This Lent we follow Jesus as he faces evil in the hours before his death. What is evil? Who is doing evil against Jesus during Passion Week? What are ways in which we are complicit in evil? Do we take evil seriously? As we experience evil in our own lives, discover how Jesus stands in the face of evil.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, stay with me. There is evil within me, and I am so often attentive to it. I am easily overcome by my own desire to get away from you and be free to have everything I want and to do everything I want. Lord, give me the real freedom of your life in me. By your victory over temptation, make me victorious. By the power of your love make me strong. Amen. (from The Lutheran Book of Prayer, CPH, 1970)
Word
Luke 22:40
“On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’”
Meditation: Not Today Satan by Anna Jacob
Fall into temptation.
This phrase has me picturing a lone hiker, stumbling along an ever-darkening trail. Each step the hiker takes is an attempt to follow the right path, which seems harder and harder to see as the sun drifts below the horizon. The trail becomes rocky, and soon the hiker trips and falls. The hiker’s fall has confused them, and now they are wandering off course. It is even darker now, and things begin to feel hopeless.
But then, the hiker remembers their flashlight and turns it on. There are still obstacles in their way, but when pointed in the right direction, the flashlight helps to illuminate the hiker’s steps.
How often do you feel like the lone hiker, stumbling on your own darkened trail? Your temptations might feel like small rocks or giant fallen trees that you must go around. But no matter the path that you are on, there will be obstacles to face.
God knows we will face challenges. We will face temptations. But we do not have to face them alone. When the evils of this world come to us in the darkness, in our loneliness, we have a tool we need to face them.
Prayer.
Through prayer we have a never-ending resource to use against evil. Acknowledging our temptations can be the first step. But we also need to acknowledge the power that God has. That he will remain with us, even when we stumble and fall.
Not today, Satan. I have seen this phrase posted on social media. A proud proclamation that both acknowledges Satan’s presence and at the same time states an intention to not let him win.
Satan will tempt us, but we do not have to face him alone. First, we must be aware, but more importantly, we need to acknowledge the power of prayer. God knows we will face challenges. We will face temptations. And through Christ’s death and resurrection, we can boldly say, “Not today, Satan.”
Dear Lord, thank you for walking with me as I daily face temptation. Help me to choose faith over fear, remembering that I can call out to you in times of loneliness and weakness. In your name we pray, Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.