FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT February 22, 2026

Prayer of the Day

Lord God, our strength, the struggle between good and evil
rages within and around us, and the devil and all the forces that defy you tempt us
with empty promises. Keep us steadfast in your word, and when we fall, raise us
again and restore us through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

1 Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 2 He
fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. 3 The tempter
came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to
become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the
temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is
written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the
test.’ ”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the
kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give
you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with
you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

SERMON

Over the last two weeks, many of us have sat nestled into our recliners and couches
thrilling at the sight of Olympians putting their bodies through seemingly
superhuman feats.

From these same couches and recliners, we watch in real time as big and heavily
armed bodies, and rich influential bodies subjugate weaker bodies, children’s
bodies, black and brown bodies, poor bodies, and gender diverse bodies. And since
always we’ve been told, “that’s just the way it is.”

Well… God isn’t having it.
Jesus embodies God’s response right there in the wilderness and in everything that
follows.

You might be seeing this year’s Lenten devotions curated by Lutherans Connect—
we post links on the church’s facebook page. Deacon Sherry Coman focuses her
reflections upon bodies: our bodies, other people’s bodies and Jesus’ body. Such a
provocative perspective gives us another way to enter into the account of Jesus
facing temptation in the wilderness.

The Spirit literally launches Jesus’s body into hostile environs.
Jesus’ body becomes weak and vulnerable from extreme hunger and thirst and
from heat and cold. As if on cue, the tempter trots out his elevator speech aimed at
inducing Jesus to sell out God’s plan to bless and save the world. “If you are
who you say you are, use your power to your own advantage…Create bread from
stones— not only daily bread but so much bread you could be set for life”.
Life is more than daily bread, the scriptures say—God’s life giving word aims
toward the restoration of all things.

True Jesus would work wonders, multiplying loaves— not to show off, but to feed
bodies reeling from hunger. Later Jesus breaks bread with his followers and tells
them that in the same way he will give his own body for the life of the world. And
today, we receive bread along with Jesus’ words, “This is my body, given for you.”

One gambit failing him, the tempter yanks Jesus body up to the pinnacle of the
Temple and tries to goad him into throwing his body off the precipice— tempter
twists scripture to justify his treachery. Alas, God is not to be manipulated into
doing parlour tricks for the tempter’s amusement. But God does hear the cry of the
oppressed and sends liberators, prophets and redeemers.

Next, the tempter frog marches Jesus to a high mountain—there he offers him
absolute power if only he would throw his body to the ground and swear allegiance
to the tempter. Jesus invokes the Creator, the Most Holy as being the only one…
not the Tempter, Not Rome, not Pilate… as worthy of allegiance.

From that allegiance to the one who creates and restores, Jesus climbs another
mountain, and meets the crowds to spell out God’s design for the world:
those who grieve find comfort,
the poor are blessed,
and lives of mercy, authenticity, and empathy are God-blessed lives.

Jesus’ life and even his death shouts an emphatic NO to tempter and the sort of
power that keeps others down.

God’s last word is spoken when Jesus is raised from the dead—God’s last word is
YES—yes to humanity, yes the planet, and yes to God’s mending of all creation.