. As we embark on this forty-day pilgrimage, Luke 4:1-13 offers the reminder that faithful resistance is at the core of our Lenten disciplines.
In the News
Jesus endured forty days of temptations, which is just a few days shorter than Donald Trump’s return to the White House this year. The past few weeks have been marked by a frenzy of actions aimed at asserting American dominance. At times it has felt as if Trump has captured a glimpse of all the kingdoms of the world and announced, “Let’s make a deal!”
When Trump returned to the Capitol Tuesday, he entered the space where a previous Congress had endured an insurrection attempt prompted by his belief that President Biden’s election had been rigged. He stood before lawmakers who had debated his impeachment and Supreme Court justices who granted him nearly unlimited power. Jesus was placed on the pinnacle of the temple, while Trump stood on the precipice of power.
In the last forty-some days, Trump’s administration has tempted the country by disregarding the Constitution’s carefully framed separation of powers. Trump’s return to power has been marked by a dizzying array of actions, including executive orders, dismissals, directives, and wholesale dismantling of government functions. CNN Analyst Stephen Collinson suggests that Trump’s flexing of his authoritarian muscles has left other branches of government, his opponents, and voters “struggling to grasp what’s happening and unable to resist.”
It’s a stunning display of power moves that have been astonishing, but also alarming and possibly unconstitutional. He moves with the confidence of one to whom all authority and glory has been given. In January, one commentator predicted that the emergence of a second Trump presidency would be a “political darkness” marked by “chaos, dysfunction, sadism, corruption, and sycophancy” created by a plurality of voters who were tempted by Trump’s promises.
Writing in the New Republic, Sasha Abramsky described the results of temptation:
Nearly half of voters in this country were willing to make a bargain with the political devil in exchange for a promise of lower egg prices at the supermarket and gas prices at the pump — and in exchange for permission to give their ids free rein to gang up on marginalized “others,” be they asylum seekers or trans youth. Their votes will now unleash the attack dogs in our culture.
Trump seems to rule with the air of an omnipotent sovereign. He has often said that he considers himself empowered to do “whatever I want as President.” Recently that has included floating the idea of buying Greenland, initiating trade wars with allies such as Canada and Mexico, eliminating nearly all USAID foreign humanitarian assistance programs, banning transgender people from serving in the military, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to restore American greatness, and dozens more. His Sharpie® has been working overtime in signing more than 70 executive orders, many of which have been aimed at drastically restructuring the federal government.
“This whole thing about approaching a constitutional crisis is not quite true,” said Rep. James Clyburn, of South Carolina, a senior Democrat in the House. “We’re already there.”
No wonder it can feel as if Trump has looked at the kingdoms of the world and decided he likes what he sees. “He who saves his country does not violate any laws,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, apparently referencing a comment attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. Commenting on his delight that New York City had eliminated congestion pricing on tolls, Trump declared: “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD…LONG LIVE THE KING!”
And all of that was before last week’s Oval Office confrontation with Ukrainian President Zelensky. While White House chefs were hard at work plating up a luncheon marking a mineral trading agreement between Ukraine and the United States, Trump and Vance were dishing out rage against Zelensky. “Everything that could have gone wrong in a meeting between two headstrong leaders did, in the span of 10 minutes,” wrote CNN. Hopes for a peace settlement followed Zelensky out the White House doors.
By this week, the US had paused military aid to Ukraine — stranding a democratically elected ally in the midst of a war against a powerful dictator. It nearly sounded as if Trump was saying to Zelensky, “throw yourself down from here.”
The through line connecting these events seems to be this: Profess Trump as lord, or else be tossed from the kingdom.
In the Scriptures
Jesus’ temptations are the church’s familiar refrain for the First Sunday in Lent. The church reenacts Jesus’ hike through the wilderness each Lent as prologue to the Paschal drama. Liturgical historians remind us that originally Lent was a time when candidates for baptism were instructed in the faith. We approach these days not by foregoing candy or avoiding Starbucks. Instead, we journey with a Christ who enters the wilderness with baptismal water running down his back.
The commonalities between the Synoptic accounts of Jesus’ temptation point to a single source, though Luke has reordered the scene according to his purposes. In particular, note that Luke ends the temptations at the pinnacle of the temple, hinting at the importance Jerusalem plays in the gospel.
The tests are conducted by Satan, whom commentators note is not presented as an equal, but rather as an interlocutor or prosecutor intent on interrogating Jesus. Sharon Ringe (Ringe, Luke, Westminster Bible Companion) notes that not only are these tests prompted by the Holy Spirit’s leading, but that tempter arrives not to battle Jesus but rather to entrap him. It’s a full-scale sting operation, filled with questions designed to make Jesus consider the voice he has just heard at baptism.
The three tests symbolize the world’s understanding of power. First is the power to achieve self-satisfaction by turning stones into bread; second is the power that comes from ruling the world; and third is what Henri Nouwen once called the “temptation to be spectacular” (Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus).
Jesus refuses the tempter’s enticements. He grounds himself in the promises of Israel as recalled by Deuteronomy’s Shema: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deut. 6:4-9). Jesus is famished, but he understands that true power emerges from loving and serving God.
In the Sermon
Jesus’ temptations can be a comforting reminder of the vulnerability every human shall face. The man who was born under questionable circumstances, hunted by an emperor, exiled as a young child, and endures temptation — just like each of us. Yet the flipside of this is the circumstances appear unlikely to us. We understand temptation but may find it hard to imagine being confronted by an actual devil.
But we do understand that temptations are enticing. We may not have experience with a red-caped, long-tailed devil with a pitchfork, but we might have faced a moment when we could be swayed by promises of immediate power and elevated status. Jesus reminds us that our Christian identity and vocation is an act of resistance. Our sermon this first Sunday in Lent could call our congregations to the bold act not of giving up something but rather resisting invitations to become spectacular, to be relevant, to yield power over others. Jesus’ act of resistance calls us to consider the cost of embracing power as defined by the world.
Instead, Jesus walks the lonesome valley. He commits himself to a power formed not by conquest but by kenotic self-giving. He yields not to the Trumpian images of might making right, but to loving service, compassionate justice, and merciful peace.
Many colleagues have mentioned to me that Lent feels different this year. I suspect that is true no matter how you cast your ballot. Most of our congregations are blends of red and blue voters who may feel alienated and bewildered by the turn our country has taken. We find ourselves in a wilderness — which can either be a disaster or an opportunity. Let us remind them that when Israel was in the wilderness, they discovered the manna that God provided. Let us offer them images of Jesus, who struggled in the wilderness, but nonetheless resisted the call to be something other than who he was.
* * * * *
SECOND THOUGHTS
Ancient Future
by Tom Willadsen
In the Scriptures
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
The ritual described in this passage is probably connected to Pentecost, the Festival of First Fruits. It occurred seven weeks after Passover, so late May to mid-June. Pentecost was one of the three annual festivals to which male Jews were supposed to travel to Jerusalem each year.
