First Sunday in Lent, March 1st, 2020

First Sunday in Lent, March 1st, 2020

I have said it before.  I will say it again.  And I will continue to say it as long as I live.  Our God is not someone who is far-off, distant, or "out of touch."  He is someone close to us.  So close that He sent His only Son into the world to live with . . . to be with us .. . . to converse with us  . . .  and cry with us . . . . and laugh with us.  The Second Person of the Trinity was a Human Being just like us although He was without sin.  He worked.  He slept.  He ate.  He got bored.  He got happy.  He was sometimes tired.  Again, even in the Gospel passage appointed for this First Sunday in Lent, we hear the following:  "And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered."  (St. Matthew 4:2)  In other words, He was hungry.  He was in need of food.   I don't know about you but when we get tired or hungry or frustrated, aren't we also prone to be tempted?  If you've been working on a project a long time, for example, and it it taking a whole lot longer than you ever planned, aren't you tempted to just be done with it and finish it no matter what?  If you have been at work all day and haven't had a chance to eat anything, don't we very often begin focusing solely on filling up our belly and we stop concentrating on our work?  Or if we have been working a long shift at work, does our tiredness begin to take a toll on us and we stop focusing on our work because we are focusing on our tiredness, our frustration at being tired, our wanting to be finished?  In all of these scenarios and so many more that each one of us experience, we know what it feels like to be temped when we are tired, worn-out, frustrated, angry, etc.  And yet we called at those times to stay focused and keep moving forward.  This is the lesson we can learn from Our Blessed Saviour.  In this Fourth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, when Our Lord was tempted by the devil, He was tempted in three ways.  How many ways are we tempted?  Our Saviour was tempted three times and each time told the devil what he could do with his temptation, so to speak.  How many temptations do we fail?  How many times do we give in to temptation?  The question is not if we are going to be tempted because we are.  Our Blessed Saviour was tempted.  If the devil is bold enough to tempt the Son of God, he is bold enough to tempt you, to tempt me.  But again what do we do with the temptation?  Each one of us is tempted.  As Christians we are called to focus solely on God.  This is difficult because we are human and this old world distracts us.  And yet Jesus gives us the answer.  He teaches us to rely on God, Our Heavenly Father.  Adam and Eve failed their test when they were tempted by the devil.  They gave in to their temptations.  They did not rely on God.  Our Blessed Lord relied on His Heavenly Father.  We are called as Christians to do all for the glory of God.  And if we make this a way of life, temptation will not be so easily given into.  Being a Christian is not easy but it is worth it.  The devil will use each and every situation he can to tempt us and to bring us to ruin.  But Our Blessed Saviour promised us that He will never leave us.  "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (St. Matthew 28:20)  

St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday morning to worship God.  We use the King James Version of the Bible.  We also use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  We listen to the Word of God and also receive the Body and Blood of Christ at Communion time.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 am.  Join us for Mass and then stay for our Coffee Hour where we share refreshments and good company.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule on Sunday morning and dedicate that hour to God.