As we move closer and closer to Easter we may have one of two several responses in regards to our fasting and repentance.  We could be thinking, ‘Oh God, I can’t wait until this is over and I can . . . ”  eat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays again, or chocolate, watch my favorite show or whatever thing or activity it is that we set aside as an act of repentance.   Or we might be thinking, “Gee’s louise, I’ve been giving this thing up for this long and I still don’t feel any different.”  Or you might be feeling like your struggle against sin is getting to be even more of a struggle.  It might seem that temptations to give up and give in to going back to your old ways are looming around you everywhere.

Runners and swimmers sometimes feel weakest at the beginning of the end of the race and suddenly they are energized and able to finish.  The same is true for team players, although they have people get off the bench and jump in to help, their coaches call them off the bench. (Sounds a little bit like the soldier pointing to a man and saying – you!  go! help carry the cross!) Although he wasn’t a coach and we don’t know exactly what he was thinking or feeling in mind and heart, he is included in the story.  Our personal fast and repentance is not a team sport – there is no one who can repent for us – but there is someone who lived and died for us in order to save us from our sins.  And there are people who will help us hold to our fast and repentance if we choose our friends carefully.

So let’s go back to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry  – where he overcame every temptation common to man while he was fasting in the wilderness for forty days.  How did he overcome those temptations?  With the Word of God. When I was a child I participated in the meatless fast because that’s what we did as a family for lent – I wasn’t in control of the decisions, I just obeyed what my parents told me to do.  When I grew up, I fell away from the church for awhile, I fell into doubt in a big way – I doubted God’s love for me, I didn’t believe he cared one bit about my well-being.  It was a horrible time for me.  When I returned to the church, still in doubt but hopeful, I began getting re-filled with the Word of God, I began to believe and hope again.  That first Lenten season, when I decided to choose my own fast and fill it with time spent in reading and studying the Bible was a life changing experience for me.  I read and studied about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and saw where I had failed and how he succeeded in overcoming the snares of the devil and the temptations in the world.  My heart was on fire with hope and expectation as I prepared for Holy Week.  I praised God like never before and then, I went to Stations of the Cross and I wept and wept as the Scriptures were read at the close before we left we sang “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” I think I realized for the first time, that in those days when I doubted his love, he loved me all the more, so much that he was willing to finish his earthly life with faith in humanity and in God, (Our Father) intact.

In the struggle of keeping the Lenten disciplines, I try to remember that the Joy of the Lord is my strength.  My goal ultimately is not to please myself or make myself look good to other people – my goal in my chosen and designated fast is to please God and to live a life pleasing to Him.  It is good for us remember this verse:  “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)  One very short prayer I have used in my struggles against sin is this:  Lord, please speak to me, speak your Word in and through me.  Help me to live according to your Word and Will.  AMEN

If you attend the services during this Holy Week – pay close attention to the Words of God that you hear spoken.  Listen for the still small voice inside of you that says, ‘You are my child”  let your His joy become your strength.  If you get a chance, observe the relationship of love between a newborn child, their parents, the extended family and friends of the family.  Believe that God loves you. Receive the Holy Spirit and believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  Through him we have all been given the right to become Children of God.

One more verse I want to share with you as we approach the beginning of the finish is this:  ” . . . I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:7)

Keep on keeping on in faith – the best celebrations and surprises are found at the end of the tribulations we face in life.  Overcoming your past, overcoming your present temptations will strengthen you for those that are ahead.  With God, all things are possible – you can finish well – this is just the beginning of putting an end to sin.

God, thank you for the gift of your son, My Savior Jesus Christ.  Please help me to hold fast to your Word and live into your peaceful inheritance that you give to those who believe in you and to you be all the glory.  Forever and ever.  AMEN