The latter half of this reading, vv. 5b-11, may be the oldest passage of scripture. It refers to Jacob and recalls two foundational events in Jewish history: the exodus and the arrival in the promised land.
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
This psalm is the basis for “On Eagle’s Wings.” It’s also included here because of the reference that the devil makes to it in Luke 4:10-11 — proof that Shakespeare was correct: “Even the devil can quote scripture for his own purpose.” From Merchant of Venice
Romans 10:8b-13
Paul is addressing Israelites who have not found faith in Jesus at this point in Romans 10. His premise that Christ’s death has made the Law obsolete is behind his remarks. Paul refers to the Hebrew scriptures repeatedly in today’s passage. Verse 8 is a reference to Deuteronomy 30:14, v. 11 to Isaiah 28:16, and v. 13 to Joel 2:32. Verses 9 and 10 are likely parts of a very early Christian credal statement.
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness has never struck me as an especially dramatic story. Yes, after forty days he was famished. But the guy who can cater a feast for 5,000 men and their families starting with five loaves and two fish could probably whip something up out in the desert. He was hungry, but not desperate and stupid (cf. Esau, Genesis 25:29-34). In rebuffing the devil’s first temptation, Jesus stops short of the full citation from Deuteronomy 8:3, which goes on after Jesus’ speech, “but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (8:3, NRSV)
The devil’s second temptation, that Jesus would have authority over kingdoms if he worshiped him... again, the devil doesn’t have much to offer. Right before Jesus went to the wilderness, Dad had told him, “You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22, NRSV) This time, Jesus uses Deuteronomy 6:13 to rebuff Old Scratch.
For the final temptation, the devil quotes Psalm 91:11-12 to try to get Jesus to bungee jump off the temple without a bungee cord. Big whoop. Jesus again uses Deuteronomy, this time 6:16. Then Jesus headed back up north, home to Galilee.
This is a fitting text for Lent because Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, and Lent is forty days — with some clever accounting — from Ash Wednesday until Easter. But I have to say, a discipline like giving up sarcasm for Lent would be a much more difficult challenge for me than the devil put before Jesus in the desert.
In the News
It’s spring training season! If there were still newspapers, many would be rejoicing at seeing box scores for the first time in months. I’ve often thought that Lent and Spring Training are analogs, as are Easter and Opening Day. For Christians, Easter is as good as it gets. For Cubs fans, the same goes for Opening Day. Imagine: no runs, no hits, no errors…yet.
The President has been trying to dismantle the federal government for six weeks now. The equation of “federal government” with “waste, fraud, and inefficiency” is lazy, inaccurate, and insulting to all kinds of people who spend their careers researching, serving, and protecting us.
After the conversation the President had with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 28, it appears that American foreign policy’s basis is “a friend in need is a friend indeed.” One wonders when his fellow Republicans will object to his copious outright lies, like saying that Ukraine is the aggressor in the war.
See why I started with baseball?
In the Sermon
Early in this century, there was a movement among American Protestants known as “Paleo-orthodoxy,” or more commonly “Ancient Future.” It sought to return the church to its common roots before the schism of 1054, which split the western Roman church from the eastern Orthodox church. Ancient Future was the flavor of the week for churches trying to connect with young people. Solid doctrine and “smells and bells” were what hipsters craved, it was thought. Briefly.
Today’s lesson from Deuteronomy may contain the oldest liturgical language in Judaism, a formula that was to be recited once the Promised Land was finally attained. The words have a longing to them, even as they stretch back to the ancient, nomadic past. These words connect the reciter back to the living God, who acted mightily in bringing the people out of Egypt, the house of slavery, but also to their forebearers who struggled under slavery, famine, and oppression.
Jesus spoke words that were more than 1,000 years old in today’s gospel passage. They are still timely: One does not live by bread alone. Do not put the Lord to the test. Worship and serve the Lord only.
The first time the current president took office, pundits used the word “unprecedented” at rates never before seen. (See what I did there?) As this administration begins, it’s even more unprecedented (less precedented?). Perhaps a way forward is to look back — back to our nation’s founding documents.
We hold these truths to be self-evident…
Or perhaps the Gettysburg Address, which some historians have called the United States’ Second Founding: “…testing whether this nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure….”
In our original documents — documents at our origin — ancient texts, perhaps, we will find our future.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Luke 4:1-13
The Emptiness of the Desert
As Jesus spends forty days in the desert, there’s a sense of emptiness about his time there. No distractions, nothing to eat, no one to talk to except the devil. Lindsey DeLoach Jones writes about this kind of emptiness, saying, “The Japanese have a concept they call Ma. It is a pause in time, an interval or emptiness in space. They consider space a prerequisite for growth, like the night hours when the sun does not shine on blooming flowers. Ma has been described as ‘an emptiness full of possibilities, like a promise yet to be fulfilled.’ In English, it takes many words to describe what the Japanese can understand in a single character. Of course, we have no language for the space between things. We are Americans, born and bred to eliminate the Ma of life, to squeeze profit and productivity out of every in-between space.”
As Lent begins, she offers this invitation: “What if we reclaimed pauses? What if we made spaces between things a non-negotiable way of life?”
* * *
Luke 4:1-13
Personalized Temptation
When the devil meets Jesus in the wilderness, he offers temptations geared to who Jesus is: physical hunger, power, and status — all of which would be alluring to a hungry, despised man of uncertain parentage.
In the same way, modern scammers look for ways to make their pitch personal. Gerd Gigerenzer writes, “Finding potential victims was once a trial-and-error operation, but the AI tools behind Facebook have made it easier. As they do for every advertiser, Facebook’s machine-learning algorithms help identify those users who are most likely to click on the fraudulent ad. Companies behind such scams, after camouflaging their ad content, pay Facebook on average $44,000 in advertising fees and make a return of $79,000…” When the appeal is personal, “international criminal groups therefore search for people on dating websites, which are designed for connecting strangers. They set up false user profiles, typically with edited pictures of stolen photographs, preferably of army officers, engineers, and attractive models. Then the crooks start a romantic relationship online, declare their love for the victim, and ask that they move from the dating site to instant messaging or email to start an exclusive relationship. During the grooming stage, many a victim falls in love. Some weeks or months later, after trust and love are gained, the criminals first ask for small amounts of money and then for more.” (from How to Stay Smart in a Smart World: Why Human Intelligence Still Beats Algorithms)
True temptation always hits home.
* * *
Romans 8:10b-13
Everybody Belongs
Paul writes to the believers in Rome that faith in God through Jesus melds them into one community. He tells them that “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.”
