Bishop Adam's Lenten Message

A lenten message from Bishop Skip Adams, Diocese of Central New York:

 

"Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." 

Matthew 4:1 for the First Sunday of Lent

 

Make no mistake.  Jesus is being tempted to the depth of his being.  He is being tempted to forget who he is, to whom he belongs, and to live out his mission in a manner better suited to himself than to God.  These are our bottom line temptations as well, the struggle of every human being.

 

The Gospel of Matthew would seem to indicate that the bottom line temptation is to forget who we are: "If you are the Son of God..." was a question of identity for Jesus. For us it is to forget that Jesus has called us friends, sacramentalized in baptism where we discover we are sealed in God's embrace, marked as Christ's own forever. 

 

The discipline of Lent is to become clear about our center, our identity in Christ.  We have an opportunity through a life of prayer, worship and service to rediscover who we are as God's own and to live out of that truth.  When we fail, and we will, we are reminded that we are forgiven and remain God's beloved as we are introduced to our center once again.

 

So we travel this Lent secure in the knowledge of the end of the story - Jesus is risen!  We seek to live as a people rooted in thanksgiving that leads to a profoundly grateful heart for Christ's self-offering that draws all people to himself.  It is on that cross that we find that we are set free to be who God calls us to be and remember who we truly are - Christ's own people.

 

Bishop Skip