Dear Friends in Christ,

Sunday we celebrated with pancakes, sausage, and pancake races; we burned the palms from last year's Passiontide to make ashes for Wednesday's rounds of masses; we had a great time.

And then on Wednesday we turned our attention to Lent. As we received ashes, we heard again those words, "Remember that thou art dust, and unto dust shalt thou return." Our Lenten fast, and our Lenten journey, has begun.

This evening we walked the way of the cross with Stations and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

And Sunday we'll hear again the story of Jesus's temptation in the wilderness. You know the tale: immediately following his baptism, Jesus goes into the desert to pray and meditate -- and there he meets the devil, who tempts him with three things: food, power, and protection from danger.

For a hungry person, meeting physical needs seems like the most important thing one can do. But the devil is lying. By asking Jesus to do a magic trick, he draws the focus away from the importance and holiness of sustenance to a trick of power -- to putting self first above God.

In asking Jesus to worship the devil in order to be rewarded with earthly power, the same thing is happening: a power play to put self above God's loving purposes.

And finally, the devil dares Jesus to jump off the top of the temple to test God--to show Jesus's own power and importance--promising that angels will catch Jesus so he does not get hurt.

Each time Jesus responds with scripture, arguing against the devil's advice, interpretation, and promises.

There are three things that strike me in this story.

The first is that the things that the devil is offering are really, really attractive! Who doesn't want some food when hungry? Who doesn't want worldly power? Who doesn't want to feel protected, important, and safe?! Perhaps nothing is wrong in and of themselves in these things--but the way the devil promises them is diverting, drawing the attention from God, and placing creative power in our own hands.

And that's the second thing. The devil always lies. The things he promises are not really his to give -- not for long at least. What seems like an exciting, promising thing may actually be a complete and total sham that takes us away from the good that God has in mind for us.

And finally, the devil is really clever--and so Jesus has to be prepared. He doesn't encounter the devil without a thorough knowledge of who God is--and even a thorough knowledge of scripture! Jesus has been preparing for this moment.

And the devil, thwarted, leaves him until "an opportune time."

Part of our work this Lent is to discern what's real and what's false: to trust the promises of God and to discern and reject the lies of the devil--the lies that lead us to evil, to desolation, and to despair. Part of our work is learning to ask and work for the good things God has in mind for us. To see God as the source of all that is good. And to recognize that anything outside God's goodness is not really good at all--it's just a lie.

To do that, we need some preparation. We need the sacraments. We need a knowledge of who God is, of what scripture says. Of who we ourselves are -- the good parts and the bad. And we need to know first and foremost that we are beloved -- all of us -- by God.

That's what we are practicing this Lent.

Come and walk the way of the cross on Fridays. Come to mass on Sunday (or any of the other days during the week!). Come pray the Great Litany together. And join together as Fr Jett leads us in a conversation about how the Prayer Book draws us closer to the sacraments -- and in them how we are drawn closer to God.

Prayers for a Holy Lent. See you in church.

Yours in the love of Christ,