Father Greg Boyle says a recent plane ride reminded him of this. “I had the aisle seat in the exit row, with two homies flying home to Los Angeles from Philadelphia. As people boarded, I could see a very tall man making his way down the aisle. I tried to read the words printed on his shirt: 'PHILLY IS EVERYBODY.' I’m heartened. I think kinship, connection, exquisite mutuality, and, yes, we belong to each other.” Father Greg thinks he’s seeing a living example of what Paul means here. But then, he says, “As he got closer, I could see that the T-shirt ACTUALLY said, ‘PHILLY VS. EVERYBODY.’ Shoot. We were so close there. How do we arrive at a place and tenor of community that asserts: Nobody VS. Anybody? This is, in fact, a good definition of the kinship of God.”
* * *
Romans 8:10b-13
The Family of God
Writing to the churches in Rome, Paul lays out the believers’ new reality. They now belong to God and to each other, and the old distinctions have ended. Melissa Florer-Bixler urges us to see that the church is creating a new family for people, rooted in faith. She says that Jesus “unsettles the unexamined — this is the revelation. We are each called out of the safety and assumption of unity with our kin, often thin and veiled, and into a new life among strangers who will become for us and for creation la familia de Dios.” Building on the work of Ada María Isasi-Díaz, Florer-Bixler says that Jesus turns believers toward each other. “Instead of reforming the family or piecing together a life at odds with our deepest identity, Jesus turns us toward others. Isasi-Díaz hears a new response to the question posed by Jesus, “Who do you say I am?” “Latinas answer Jesus,” Isasi-Díaz writes: You are my brother, my sister, my mother and my father, my grandmother, aunt, uncle, comadre and compadre, who stands with me and who struggles with me. You are amazingly special to me because I am amazingly special to you. You are my big brother protecting me, and you are my little sister whom I protect. You are my husband, my wife, my partner, my significant other for whom I am precious and who loves me unconditionally. You and I are family, Jesus. What more can you be for me? What more do you want me to be for you? The shift from nuclear family to familia de Dios is significant” (from How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace).
Or, as Paul expresses it, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
* * *
Romans 8:10b-13
Seeing with One Perspective
There is no distinction between Jewish and Gentile believers, Paul reminds the early church. God sees everyone in the same way, and the believers are much more connected than they realize.
Brian Klaas, in his book Fluke, agrees, saying that “nothing is truly independent. Everything is part of a unified whole. A small group of humans has experienced this truth in a more visceral way than the rest of us.” The people who understand this best, he says, are the astronauts who have seen Earth from space. They all say the same thing afterward, Klaas says, “resetting worldviews in an instant.” He adds that these people are not typically woo-woo types. “NASA searched for potential recruits by looking for rational and robotic pragmatists, those least likely to be moved by emotion or awe. NASA worried that those with the dispositions of philosophers and poets might crash an aircraft at a crucial moment, overcome by the experience.”
And yet, “despite the astronauts being chosen based on their comparatively cold, unfeeling temperaments, those who have seen blue-green Earth in its entirety have become overwhelmed by a perspective-shattering epiphany. “It was the most beautiful, heart-catching sight of my life,” said Frank Borman, who commanded the Apollo 8 mission. Edgar Mitchell, the pilot of Apollo 14, agreed, noting that the experience provided him an “ecstasy of unity” and made him recognize the unbroken connection of existence. In gazing out that tiny window, it occurred to him “that the molecules of my body and the molecules of the spacecraft itself were manufactured long ago in the furnace of one of the ancient stars that burned in the heavens about me.” This reckoning with oneness is so common and profound for those who see Earth from the outside that it has a name: the overview effect. We remain stuck with a limited field of view. Expand that view, as the astronauts did gazing out of their spacecraft, and it immediately becomes clear that individualism is a mirage. Connection defines us.”
Or, as Paul says, “the same Lord is Lord of all.”
* * *
Psalm 92:1-2, 9-16
Reasons to Pray
The psalmist calls us into conversation with God, saying, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.”
Author Katherine May finds a richness in this kind of prayer. In her current prayer life, she says one reason for prayer is to understand her own feelings. “I find that the act of formulating my concerns into words is an excellent way to understand what I actually feel. Try to put your yearnings, heartaches, and desires into the most simple words possible. I don’t want this to happen. I really want this. I am upset. Make this an act of direct truth-telling to a consciousness that you can’t fool. That might simply be your own.”
She also suggests asking for nothing in our prayers. “I make it a principle not to pray for my own needs to be met. On a fundamental level, I don’t believe that anyone is going to solve anything for me anyway, but I also think it’s corrupting. So much of religion has been warped by the desire to acquire money and power. I don’t think it’s the best use of a prayer. Ask instead what you can do, express hopes and fears, or make resolutions.”
She also suggests asking ourselves, along the lines of the psalmist, “How do you believe you should talk to a higher power, even if that higher power is simply your best self? How should you structure your prayers? Everyone has to develop their own vocabulary for this. I find that using the simple formula ‘I pray that…’ is useful; it gets to the point. I also like to say what I’m grateful for; sometimes I have to remind myself to do this. There are times, though, when it’s more conversational, and I’m just speaking from my heart; there are also times when I have no words, and I just use the language of pure feeling.”
As the psalmist reminds us, there are many ways to enter the presence of the divine.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
Luke 4:1-13
Some people think that control equals love, and that power and control is the same thing as loving. However, to manipulate someone through love is actually abuse. Jesus understands that what the devil is displaying is the kind of worship and love that is about control, it is a power that is about trying to control others, instead of the kind of self-discipline that Jesus is displaying.
* * *
Romans 10:8b-13
There is a great picture of skeletons that makes the rounds sometimes. It identifies each skeleton as Black, White, Religious, Atheist, Straight, Gay, and Pirate. The point, of course, is that underneath, we are all made in God’s image.
Another recent meme going around is “There is no imago dei without DEI.” The diversity of humanity adds to our understanding of God, and yet we are not so different that we can say that it stands between us as children of God. There is nothing, after all, that separates us from the love of God. The point being that faith comes from God’s very self. God calls us to figure out how to become a community, especially in times like these. Not to say that we should not call out evil, we should. But remembering that we are all human and that dehumanizing one another will never be the answer.
* * *
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
God always answers us, but sometimes, surely, we wonder if we are on call waiting. Or perhaps the modern illustration is, “Is God every going to answer my text?” If God is our ever-present refuge, then why do we feel battered and bruised? What is the answer in this time of need? Where are the angels and messengers to help us now? However, we know God has answered before, so God will answer again. God’s promises are living ones, living into the future. It’s not so that we can shelter and do nothing, but so we can go forward and live our lives in the hope of a future with a God who wants us to live fully into an imperfect world. Even though this world is not perfect, we will continue, for God is with us, and that is sufficient.
