Giving something up is a traditional practice of the season, but often we do not venture past giving up something like chocolate or wine. Perhaps God wants us to give up something more significant, and more importantly, perhaps God wants us to give up these things in order to make room for something better, more
impactful… God’s steadfast love in Jesus Christ. So this Lent, let’s give up hubris for humility and greed for gratefulness. Throughout these 40 days, let’s give it up for Lent so our hearts can grow closer to Christ!
Giving up Comfort for Identity
In Luke’s gospel, the story of Jesus’ temptation comes immediately after his baptism and a lengthy listing of his ancestors. Both help confirm the identity of Jesus as the Son of God. Now Jesus is led into the wilderness, where his identity is put to the test by the devil. In our baptisms, we too are given our identity of God’s children, but like Jesus, our baptisms do not protect us from temptation. Instead, in baptism we are given an identity that can help us endure the temptations and the challenges that our lives inevitably include. This week, as Deacon Bri will remind us that in Lent, we give up some of our comfort for this identity.