COME YE APART

Unity teaches that Lent is about fasting from the negative and feasting on the positive. We fast from living in the past and repeating the behaviors which produced the unsatisfactory conditions in which we find ourselves. Best of all, we are in charge of changing our own behavior, our own words and, therefore, our very lives.

Think of life as if it were a satellite receiver--if the sports channels don't interest you, delete them from your viewing list. If you don't enjoy the 'talking-heads', delete them. Don't tune into those 'disease of the week' or 'my boyfriend dumped me for my grandma' shows.

If I don't take charge of my programming, then I'll continue to be on wide receiver. But if I take control of my life and delete everything which has held me back, choosing a brand new outlook, I can transform my life. And that's what the Lenten Season is really about and that's what Paul was talking about:

And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the
the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2

Spirit came to Him in the form of a dove and a voice from Heaven declared: You are my beloved Son; in You I am well pleased. The baptism with water represents the cleansing or purifying of the physical body. Through prayer and meditation we cleanse and purify the inner self. Baptism by the Spirit purifies our soul and transforms us into the Child of God.

Jesus was then led into the Wilderness by the Spirit where He fasted for forty days. Metaphysically, the wilderness represents undisciplined or unfocused thinking. Here, Jesus would have time to clarify His thinking and free Himself from personal ties and responsibilities, which would be essential to taking on the mantle of Christ and the family of God.

Jesus struggled to understand and accept God's call--not a journey to be take on lightly. Through prayer, meditation and fasting He would come to a place of oneness with the Father and willingly set aside His needs and desires. The number forty is usually seen as a number of completion, a four-square number laying the foundation for His ministry. Completing His fast, Jesus was hungry.

The Devil, Satan, the Adversary--all names for the ego-centric consciousness which must be cast out before going forward. Temptation challenges us to falter, to surrender to the old ways or to take the easy way out.

If You are the Son of God, command this stone
to become bread.

But Jesus answered him, saying,
It is written, Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word of God.
Luke 4:3-4

Jesus could easily have eliminated hunger by turning stones into bread, but it would have been a short-term, quick fix rather than teaching them to hunger for God and the Kingdom of Heaven. Fulfilling the economic needs of the people would have made Him popular and well known.

Then the devil, taking Him upon a high mountain,
showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a
moment of time. And the devil said to Him, All
this authority I will give You. Therefore, if You
will worship before me, all will be Yours.

And Jesus answered and said to him: Get behind me
Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord
your God, and Him only shall you serve.
Luke 4:5-8

The people wanted, expected a Warrior Messiah, on who would throw off the shackles of Rome and stand astride the world. The devil's offer to Jesus could free His people of political oppression. Yet Jesus had come not as the Warrior Messiah, but as the Prince of Peace to all the world, not just to the Children of Israel. He would teach all the Children of God to seek the will of God and to follow it with mind, heart and soul.

If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from
here. For it is written: He shall give His angels
charge over you, to keep you, and in their hands they
shall bear you up, lest you dash Your foot against
the stone.

And Jesus answered and said to him, It has been
said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.
Luke 4:9-12

How many times have we longed for a sign from God that we were, in fact, following His path rather than seeking our own personal agenda? What grand goals might we attempt if we were sure of His protection and approval? Had Jesus leaped from the pinnacle of the Temple into the arms of the angels, He would have captured the hearts and minds of the people. And it would have assured Him of an easier path, knowing He was following the will of God and that no harm could come to Him.

The real temptation we all face is that of taking short cuts to win the approval we so desire--to appear benevolent to the suffering of the lowly and to receive the praise and admiration of the world. Such a path requires no personal growth, no spiritual awakening, no transformation from the son of man to the child of God.

Excerpt from Sunday Lesson

Rev. Claudia Naylor