* * *
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
The tying of God’s blessings to abundance, land, and a healthy environment is so beautiful. It reminds us that part of the blessings of God is that taking care of the community means providing enough, sharing in food, and understanding the land. We are all connected to one another. God’s abundance is about our interconnectedness. There is no “personal” relationship with God, because God is always about the ecologies of relationship. Heck, God’s very self isn’t even an individual. The Trinity calls us into relationships so that we might live abundantly and in abundance.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: When we live in the shelter of the Most High
All: We abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
One: Say to God, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”
All: We have made God our refuge, the Most High our dwelling place,
One: No evil shall befall us, no scourge come near us.
All: God will command the angels to guard us in all our ways.
OR
One: Come into the presence of your God and your Creator.
All: We come to worship and praise our God.
One: God calls us and welcomes us into the divine presence.
All: We long to be with the One who loves us so completely.
One: God wants to love us and through us to love others.
All: We welcome God’s love and will share it with others.
Hymns and Songs
Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days (For those who missed Ash Wednesday.)
UMH: 269
H82: 142
PH: 81
GTG: 166
NCH: 211
CH: 180
W&P: 252
O Love, How Deep
UMH: 267
H82: 448/449
PH: 83
GTG: 618
NCH: 209
LBW: 88
ELW: 322
W&P: 244
Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service
UMH: 581
H82: 610
PH: 427
CH: 461
LBW: 423
ELW: 712
W&P: 575
Renew: 286
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
GTG: 734
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
Lift High the Cross
UMH: 159
H82: 473
PH: 371
GTG: 826
AAHH: 242
NCH: 198
CH: 108
LBW: 377
ELW: 660
W&P: 287
Renew: 297
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
UMH: 381
H82: 708
PH: 387
GTG: 187
AAHH: 424
NNBH: 54
NCH: 252
CH: 558
LBW: 481
ELW: 789
W&P: 440
AMEC: 379
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
GTG: 724/725
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
I Need Thee Every Hour
UMH: 397
GTG: 735
AAHH: 451
NNBH: 303
NCH: 517
CH: 578
W&P: 476
AMEC: 327
A Charge to Keep I Have
UMH: 413
AAHH: 467/468
NNBH: 436
AMEC: 242
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
GTG: 738
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Refiner’s Fire
CCB: 79
Change My Heart, O God
CCB: 56
Renew: 143
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who always acts and speaks according to your divine nature:
Grant us, your children, to do likewise
so that with self control we may cease trying to control others;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you always act and speak from your own nature. Help us as your children to act like you so that by exercising self control we may lose the need to control others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our inordinate need to control others even as we fail to control ourselves.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We worry and fret about the behavior of others as we judge and often condemn them. We are so sure we know how they should behave. Yet we are woefully short of self-control. We think we can make things better for ourselves by controlling others when, in fact, happiness only comes from controlling ourselves. Forgive our foolishness and call us back to our true nature as your children. Renew your Spirit within us that we may control our own selves so we shine as your children. Amen.
One: God does not seek to control us but rather to help us control ourselves. Receive the power of the Spirit to know yourself and live out of your deepest self.
Prayers of the People
Glorious are you, O God in whom there is no self-deception. You know your own nature and are true to it.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We worry and fret about the behavior of others as we judge and often condemn them. We are so sure we know how they should behave. Yet we are woefully short of self-control. We think we can make things better for ourselves by controlling others when, in fact, happiness only comes from controlling ourselves. Forgive our foolishness and call us back to our true nature as your children. Renew your Spirit within us that we may control our own selves, so we shine as your children.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have blessed us. You have given us your own nature so that we reflect your image. You have filled us with your Spirit so that we may know our true nature as your children. We thank you for those who have modeled for us self-control and self-knowledge.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. There are so many who have been hurt by others trying to control them. So many of us have been hurt by our own failures to control ourselves. As you move among us wooing us into a relationship with you that draws out our true nature, help us to help others by our good example.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Light
by Dean Feldmeyer
Romans 10:8b-13
You Will Need: A flashlight and the battery(ies) that go with it. On each battery, put a piece of masking tape with “JESUS” written on it, but do not put the battery in the flashlight until you come to that place below.
When The Children Have Gathered, Say:
Good morning!
Okay, full disclosure…how many of you are afraid of the dark? Yeah, me too. I’m always afraid that I’ll trip over something, or I’ll step on a Lego that Mrs. Feldmeyer has left on the floor. Or I’m afraid I’ll stumble over my dog, Izzy. I’m just afraid there’s something in the dark that I can’t see, and I’ll get hurt because I couldn’t see it.
I mean, it could happen, right?
But when I get up in the night, I don’t want to turn on a light because I don’t want to wake up Mrs. Feldmeyer, so you know what I do? (Produce flashlight) I keep this flashlight beside my bed, and when I need to see, I (flip switch) turn it on. (Nothing — because there are no batteries in it. Make a big deal out of trying to get it to turn on, then finally remember the batteries and start to put them into the flashlight but stop.)
You know, this reminds me of how Jesus said he was the light of the world, and we should be like him and let our light shine so others can see us and know about him. But sometimes I think that we’re kind of like this flashlight. We want to produce light so others can see Jesus through us, but we can’t produce that light on our own; we need help.
The flashlight gets its help, its power, from batteries. And we get our power from (point to tape) Jesus! If we have Jesus in us, (put batteries in flashlight and turn it on as you speak) our light can shine brightly, and others can see Jesus because of us.
We are all Jesus lights, and by our light, other people can see Jesus and God. Right? Amen? Amen!
(Conclude with a prayer thanking God for the light of Jesus and asking God to help us shine as Jesus did so the world will come to see God’s face by our light.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 9, 2025 issue.
Copyright 2025 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Lenten Resistance by Chris Keating. Rather than reducing Jesus' temptations to a series of personal challenges akin to surviving an obstacle course or American Ninja challenge, Luke calls us to see temptations as moments of clarifying our baptismal identities.
- Second Thoughts: Ancient Future by Tom Willadsen based on Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Romans 10:8b-13, Luke 4:1-13, and Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16.
- Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children’s sermon: Light by Dean Feldmeyer based on Romans 10:8b-13.
Lenten Resistanceby Chris Keating
Luke 4:1-13
An easy-peasy approach to Jesus’ temptations in Luke is to reduce his wilderness tests to merely resisting personal temptations. Instead of encountering God’s response to the powers of the world, worshipers are offered what might be called a “more or less” approach to Lent — in other words, more of this, less of that.
More prayer, more service, more giving, less chocolate, less cursing, and less hours spent cruising Facebook. (Except, of course, on Sundays!)
But Jesus’ resistance to the tempter is more than refusing a bite of hand-dipped chocolate truffles. Jesus’ path through the wilderness reminds us that Lent involves resisting the powers of the world.
