Even in the Wilderness

The wilderness is a mythic place of danger. In the wilderness we are out of our element, unsure of our footing. On the first Sunday of Lent we listen to two wilderness stories. The first from Deuteronomy, as the Hebrew people are at the water's edge, waiting to cross over and start a new life. The words of Moses seek to ground the people in a worldview of gratitude, rooted in God's generous giving of the land. From that experience of God's graciousness, the people are to extend a grace-filled welcome to the sojourners who will live in the land with them. In the second story from Luke's gospel, we find Jesus out in the wilderness, experiencing an extended time of prayer and temptation. There too, we see the theme of God's generous provision, which breaks our human tendency to care first for ourselves. Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Luke 4:1-13