The Gospel from Matthew this Sunday Lent 1, Feb. 26 is about Jesus 3 temptations. Temptation is an inner battle we all face and appropriate on the first Sunday in Lent
This text and video are from the Diocese of Atlanta, Bishop Rob Wright and their 5 part Lent series, “Jesus makes the difference”
“The devil’s first move on Jesus and on all of us is to come for your sense of identity in God. At his baptism Jesus heard God say, “This is my son with whom I am well pleased.” God said it to Jesus, and he said it to anyone who was listening. Seems clear and settled doesn’t it, but just a few verses later the devil leads with, “If you are the Son of God turn stones into bread. In a repeat attack, the devil says, “If you are the son of God jump off the temple steeple into the arms of waiting angels.”
“Notice, the devil always tries to bend God’s resolute exclamation points into insecure question marks! The difference between Jesus and the devil is that Jesus knows he doesn’t have to prove who he is to God. He knows he doesn’t have to earn God’s love. He knows he can’t earn or lose God’s approval. Jesus knows that we are so much more to God than we can produce or fail to produce. Jesus’ example in this exchange can be difference making for us if we let it. Jesus doesn’t question our identity, ever. We are God’s beloved, full stop. We are invited to trust our reflection in God’s eyes first and always! We are invited to “let love be genuine” as a means of feeding ourselves and the world. We are invited to love what God loves, which is always sincerity and not spectacle. – Bishop Rob Wright, Diocese of Atlanta