This Sunday, the church embarks on Lent’s familiar journey. We follow Christ through the wilderness, embodying actions and practices that Donald McKim has described as a reminder that “God has taken the initiative to change our human situation.” (McKim, Living Into Lent).
In the wilderness, Jesus encounters the tempter’s enticements. But these are more than indulging in extra helpings of dessert or seasoning our conversations with salty curse words. His forty-day trek through the wilderness demonstrates more than self-control over personal behaviors. Instead, Jesus is resisting the tempter’s enticement to worship at the altar of worldly power.
Jesus’ actions resist the sort of powers of the world embodied by the political ambitions described by policies such as President Donald Trump’s “America First” priorities. Jesus resists powers grounded in oppressing marginalized people or unduly benefiting the wealthy. He pursues peace that refuses to negotiate with dictators and names as evil powers that would remove healthcare for the poor or entitlements for the elderly. These are the powers Jesus renounces — resisting the temptation to possess the kingdoms of the world in exchange for pursuing the kingdom of God.
Instead of forgoing chocolate tidbits, Jesus suggests Lent’s better path is trusting that one does not live by bread alone. Instead of worshiping the batteries of human power, he reminds us that true power is found in giving his life for the sake of that world. As we embark on this forty-day pilgrimage, Luke 4:1-13 offers the reminder that faithful resistance is at the core of our Lenten disciplines.
In the News
Jesus endured forty days of temptations, which is just a few days shorter than Donald Trump’s return to the White House this year. The past few weeks have been marked by a frenzy of actions aimed at asserting American dominance. At times it has felt as if Trump has captured a glimpse of all the kingdoms of the world and announced, “Let’s make a deal!”
When Trump returned to the Capitol Tuesday, he entered the space where a previous Congress had endured an insurrection attempt prompted by his belief that President Biden’s election had been rigged. He stood before lawmakers who had debated his impeachment and Supreme Court justices who granted him nearly unlimited power. Jesus was placed on the pinnacle of the temple, while Trump stood on the precipice of power.
In the last forty-some days, Trump’s administration has tempted the country by disregarding the Constitution’s carefully framed separation of powers. Trump’s return to power has been marked by a dizzying array of actions, including executive orders, dismissals, directives, and wholesale dismantling of government functions. CNN Analyst Stephen Collinson suggests that Trump’s flexing of his authoritarian muscles has left other branches of government, his opponents, and voters “struggling to grasp what’s happening and unable to resist.”
It’s a stunning display of power moves that have been astonishing, but also alarming and possibly unconstitutional. He moves with the confidence of one to whom all authority and glory has been given. In January, one commentator predicted that the emergence of a second Trump presidency would be a “political darkness” marked by “chaos, dysfunction, sadism, corruption, and sycophancy” created by a plurality of voters who were tempted by Trump’s promises.
Writing in the New Republic, Sasha Abramsky described the results of temptation:
Nearly half of voters in this country were willing to make a bargain with the political devil in exchange for a promise of lower egg prices at the supermarket and gas prices at the pump — and in exchange for permission to give their ids free rein to gang up on marginalized “others,” be they asylum seekers or trans youth. Their votes will now unleash the attack dogs in our culture.
Trump seems to rule with the air of an omnipotent sovereign. He has often said that he considers himself empowered to do “whatever I want as President.” Recently that has included floating the idea of buying Greenland, initiating trade wars with allies such as Canada and Mexico, eliminating nearly all USAID foreign humanitarian assistance programs, banning transgender people from serving in the military, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to restore American greatness, and dozens more. His Sharpie® has been working overtime in signing more than 70 executive orders, many of which have been aimed at drastically restructuring the federal government.
“This whole thing about approaching a constitutional crisis is not quite true,” said Rep. James Clyburn, of South Carolina, a senior Democrat in the House. “We’re already there.”
No wonder it can feel as if Trump has looked at the kingdoms of the world and decided he likes what he sees. “He who saves his country does not violate any laws,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, apparently referencing a comment attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. Commenting on his delight that New York City had eliminated congestion pricing on tolls, Trump declared: “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD…LONG LIVE THE KING!”
And all of that was before last week’s Oval Office confrontation with Ukrainian President Zelensky. While White House chefs were hard at work plating up a luncheon marking a mineral trading agreement between Ukraine and the United States, Trump and Vance were dishing out rage against Zelensky. “Everything that could have gone wrong in a meeting between two headstrong leaders did, in the span of 10 minutes,” wrote CNN. Hopes for a peace settlement followed Zelensky out the White House doors.
By this week, the US had paused military aid to Ukraine — stranding a democratically elected ally in the midst of a war against a powerful dictator. It nearly sounded as if Trump was saying to Zelensky, “throw yourself down from here.”
The through line connecting these events seems to be this: Profess Trump as lord, or else be tossed from the kingdom.
In the Scriptures
Jesus’ temptations are the church’s familiar refrain for the First Sunday in Lent. The church reenacts Jesus’ hike through the wilderness each Lent as prologue to the Paschal drama. Liturgical historians remind us that originally Lent was a time when candidates for baptism were instructed in the faith. We approach these days not by foregoing candy or avoiding Starbucks. Instead, we journey with a Christ who enters the wilderness with baptismal water running down his back.
The commonalities between the Synoptic accounts of Jesus’ temptation point to a single source, though Luke has reordered the scene according to his purposes. In particular, note that Luke ends the temptations at the pinnacle of the temple, hinting at the importance Jerusalem plays in the gospel.
The tests are conducted by Satan, whom commentators note is not presented as an equal, but rather as an interlocutor or prosecutor intent on interrogating Jesus. Sharon Ringe (Ringe, Luke, Westminster Bible Companion) notes that not only are these tests prompted by the Holy Spirit’s leading, but that tempter arrives not to battle Jesus but rather to entrap him. It’s a full-scale sting operation, filled with questions designed to make Jesus consider the voice he has just heard at baptism.
The three tests symbolize the world’s understanding of power. First is the power to achieve self-satisfaction by turning stones into bread; second is the power that comes from ruling the world; and third is what Henri Nouwen once called the “temptation to be spectacular” (Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus).
Jesus refuses the tempter’s enticements. He grounds himself in the promises of Israel as recalled by Deuteronomy’s Shema: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deut. 6:4-9). Jesus is famished, but he understands that true power emerges from loving and serving God.
In the Sermon
Jesus’ temptations can be a comforting reminder of the vulnerability every human shall face. The man who was born under questionable circumstances, hunted by an emperor, exiled as a young child, and endures temptation — just like each of us. Yet the flipside of this is the circumstances appear unlikely to us. We understand temptation but may find it hard to imagine being confronted by an actual devil.
