Exhortation, First Sunday of Lent

After His baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and to be tempted by the devil for forty days and nights. The first temptation concerned food. Jesus was the new Adam, facing a food test not in a garden but in the wilderness. Jesus was the new Israel, hungering in the desert but refusing to grumble or distrust His Father.

Satan tried to get Jesus to turn stones into bread, but Jesus answered, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy, where Moses explained the reason for Israel’s hunger in the wilderness: Yahweh caused Israel “to humble you and to test you.” For Moses and Jesus, hunger is a teacher. Hunger teaches dependence. Hunger teaches us that we have no life in ourselves, and need life from outside. By teaching dependence, hunger teaches humility.

This past Wednesday, we entered the Christian season of Lent, and Jesus’ fast in the wilderness is a model for Lent. Lent is a season of preparation for Easter, a forty-day fast in anticipation of the feast. Lent is the season of hunger.

Christians often observe Lent by fasting from some pleasure or luxury. That is perfectly fine. But if you are observing Lent in that way, remember the words of Jesus and Moses. Remember what hunger is supposed to teach you.

We know from the Pharisees’ example that fasting can become an occasion for pride, but observing Lent with pride is a contradiction. Lent is a season of hunger, and is designed to teach us the lesson of hunger, which is the lesson of humility.