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Dear Covenant Family,
This year’s Lenten theme is wilderness, and last Sunday we considered how Jesus reacted when faced with temptation in the desert. Though he was hungry and alone, his quest strengthened him for the journey ahead. He was prepared for suffering, deprivation, and doubt because he had immersed himself in study of the scriptures and a life of prayer. In his baptism, he heard God’s voice calling him beloved and he carried that belovedness with him so closely that the Accuser’s lies could not penetrate his heart.
Recently I’ve been reading The First Nations Version of the New Testament, where personal names and place names are used in traditionally indigenous ways. For example, in the version of the temptation story below, you’ll notice Satan is referred to as the evil trickster and Jesus is called, The Creator Sets Free. Just as in Hebrew culture at the time of the New Testament, names have always had special meaning in Native cultures. Sometimes reading familiar passages in new ways can nudge our hearts into wondering and listening more deeply.
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) followed the guidance of the Spirit, who took him into the desert wilderness to be tested by Accuser (Satan), the evil trickster snake. For forty days and nights Creator Sets Free (Jesus) ate nothing. His body became weak, and his hunger grew strong.
When the evil snake saw that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was weak and hungry, he came to him and whispered in his ear.“Are you the Son of the Great Spirit?” he hissed. “Prove it by turning these stones into frybread.” “The Sacred Teachings are clear,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said. “Human beings cannot live only on frybread, but on all the words that come from the mouth of the Great Spirit.”
The evil trickster then took him to the Great Spirit’s sacred lodge in Village of Peace (Jerusalem). He set him at the very top, high above the village. “Prove you are the Son of the Great Spirit and jump down from here!” the evil snake taunted him. “Do not the Sacred Teachings also say, ‘His spirit-messengers will watch over you to keep you from harm. They will even keep your foot from hitting a stone’? “Yes,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said back to him, “but they also say, ‘Do not test the Great Spirit.’” Once more the evil trickster took him to a high mountain and showed him all the great nations of the world with their power and beauty. “All of these I will give you,” the snake said smoothly, “if you will highly honor me and walk in my ways!” “Get away from me, Accuser (Satan)!” he responded. “For it is written in the Sacred Teachings, ‘The Great Spirit is the only one to honor and serve.’”The evil trickster could think of nothing more to test him with, so he slithered away to wait for another time. Then spirit-messengers came to give comfort and strength to Creator Sets Free (Jesus). (Matthew 4:1-11 First Nations Version)
We all have times of wandering in the desert, whether it is a physical pilgrimage or a spiritual test of endurance. What are the practices we can nurture to prepare ourselves? Here are a few I suggest- corporate worship, personal prayer and Bible reading, immersion in nature without our devices, and honoring the Sabbath. What are the spiritual practices that keep you grounded? What might you do differently this Lent to journey with Jesus?
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