But we do understand that temptations are enticing. We may not have experience with a red-caped, long-tailed devil with a pitchfork, but we might have faced a moment when we could be swayed by promises of immediate power and elevated status. Jesus reminds us that our Christian identity and vocation is an act of resistance. Our sermon this first Sunday in Lent could call our congregations to the bold act not of giving up something but rather resisting invitations to become spectacular, to be relevant, to yield power over others. Jesus’ act of resistance calls us to consider the cost of embracing power as defined by the world.
Instead, Jesus walks the lonesome valley. He commits himself to a power formed not by conquest but by kenotic self-giving. He yields not to the Trumpian images of might making right, but to loving service, compassionate justice, and merciful peace.
Many colleagues have mentioned to me that Lent feels different this year. I suspect that is true no matter how you cast your ballot. Most of our congregations are blends of red and blue voters who may feel alienated and bewildered by the turn our country has taken. We find ourselves in a wilderness — which can either be a disaster or an opportunity. Let us remind them that when Israel was in the wilderness, they discovered the manna that God provided. Let us offer them images of Jesus, who struggled in the wilderness, but nonetheless resisted the call to be something other than who he was.
* * * * *
SECOND THOUGHTSAncient Future
by Tom Willadsen
In the Scriptures
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
The ritual described in this passage is probably connected to Pentecost, the Festival of First Fruits. It occurred seven weeks after Passover, so late May to mid-June. Pentecost was one of the three annual festivals to which male Jews were supposed to travel to Jerusalem each year.
The latter half of this reading, vv. 5b-11, may be the oldest passage of scripture. It refers to Jacob and recalls two foundational events in Jewish history: the exodus and the arrival in the promised land.
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
This psalm is the basis for “On Eagle’s Wings.” It’s also included here because of the reference that the devil makes to it in Luke 4:10-11 — proof that Shakespeare was correct: “Even the devil can quote scripture for his own purpose.” From Merchant of Venice
Romans 10:8b-13
Paul is addressing Israelites who have not found faith in Jesus at this point in Romans 10. His premise that Christ’s death has made the Law obsolete is behind his remarks. Paul refers to the Hebrew scriptures repeatedly in today’s passage. Verse 8 is a reference to Deuteronomy 30:14, v. 11 to Isaiah 28:16, and v. 13 to Joel 2:32. Verses 9 and 10 are likely parts of a very early Christian credal statement.
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness has never struck me as an especially dramatic story. Yes, after forty days he was famished. But the guy who can cater a feast for 5,000 men and their families starting with five loaves and two fish could probably whip something up out in the desert. He was hungry, but not desperate and stupid (cf. Esau, Genesis 25:29-34). In rebuffing the devil’s first temptation, Jesus stops short of the full citation from Deuteronomy 8:3, which goes on after Jesus’ speech, “but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (8:3, NRSV)
The devil’s second temptation, that Jesus would have authority over kingdoms if he worshiped him... again, the devil doesn’t have much to offer. Right before Jesus went to the wilderness, Dad had told him, “You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22, NRSV) This time, Jesus uses Deuteronomy 6:13 to rebuff Old Scratch.
For the final temptation, the devil quotes Psalm 91:11-12 to try to get Jesus to bungee jump off the temple without a bungee cord. Big whoop. Jesus again uses Deuteronomy, this time 6:16. Then Jesus headed back up north, home to Galilee.
This is a fitting text for Lent because Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, and Lent is forty days — with some clever accounting — from Ash Wednesday until Easter. But I have to say, a discipline like giving up sarcasm for Lent would be a much more difficult challenge for me than the devil put before Jesus in the desert.
In the News
It’s spring training season! If there were still newspapers, many would be rejoicing at seeing box scores for the first time in months. I’ve often thought that Lent and Spring Training are analogs, as are Easter and Opening Day. For Christians, Easter is as good as it gets. For Cubs fans, the same goes for Opening Day. Imagine: no runs, no hits, no errors…yet.
The President has been trying to dismantle the federal government for six weeks now. The equation of “federal government” with “waste, fraud, and inefficiency” is lazy, inaccurate, and insulting to all kinds of people who spend their careers researching, serving, and protecting us.
After the conversation the President had with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 28, it appears that American foreign policy’s basis is “a friend in need is a friend indeed.” One wonders when his fellow Republicans will object to his copious outright lies, like saying that Ukraine is the aggressor in the war.
See why I started with baseball?
In the Sermon
Early in this century, there was a movement among American Protestants known as “Paleo-orthodoxy,” or more commonly “Ancient Future.” It sought to return the church to its common roots before the schism of 1054, which split the western Roman church from the eastern Orthodox church. Ancient Future was the flavor of the week for churches trying to connect with young people. Solid doctrine and “smells and bells” were what hipsters craved, it was thought. Briefly.
Today’s lesson from Deuteronomy may contain the oldest liturgical language in Judaism, a formula that was to be recited once the Promised Land was finally attained. The words have a longing to them, even as they stretch back to the ancient, nomadic past. These words connect the reciter back to the living God, who acted mightily in bringing the people out of Egypt, the house of slavery, but also to their forebearers who struggled under slavery, famine, and oppression.
Jesus spoke words that were more than 1,000 years old in today’s gospel passage. They are still timely: One does not live by bread alone. Do not put the Lord to the test. Worship and serve the Lord only.
The first time the current president took office, pundits used the word “unprecedented” at rates never before seen. (See what I did there?) As this administration begins, it’s even more unprecedented (less precedented?). Perhaps a way forward is to look back — back to our nation’s founding documents.
We hold these truths to be self-evident…
Or perhaps the Gettysburg Address, which some historians have called the United States’ Second Founding: “…testing whether this nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure….”
In our original documents — documents at our origin — ancient texts, perhaps, we will find our future.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:Luke 4:1-13
The Emptiness of the Desert
As Jesus spends forty days in the desert, there’s a sense of emptiness about his time there. No distractions, nothing to eat, no one to talk to except the devil. Lindsey DeLoach Jones writes about this kind of emptiness, saying, “The Japanese have a concept they call Ma. It is a pause in time, an interval or emptiness in space. They consider space a prerequisite for growth, like the night hours when the sun does not shine on blooming flowers. Ma has been described as ‘an emptiness full of possibilities, like a promise yet to be fulfilled.’ In English, it takes many words to describe what the Japanese can understand in a single character. Of course, we have no language for the space between things. We are Americans, born and bred to eliminate the Ma of life, to squeeze profit and productivity out of every in-between space.”
As Lent begins, she offers this invitation: “What if we reclaimed pauses? What if we made spaces between things a non-negotiable way of life?”
* * *
Luke 4:1-13
Personalized Temptation
When the devil meets Jesus in the wilderness, he offers temptations geared to who Jesus is: physical hunger, power, and status — all of which would be alluring to a hungry, despised man of uncertain parentage.
