Paula Shepard
Homily
March 6, 2022
Like most of us here I was not born into an Episcopalian family. At one of the darkest times of
my life my husband and I we’re so deeply hurting that separately and together we called out to
God. Our prayers lead us to the Episcopal Church. There is not enough time here today to
describe the joy that this particular flavor of Christianity has brought into my life. And there’s
not a great need to enumerate all of them because this morning you chose it too. So, you know
or have at least tasted what it means to be an Episcopalian.
What we firmly believe we state every Sunday in the Nicene Creed. The details outside of the
Creed we are free to debate. That’s a cool thing about being in an Episcopalian.
My view of what my life ministry is is my own. My perspective is my own. My church of my
birth, while I honor them as Christians, did not include or even care what thoughts or questions
I was thinking. In that church there was but one opinion and that was the opinion of Pastor
Fred. Here in St. Alban’s house, we are free and encouraged and honored for questioning and
wondering and debating and listening to each other. Debate is healthy. It makes us thinkers and
not memorizers.
Cultures, traditions, and experiences box us off into different denominations of Christianity. Our
traditions, most of which we share with other Christians on some level, include observing a
season of Lent. Today is the first Sunday during Lent. The primary Gospel we study in this year C
of the lectionary cycle, is Luke. The reading today is Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptation. Who is
Luke? He is believed to be a companion of Paul and when Luke writes this gospel and the Book
of Acts, he is writing to teach non-Jewish people. I like that I’m trying to increase the knowledge
of Lent for a group that may be unfamiliar with the notion.
Lent began on this past Wednesday and will end on Easter. It’s about 40 days. 40 is recurrent in
the Bible and has meaning that Jews would have understood. Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai.
The people of Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness. Elijah journeyed 40 days without
food. Jesus is now embarking on 40 days of reflection, prayer, and temptation. Remember that
Jesus was just baptized, and the Heavens opened up and God spoke, “You are my Son, the
Beloved. With you I am well pleased.”
The way my imagination sees Jesus is that he knows what is going to happen and at the same
time it is being revealed to his consciousness. So, I’m picturing Jesus’ internal monologue. First,
he was a curious boy, then he thought he was called to be a teacher, and then he starts to think
“Maybe I’m a prophet.” And then when the baptism is over, he finds out he is the S-O-N of G-O-D!? That’s a lot. So, he’s got to take a minute. He says to his pals something like see you later I
need to think and pray about this new information. I see him having his mind blown and the same time he says to himself something like “I knew this was coming. Am I worthy? Am I ready?”
We walk through Lent in a similar way to Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness. I say, “Am I ready?
There are big things ahead. Am I strong enough?” I’m going to insert here that am I ready is
something of an Evangelical code. Pastor Fred would use that phrase every week during his
alter call. He would say “Are you ready?” and that could mean both are you ready to take Jesus
into your heart and are you ready for the end of times. In this context I’m asking are you ready
to serve in the immediate future. Are you ready for today and tomorrow and Easter and the day
after that.
Earlier this week my daughter, whose name is Lily, was trying to explain Lent to a Christian
friend. She asked me as she searched for the words, “Mom, what is Lent?” and my answer to
her, “Clean your room.”
She groaned and some Episcopalians might even groan to hear me say that, but it’s a useful
analogy. Another friend on Facebook crudely said, “Flush the toilet.” In popular culture you
hear people discuss how much their life got better when they simplified their life. That’s Lent.
This time in the wilderness was a time for Jesus to know himself. The devil comes to him
quoting scripture and tempting him. The devil says, “If you are hungry just turn the stone to
bread.” The devil says, “You have the power to make people worship you like a king. That
would feel good, why don’t you do that?” The devil says, “If you are who you say you are and
can protect and heal people, prove it by jumping off that cliff.”
Who is this devil guy? Little pieces have been taken from different cultures and created this
amalgam of a trident and a cloven hoof and sulfur breath. It happened because throughout the
age’s evil is hard to describe–but if we call it the devil it becomes comprehendible. For 12 to
1400 years after Jesus’ death most people were still illiterate. But the image of the devil as a
caricature doesn’t help us recognize and really address the terrible reality of war like what is
happening in Ukraine. And the famine in Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. And the
almost certain famine to come in Eastern Europe. Evil is poverty and the horrible way we treat
each other, and ungodly things people do to each other. Episcopalians think it’s okay if you see
the devil has a flesh and blood figure or if you have a different view all the way down the
spectrum to that the devil is the temptation inside of us. It doesn’t matter what your view the
devil is. Jesus was wrestling. And he found out that he was satisfied with himself.
The devil came at him quoting scripture and Jesus came back at him quoting scripture. Jesus
was alone and at his weakest point. He was hungry and vulnerable. He was not hangry because
his dinner was late, he was fasting.
Let’s stop and talk about fasting. It comes up a lot during Lenten season. The normative
tradition is that you would not eat on Ash Wednesday or on Good Friday. Also fasting occurs on
certain other days outside of Lent for other observances like All Saint’s Day. Fasting is even kind
of a diet fad right now. In fact, the Lenten season may have evolved from the tradition of
Christians baptizing on Easter and they fasted before baptism. I have known people who fast on
Sunday mornings until the Eucharist. Some people fast the entire Lent. Thus evolved Mardi Gras
where you used up the last of the butter and fat since you wouldn’t be needing it for a while.
Fasting is the giving up of something that gnaws constantly at you.
Did Jesus or the Apostles observe Lent? Not as such. The traditions we practice begin to come
together about 300-400 years after their deaths. As with all our traditions, they look different in
a South African cathedral and in a bombed-out Sri Lankan church and even more different in a
prison cell in central China.
So, I have spent time discussing Lent and its meaning. How do you do it? Customize it for you
and your family. Mother Cathy distributed some children’s books so that you can integrate
those into your experience. Something I have done for myself was spend the 40 days reading
and really knowing the Gospel appointed for the particular year.
Picking up a habit or a daily devotion shouldn’t be too stressful. The Book of Common Prayer
might be a helpful resource. You could promise yourself to perform the Morning Prayer every
day. Maybe a daily silent meditation is right for you. But I urge you to spend time in selfexamination. Reset yourself. Who are you? Are you different from who ]you appear to be? How
would you behave if the devil came to you in your room and asked you the same questions that
he asked of Jesus?
If you are like me, when you read or hear the assigned readings do you immediately have an
internal dialogue where you are the good guy and you understand? And then a moment later
comprehension that maybe not? Don’t try to rush. Take this time before Easter to marinate. As
Christians we know that Easter is coming, so let’s take the 40 days to get right.
Three things that I will contemplate:
- One does not live by bread alone.
- Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.
- Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
Amen.
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