Weekly Liturgy : February 16-22
- Matt
- Feb 16
- 4 min read
Matthew 4:1-11
First Nations Version
1 Creator Sets Free (Jesus) followed the guidance of the Spirit, who took him into the desert wilderness to be tested by Accuser (Satan), the evil trickster snake.
In the story of creation, the first man and woman lived in a Garden of Beauty and Harmony. A sly and crafty snake came to them and twisted the words of the Great Spirit to deceive them. They listened to the snake, lost the life of beauty and harmony, and fell under the curse of death. This snake, who opposes Creator’s good road, is the evil spirit who rules over all evil spirits.
2-3 For forty days and nights Creator Sets Free (Jesus)ate nothing. His body became weak, and his hunger grew strong. When the evil snake saw that Creator Sets Free (Jesus)was weak and hungry, he came to him and whispered in his ear.
“Are you the Son of the Great Spirit?” he hissed. “Prove it by turning these stones into frybread.”
4 “The Sacred Teachings are clear,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said. “Human beings cannot live only on frybread, but on all the words that come from the mouth of the Great Spirit.”
5-6 The evil trickster then took him to the Great Spirit’s sacred lodge in Village of Peace (Jerusalem). He set him at the very top, high above the village. “Prove you are the Son of the Great Spirit and jump down from here!” the evil snake taunted him. “Do not the Sacred Teachings also say, ‘His spirit-messengers will watch over you to keep you from harm. They will even keep your foot from hitting a stone’?”
7 “Yes,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said back to him, “but they also say, ‘Do not test the Great Spirit.’”
8-9 Once more the evil trickster took him to a high mountain and showed him all the great nations of the world with their power and beauty. “All of these I will give you,” the snake said smoothly, “if you will highly honor me and walk in my ways!”
10 “Get away from me, Accuser (Satan)!” he responded. “For it is written in the Sacred Teachings, ‘The Great Spirit is the only one to honor and serve.’”
11 The evil trickster could think of nothing more to test him with, so he slithered away to wait for another time. Then spirit-messengers came to give comfort and strength to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
REFLECTION
from Matt
In this week's passage, Jesus ("Creator Sets Free") is confronted at a time of extreme vulnerability. I don't know if you've ever experienced a long period without food. I've fasted on occasion, and even something as brief as a World Vision 30-Hour Famine is enough to bring stress and physical weakness. Jesus was at it for 960 hours!
We often meet people in the wilderness of their stories. The voices they hear question their identity, ability, and desires — even their humanity. In times of desperate need, accusers are persistent and loud.
"If you are the Son of God..." might sound like "if you were an upstanding citizen..." or "if only you had made good choices..."
"...tell these stones to become bread" might sound like "just get a job" or "quit drinking and your life will be a lot better."
What's common about all of these responses is that they fail to acknowledge the depth and complexity of the human experience.
Jesus doesn't offer easy solutions. He leads us into the wild, out of our comfort zones — all while carrying crosses that inevitably lead to death. At the same time, he offers to lessen our burdens, accompany us on this journey, and give us abundant life. This is Jesus' way.
Wendell Berry wrote in Jayber Crow: “As I have read the Gospels over the years, the belief has grown in me that Christ did not come to found an organized religion but came instead to found an unorganized one. He seems to have come to carry religion out of the temples into the fields and sheep pastures, onto the roadsides and the banks of the rivers, into the houses of sinners and publicans, into the town and the wilderness, toward the membership of all that is here. Well, you can read and see what you think.”
See you in the wilderness.
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application
Almost guaranteed, you will meet someone this week who you don't agree with or understand why they live or believe how they do. In the words of Father Gregory Boyle: "Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it." Whether poor or not, can we look at each other this way?
Non-Violent Communication Question of the Week
The next time you need something from someone, make a request instead of a demand.
Pathway Toward Center
Contemplation (drawing near to God in silence and solitude):
Take some time (it doesn't have to be 40 days!) to get away from the grind. What is God speaking to you?
Questions for Reflection
Think about a "wilderness" season in your life. How did you get through it?
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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