In the same way, modern scammers look for ways to make their pitch personal. Gerd Gigerenzer writes, “Finding potential victims was once a trial-and-error operation, but the AI tools behind Facebook have made it easier. As they do for every advertiser, Facebook’s machine-learning algorithms help identify those users who are most likely to click on the fraudulent ad. Companies behind such scams, after camouflaging their ad content, pay Facebook on average $44,000 in advertising fees and make a return of $79,000…” When the appeal is personal, “international criminal groups therefore search for people on dating websites, which are designed for connecting strangers. They set up false user profiles, typically with edited pictures of stolen photographs, preferably of army officers, engineers, and attractive models. Then the crooks start a romantic relationship online, declare their love for the victim, and ask that they move from the dating site to instant messaging or email to start an exclusive relationship. During the grooming stage, many a victim falls in love. Some weeks or months later, after trust and love are gained, the criminals first ask for small amounts of money and then for more.” (from How to Stay Smart in a Smart World: Why Human Intelligence Still Beats Algorithms)
True temptation always hits home.
* * *
Romans 8:10b-13
Everybody Belongs
Paul writes to the believers in Rome that faith in God through Jesus melds them into one community. He tells them that “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.”
Father Greg Boyle says a recent plane ride reminded him of this. “I had the aisle seat in the exit row, with two homies flying home to Los Angeles from Philadelphia. As people boarded, I could see a very tall man making his way down the aisle. I tried to read the words printed on his shirt: 'PHILLY IS EVERYBODY.' I’m heartened. I think kinship, connection, exquisite mutuality, and, yes, we belong to each other.” Father Greg thinks he’s seeing a living example of what Paul means here. But then, he says, “As he got closer, I could see that the T-shirt ACTUALLY said, ‘PHILLY VS. EVERYBODY.’ Shoot. We were so close there. How do we arrive at a place and tenor of community that asserts: Nobody VS. Anybody? This is, in fact, a good definition of the kinship of God.”
* * *
Romans 8:10b-13
The Family of God
Writing to the churches in Rome, Paul lays out the believers’ new reality. They now belong to God and to each other, and the old distinctions have ended. Melissa Florer-Bixler urges us to see that the church is creating a new family for people, rooted in faith. She says that Jesus “unsettles the unexamined — this is the revelation. We are each called out of the safety and assumption of unity with our kin, often thin and veiled, and into a new life among strangers who will become for us and for creation la familia de Dios.” Building on the work of Ada María Isasi-Díaz, Florer-Bixler says that Jesus turns believers toward each other. “Instead of reforming the family or piecing together a life at odds with our deepest identity, Jesus turns us toward others. Isasi-Díaz hears a new response to the question posed by Jesus, “Who do you say I am?” “Latinas answer Jesus,” Isasi-Díaz writes: You are my brother, my sister, my mother and my father, my grandmother, aunt, uncle, comadre and compadre, who stands with me and who struggles with me. You are amazingly special to me because I am amazingly special to you. You are my big brother protecting me, and you are my little sister whom I protect. You are my husband, my wife, my partner, my significant other for whom I am precious and who loves me unconditionally. You and I are family, Jesus. What more can you be for me? What more do you want me to be for you? The shift from nuclear family to familia de Dios is significant” (from How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace).
Or, as Paul expresses it, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
* * *
Romans 8:10b-13
Seeing with One Perspective
There is no distinction between Jewish and Gentile believers, Paul reminds the early church. God sees everyone in the same way, and the believers are much more connected than they realize.
Brian Klaas, in his book Fluke, agrees, saying that “nothing is truly independent. Everything is part of a unified whole. A small group of humans has experienced this truth in a more visceral way than the rest of us.” The people who understand this best, he says, are the astronauts who have seen Earth from space. They all say the same thing afterward, Klaas says, “resetting worldviews in an instant.” He adds that these people are not typically woo-woo types. “NASA searched for potential recruits by looking for rational and robotic pragmatists, those least likely to be moved by emotion or awe. NASA worried that those with the dispositions of philosophers and poets might crash an aircraft at a crucial moment, overcome by the experience.”
And yet, “despite the astronauts being chosen based on their comparatively cold, unfeeling temperaments, those who have seen blue-green Earth in its entirety have become overwhelmed by a perspective-shattering epiphany. “It was the most beautiful, heart-catching sight of my life,” said Frank Borman, who commanded the Apollo 8 mission. Edgar Mitchell, the pilot of Apollo 14, agreed, noting that the experience provided him an “ecstasy of unity” and made him recognize the unbroken connection of existence. In gazing out that tiny window, it occurred to him “that the molecules of my body and the molecules of the spacecraft itself were manufactured long ago in the furnace of one of the ancient stars that burned in the heavens about me.” This reckoning with oneness is so common and profound for those who see Earth from the outside that it has a name: the overview effect. We remain stuck with a limited field of view. Expand that view, as the astronauts did gazing out of their spacecraft, and it immediately becomes clear that individualism is a mirage. Connection defines us.”
Or, as Paul says, “the same Lord is Lord of all.”
* * *
Psalm 92:1-2, 9-16
Reasons to Pray
The psalmist calls us into conversation with God, saying, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.”
Author Katherine May finds a richness in this kind of prayer. In her current prayer life, she says one reason for prayer is to understand her own feelings. “I find that the act of formulating my concerns into words is an excellent way to understand what I actually feel. Try to put your yearnings, heartaches, and desires into the most simple words possible. I don’t want this to happen. I really want this. I am upset. Make this an act of direct truth-telling to a consciousness that you can’t fool. That might simply be your own.”
She also suggests asking for nothing in our prayers. “I make it a principle not to pray for my own needs to be met. On a fundamental level, I don’t believe that anyone is going to solve anything for me anyway, but I also think it’s corrupting. So much of religion has been warped by the desire to acquire money and power. I don’t think it’s the best use of a prayer. Ask instead what you can do, express hopes and fears, or make resolutions.”
She also suggests asking ourselves, along the lines of the psalmist, “How do you believe you should talk to a higher power, even if that higher power is simply your best self? How should you structure your prayers? Everyone has to develop their own vocabulary for this. I find that using the simple formula ‘I pray that…’ is useful; it gets to the point. I also like to say what I’m grateful for; sometimes I have to remind myself to do this. There are times, though, when it’s more conversational, and I’m just speaking from my heart; there are also times when I have no words, and I just use the language of pure feeling.”
As the psalmist reminds us, there are many ways to enter the presence of the divine.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:Luke 4:1-13
Some people think that control equals love, and that power and control is the same thing as loving. However, to manipulate someone through love is actually abuse. Jesus understands that what the devil is displaying is the kind of worship and love that is about control, it is a power that is about trying to control others, instead of the kind of self-discipline that Jesus is displaying.
* * *
Romans 10:8b-13
There is a great picture of skeletons that makes the rounds sometimes. It identifies each skeleton as Black, White, Religious, Atheist, Straight, Gay, and Pirate. The point, of course, is that underneath, we are all made in God’s image.
