From Security to Generosity - Seeking God's Way - Lent 1

March 6, 2022 marks a new beginning for our congregation.  It is the first Sunday in 2 years that we will be gathering in our sanctuary for planned in person worship, with a number of other people joining us by Zoom. While we hope all will go well, we also recognize there may be unforeseen glitches, which will call us to patience.  May God bless this fresh start, and may we use it to God's glory.

March 6 also marks the first Sunday in Lent. The Lenten worship theme for this year is Seeking God's Ways - an exploration of how God calls us to think, and from what natural human ways we are being called to turn. The introduction in the Leader magazine says:

"Scripture after Scripture is about how people think God offers one thing (privilege), but what God really offers looks quite different (inclusion); how we think the world works one way (scarcity), but really it works a different way (abundance); how we think power means one thing (control), but it is really found in something else (solidarity).
Lent is a time to repent—to turn from our ways and recommit
ourselves to the ways of God as revealed in Jesus." 

 So let us embark on this Lenten journey. With the weekly scripture passages as our guide, may we truly move toward following God's ways. 

The passages for the 1st Sunday in Lent are:

• Deuteronomy 26:1-19: a call to worship God with first fruits,
• Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16: a psalm of God's protection
• Luke 4:1-13: the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness
• Romans 10:8b-13: a reminder that trust leads to understanding

At first glance it seems these passages are very different, with no connecting thread.  Looking through the lens of series themes, however, a new picture emerges.

The Deuteronomy passage reminds us that all good things we have, including the land we live on, are God's. God has led us to where we are and we should be thankful and acknowledge God's grace and goodness in allowing us so much. As we watch as people are fleeing for their lives, leaving behind their "things", we need to remember how much we have been given and how vulnerable possessions are.  We need to recognize that our security is not in our things, for they can be taken away, but in God's goodness, which will not go away, and which allows us to live such settled and prosperous lives. All around us we hear messages of scarcity, that we need more to be secure, to be safe, to have enough. God's message is that God is enough. We should be thankful for all God has allowed us to have, and we should share, not out of what's left over when we think we have had enough, but out of our "first fruits" - out of every gift or earning we have received.  Many of our ancestors, like the Israelites, were uprooted and "wandering." We should be ready to help others, who, like our forebearers, have been led to our country, our city.  God is our security, and theirs, and God calls us to generosity.

The Psalm also reminds us of the hope and protection offered by God. It does not promise nothing will ever go wrong, but it does look to God, who promises to be with us and hold us secure in the knowledge of God's gracious and powerful presence. Worrying will not help. We do not need to be afraid. We do not need to hang on to everything we have, God is holding on to us.

The Romans passage speaks to trust leading to understanding, leading to confession, leading to freedom and wholeness. There is no financial planning or security system advice, just an encouragement to trust God. We can know that God is with us and will take care of us. We need to remind ourselves to trust, and, in that trust, continue to build relationship with God through prayer and scripture reading and meeting with other followers.  This way we can move to a better understanding of who God is and what God wants. Then we need to be true to our beliefs in our words and deeds. Then we will be free and whole, no matter what happens to our possessions. Once again, God is the One in whom our security lies.

The Luke passage is the familiar story of Jesus being tempted to turn rocks into bread to take away his hunger, to jump off a tall building to prove God's love and protection, and to bow down to the tempter as a short cut to fame, glory, and riches. Can we relate to these temptations? How often have we been really hungry?  How often are people struggling to maintain a healthy weight because food is just so accessible?  I know I eat even when I'm not hungry - and, though I've never gone 40 days without food, I am not very discriminating when I feel hungry. How often do we begin to doubt that God really cares?  How often do we try to test God by our wants or needs, like "If you really loved me God you would grant me this thing, or have that thing happen"? Do we not also look for an easy way to financial security?  How many people have been caught up in get rich quick schemes? How many of us really don't want to get something for nothing? I think we are all tempted in one way or another. Jesus shows us, however, that even when we can justify our actions, even by quoting verses from the Bible, they may not be right. Our priority is not supposed to be ourselves and our comfort, but God and God's loving ways. If we focus on God, our true stronghold and guide, we can better understand what is the right thing to do.

As we enter into the season of Lent, let us reflect on where our true security lies. Is it in owning things? Is it in abundant eating? Is it in control over our own situation and that of others? All these can be taken away from us, but God is with us always. Perhaps with the knowledge of God's care and protection, we can move to generosity, to giving so others may see God's love through us. Perhaps without the fear of what will happen if we don't have enough, we can see we do have enough to share.  Perhaps if we focus on God's goodness, love and generosity, we, too, can move from worrying about our own security to giving to others with a God blessed generosity.

During this season of Lent, may we all shift our focus from ourselves and our needs to God, who gives generously.  

May God surround you with loving, protecting arms so you can know, deep down, that God is with you, and all will be well.