1. Good Morning. Let’s pray. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
2. Well we have entered the season of Lent – a time when we are encouraged to embrace needed changes in our lives. If ever there was a time for friends, husbands and wives to talk to one another about changes that perhaps should be considered this is it. Ha!
Now please don’t use my previous statement to “beat up” on your spouse or friend. This is not a time to badger, nag or harangue! –ha!
The focus is on us and our need to become more and more like Christ. A loving spouse or friend can perhaps help us to focus on an area that really needs to be focused on. The challenge though for our spouse or friend is to stop after giving his or her thoughts and suggestions and not try to effect that change through forms of manipulation. Rather we must leave it up to God and the person in question must to decide to effect the necessary changes and by the way that will probably mean we will have to make some changes in ourselves.
Our Scripture readings today had at least one strong theme and that was the reality of humanity’s universal weakness before “temptations.”
We saw that in our first reading where Adam and Eve succumbed to the wily temptations of the serpent and we saw it again when Jesus was tempted by Satan.
Our Psalm reading was the beloved 51st Psalm which, I’m sure, some of us might even know by heart:
Psa. 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa. 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
This Psalm is especially appropriate to reflect upon during our 40 days of this penitential Lenten season.
3. So let’s step back and listen to what our Lord might be saying to us through today’s Scripture readings.
God gave us this terrible freedom of will to either love Him and to choose to follow Him or to love ourselves and choose to fulfill our own desires.
One choice leads ultimately to a life of peace and freedom while the other leads to a life of psychic turmoil and bondage to our errant and insatiable desires.
Adam and Eve chose to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In other words, they chose to be like God. They chose to know what is good and what is evil and the immediate consequence of this choice was immediately telling.
Do you remember what happened? They saw their nakedness and immediately covered up. The nakedness of which they were now conscious symbolizes the breakdown of intimacy between themselves and God. When intimacy breaks down we suddenly see our differences – those things that differentiate us from one another. But when in love we look through eyes that see only what is enchanting.
Can you see what was fundamentally lost?
It was trust between God and the jewel of His creation – the human being. God could no longer trust us!
Trust is such a fundamentally valuable quality isn’t it?
Do you trust anyone . . . ultimately? Can you imagine the one you love forsaking all seductions to prove trustworthy to you or can you imagine your beloved being seduced by someone or something else? If you have then you have experienced the sadness of God!
To know that the one you love values you above anybody and anything else . . . is such a magnificent and yet rare realization!
This is what God desires ultimately from us and, interestingly enough, it’s what we desire ultimately from one another isn’t it?
But it’s such a very very rare virtue.
Let me suggest something about this Lent and it’s this – God would like you to be more trustworthy at the end of this Lent than you are right now.
What I mean by this is that your “Yes” is yes and your “No” is no and not maybe or perhaps!
God wants to be able to trust you! He wants you and me to be worthy of His trust and also the trust of others.
Application: Now I know that this was a fundamental issue in my relationship with Randi at the beginning but over the years as she and I have grown in virtue I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I can trust her with my life – with my very soul!
Now that doesn’t say a great deal about me but it says tons about her.
Can you say that about anyone close to you?
If you can’t let me say that I’m absolutely certain that you wish you could.
You see, we know that trust is probably the most valued quality there is when it comes to our relationship with other human beings.
Can I trust you? Can I trust you with my life? With my children? With my wife? With my wealth? With my health? With my soul?
How much can I trust you? How much can I trust God?
I heard a story years ago that will illustrate this point and I think it appropriate given what happened in Japan just two days ago.
A terrible earthquake hit several years ago in Turkey. Many small villages were devastated by the shock. In one small village lived a man and his son Armand. How that father loved Armand. He was the light in his eye; the beat in his heart. He loved him so much. On the day of the quake, Armand went off to school as he had so many other mornings. His dad told him as he left, "After school today I'll come for you!" When the quake hit, the whole village was demolished, including the school. It was a brick structure which just disintegrated and collapsed into a pile of rubble. Armand's father was terror-stricken and ran to the school to see about Armand. When I think of that tragedy, it makes me think of the plight of humanity. I think of the heap of evil, the pile of wrongdoing we are under while we indulge the flesh, follow our own dictates and are separated from Christ.
Knowing his son needed to be rescued, Armand's father joined the entire town in yanking off bricks and other fallen debris. They were desperate to reach the children who were buried there. For 2, 4, 6 hours they labored feverishly. Evening came and they worked; 8, 10, 16 hours. When morning came, some quit toiling and headed home. They argued, "there are no survivors; there is only silence; there is no use in digging any more." A handful stayed and worked, 18, 20, 24 hours. Then, they too left -- but not Armand's father. Others urged him, "you have to quit! Come with us! It's hopeless! Armand is dead; there's nothing you can do!" "No!" he said, "i told Armand I would come for him!" And ignoring them, Armand's father kept pulling off bricks and rubble seeking his son and any other survivors; 30, 32, 34 36 hours and he kept pulling rubble off the pile. Though others quit, he would not give up!
Armand's dad refused to quit searching! So, on the 38th hour Armand's father pulled off a piece of the demolished building and looked down and saw a hole, and through the hole he saw two little eyes -- two little eyes looking up appealingly into his! And Armand said, "dad, I knew you'd come for me! You said you would come for me!" Armand's father kept pulling rubble away; he saw other children in the hole. He reached down to Armand and said, "come on, Armand! I'll lift you out!" Armand said, "No, dad, no! Take the other children first; they're afraid. I told them you'd come for me -- and you came! I know you'll come back for me!" He lifted out all the other children, then reached down and took Armand's hand and lifted him out. How like Jesus!
Do you trust your heavenly Father like that boy trusted his earthly Father?
Can God – can I – can we – trust you . . . ultimately? Are you trustworthy . . . completely?
You see when trust is absolute love is complete. God, the Father, trust Jesus His Son to complete a terrible rescue mission.
Jesus did it!
Now during this lent let us focus on our trustworthiness?
