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The First Sunday of Lent, February 10, 2008

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT

The Rev'd W. Lee Shaw

Today we have three lessons which complement each other almost perfectly: the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden leading to their expulsion; the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness and his strong words of, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. And finally Paul’s summary of why the temptation in the Garden and Jesus’ ministry are linked together and to us.

For me, however, this Gospel reading is much more personal. As I ended my second year of seminary I had serious doubts about the viability of Priesthood for me. My first two years were full of challenges unanticipated and griefs unseen. (Little did I know that my senior year would be the greatest test with heart surgery!) So, as I planned my return to Berkeley, CA, I set aside time for a personal retreat at the Society of St. Paul’s Retreat Center in Palm Desert, CA.

I went there in August. Palm Desert in August. Daily highs around 120. I had the retreat center to myself. The small community of monks, a black cat and me in a very attractive retreat center created from an old apartment complex once owned by the actor who play Hopalong Cassidy on TV.

I met with Fr. Barnabas as my spiritual director. He gave me the story of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness in Matthew, Mark and Luke as my text for the retreat. Then he added, you never know what demons you will find in the desert. I will always remember his words.

I spent a week going through the texts, reading commentaries, praying, writing in my journal, attending daily services in the quiet chapel and taking long walks in the cool of the evening. I spent that hot week in Palm Desert confronting my demons. And I found my demons had some striking similarities with those Jesus faced.

Each of us are tempted with those words that cut the very core of a human being’s understanding of him or herself: If you are… For Jesus it was, “If you are the Son of God…. For me it was calling into question all that I thought I knew of myself and my ministry as a lay person. All my hopes and my intentions were called into question with the, If you are…. If you are righteous enough, good enough, religious enough, smart enough, spiritual enough, pretend to be straight enough, authentic enough, on and on and on. During those sweltering days I confronted my demons one by one. And I know that if I had not taken that time to go intentionally into the desert to confront them, I would not be here with you today.

I encourage each of you to look at your temptations, your demons. What are the If you are… questions in your life? Confront them. Pray over them. Use this Lenten time to seek God’s will for you in the deserts of your life, the lonely places of your life. We read that Jesus faced his demons once in the wilderness. We face our own demons on a regular basis, and they need to be confronted and prayed over on a regular basis.

On Ash Wednesday I encouraged you to look at Lent differently this year. Don’t concentrate so much on fasting or taking on new disciplines, rather look at how your journey with and in God can work in conjunction with God’s will for you. From the Litany of Penitence I noted: Accomplish in us the work of your salvation; that we may show forth your glory in the world.

Enter into this Lent as a journey with God to do his will in the world so that he may accomplish you the work of salvation and that you may show in your word and life God’s love to those around you.

Lent is often seen as a time of journey or pilgrimage, and this image takes on new depth for two of us at St. Stephen’s as we leave Thursday on the diocesan sponsored pilgrimage to Myanmar (Burma). Susan Fischer and I will be gone for two weeks visiting our Anglican brothers and sisters in Myanmar. We will also carry with us in over stuffed duffle bags the fleece blankets and jackets collected last year by the diocese. (Many, many from St. Stephen’s.)

We will attend the liturgy of the Installation and Enthronement of the new Archbishop of Myanmar, since they are their own Anglican Province. Bishop Carolyn will represent Presiding Bishop Katharine in the liturgy.

We will visit Anglicans in Yangon (Rangoon), Toungoo, and go north to the Chinese border to Bishop David’s diocese of Myitkyina. You will remember Bishop David and his wife visited us two years ago and attended our WOW dinner and service.

Later in the service I will ask Virgil Knight, our Senior Warden, to commission Susan and me on behalf of the community of St. Stephen’s and the Diocese of Utah. All of the Myanmar pilgrims are being commissioned today and I ask for your continued prayers as we go on this pilgrimage.

May this Lent be for all of us a season of confronting our demons and in which God may accomplish in us the work of his salvation so that we may show forth God’s glory in the world both in word and in deed.