Another recent meme going around is “There is no imago dei without DEI.” The diversity of humanity adds to our understanding of God, and yet we are not so different that we can say that it stands between us as children of God. There is nothing, after all, that separates us from the love of God. The point being that faith comes from God’s very self. God calls us to figure out how to become a community, especially in times like these. Not to say that we should not call out evil, we should. But remembering that we are all human and that dehumanizing one another will never be the answer.
* * *
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
God always answers us, but sometimes, surely, we wonder if we are on call waiting. Or perhaps the modern illustration is, “Is God every going to answer my text?” If God is our ever-present refuge, then why do we feel battered and bruised? What is the answer in this time of need? Where are the angels and messengers to help us now? However, we know God has answered before, so God will answer again. God’s promises are living ones, living into the future. It’s not so that we can shelter and do nothing, but so we can go forward and live our lives in the hope of a future with a God who wants us to live fully into an imperfect world. Even though this world is not perfect, we will continue, for God is with us, and that is sufficient.
* * *
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
The tying of God’s blessings to abundance, land, and a healthy environment is so beautiful. It reminds us that part of the blessings of God is that taking care of the community means providing enough, sharing in food, and understanding the land. We are all connected to one another. God’s abundance is about our interconnectedness. There is no “personal” relationship with God, because God is always about the ecologies of relationship. Heck, God’s very self isn’t even an individual. The Trinity calls us into relationships so that we might live abundantly and in abundance.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: When we live in the shelter of the Most High
All: We abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
One: Say to God, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”
All: We have made God our refuge, the Most High our dwelling place,
One: No evil shall befall us, no scourge come near us.
All: God will command the angels to guard us in all our ways.
OR
One: Come into the presence of your God and your Creator.
All: We come to worship and praise our God.
One: God calls us and welcomes us into the divine presence.
All: We long to be with the One who loves us so completely.
One: God wants to love us and through us to love others.
All: We welcome God’s love and will share it with others.
Hymns and Songs
Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days (For those who missed Ash Wednesday.)
UMH: 269
H82: 142
PH: 81
GTG: 166
NCH: 211
CH: 180
W&P: 252
O Love, How Deep
UMH: 267
H82: 448/449
PH: 83
GTG: 618
NCH: 209
LBW: 88
ELW: 322
W&P: 244
Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service
UMH: 581
H82: 610
PH: 427
CH: 461
LBW: 423
ELW: 712
W&P: 575
Renew: 286
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
GTG: 734
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
Lift High the Cross
UMH: 159
H82: 473
PH: 371
GTG: 826
AAHH: 242
NCH: 198
CH: 108
LBW: 377
ELW: 660
W&P: 287
Renew: 297
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
UMH: 381
H82: 708
PH: 387
GTG: 187
AAHH: 424
NNBH: 54
NCH: 252
CH: 558
LBW: 481
ELW: 789
W&P: 440
AMEC: 379
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
GTG: 724/725
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
I Need Thee Every Hour
UMH: 397
GTG: 735
AAHH: 451
NNBH: 303
NCH: 517
CH: 578
W&P: 476
AMEC: 327
A Charge to Keep I Have
UMH: 413
AAHH: 467/468
NNBH: 436
AMEC: 242
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
GTG: 738
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Refiner’s Fire
CCB: 79
Change My Heart, O God
CCB: 56
Renew: 143
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who always acts and speaks according to your divine nature:
Grant us, your children, to do likewise
so that with self control we may cease trying to control others;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you always act and speak from your own nature. Help us as your children to act like you so that by exercising self control we may lose the need to control others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our inordinate need to control others even as we fail to control ourselves.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We worry and fret about the behavior of others as we judge and often condemn them. We are so sure we know how they should behave. Yet we are woefully short of self-control. We think we can make things better for ourselves by controlling others when, in fact, happiness only comes from controlling ourselves. Forgive our foolishness and call us back to our true nature as your children. Renew your Spirit within us that we may control our own selves so we shine as your children. Amen.
One: God does not seek to control us but rather to help us control ourselves. Receive the power of the Spirit to know yourself and live out of your deepest self.
Prayers of the People
Glorious are you, O God in whom there is no self-deception. You know your own nature and are true to it.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We worry and fret about the behavior of others as we judge and often condemn them. We are so sure we know how they should behave. Yet we are woefully short of self-control. We think we can make things better for ourselves by controlling others when, in fact, happiness only comes from controlling ourselves. Forgive our foolishness and call us back to our true nature as your children. Renew your Spirit within us that we may control our own selves, so we shine as your children.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have blessed us. You have given us your own nature so that we reflect your image. You have filled us with your Spirit so that we may know our true nature as your children. We thank you for those who have modeled for us self-control and self-knowledge.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. There are so many who have been hurt by others trying to control them. So many of us have been hurt by our own failures to control ourselves. As you move among us wooing us into a relationship with you that draws out our true nature, help us to help others by our good example.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN’S SERMONLight
by Dean Feldmeyer
Romans 10:8b-13
You Will Need: A flashlight and the battery(ies) that go with it. On each battery, put a piece of masking tape with “JESUS” written on it, but do not put the battery in the flashlight until you come to that place below.
When The Children Have Gathered, Say:
Good morning!
Okay, full disclosure…how many of you are afraid of the dark? Yeah, me too. I’m always afraid that I’ll trip over something, or I’ll step on a Lego that Mrs. Feldmeyer has left on the floor. Or I’m afraid I’ll stumble over my dog, Izzy. I’m just afraid there’s something in the dark that I can’t see, and I’ll get hurt because I couldn’t see it.
I mean, it could happen, right?
But when I get up in the night, I don’t want to turn on a light because I don’t want to wake up Mrs. Feldmeyer, so you know what I do? (Produce flashlight) I keep this flashlight beside my bed, and when I need to see, I (flip switch) turn it on. (Nothing — because there are no batteries in it. Make a big deal out of trying to get it to turn on, then finally remember the batteries and start to put them into the flashlight but stop.)
You know, this reminds me of how Jesus said he was the light of the world, and we should be like him and let our light shine so others can see us and know about him. But sometimes I think that we’re kind of like this flashlight. We want to produce light so others can see Jesus through us, but we can’t produce that light on our own; we need help.
The flashlight gets its help, its power, from batteries. And we get our power from (point to tape) Jesus! If we have Jesus in us, (put batteries in flashlight and turn it on as you speak) our light can shine brightly, and others can see Jesus because of us.
We are all Jesus lights, and by our light, other people can see Jesus and God. Right? Amen? Amen!
(Conclude with a prayer thanking God for the light of Jesus and asking God to help us shine as Jesus did so the world will come to see God’s face by our light.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 9, 2025 issue.
Copyright 2025 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
