Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

 

Filled with the spirit of God,

Moses gave his final instructions to people of Israel
before they entered the Promised Land without him.

Having wandered for forty years,
they were about to settle down.

So he instructed them:
Remember where you came from.
Remember that you were once migrants
longing for a place to call your own.
Remember your ancestors.
Remember everything they did,
and most importantly,

remember what God has done for you.

 

When you’re settled in the Promised Land,
when you’ve got your own homes and gardens,
remember where it all came from
and give thanks to God
by offering God the first fruits of your gardens.

 

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

 

The Spirit of the Lord had come upon him
at the Jordan River,
where he had recently been baptized.
A voice cried out from the heavens,
“You are my beloved Son,
with whom I am well-pleased.”

Then the Spirit led him into the desert for forty days.

 

The voice from heaven
and the Spirit that descended upon him
forced him to ask some very important questions.
What does this all mean?

What am I supposed to do about it?

Satan tried to offer some answers.
You’re hungry.
So use your powers to satisfy your own needs.
You’re here to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
Let me show you the easy way.
Just bow before me
and you’ll be king of this world
right away.
No gathering disciples.

No working hard to convince others to change their ways.
No dealing with crowds who will never really understand.
You’ll never have to face your enemies,
in fact, you’ll never even have any enemies.
Just take the easy way to your kingdom
and bow before me.

And finally,
show off all your power.
Show off God’s care for you.
Make a display of yourself
on the Temple mount
and the people will come flocking to you.

 

But Jesus doesn’t take the bait.
He may be tempted to take another way,
but the Spirit has led him here
and has helped him to see the way he must go.

 

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

 

I don’t know about you,
but I know about me.
I’m often tempted to look out for myself
rather than to look out for others in need.
I’m often tempted to take the easy way out,
rather than face the responsibilities that come
with being a child of God and a disciple of Jesus.
I’m often tempted to say,
“Look at me and what I have done,”

rather than look at God and what God is doing.

 

I’m tempted to forget
that when I was baptized
God called me a beloved child of God.
I’m often tempted to think
that God could not possibly be well-pleased with me.
It's just easier to forget,
to live on my terms,
and to offer to God whatever I have left,
rather than the first fruits of my labors.

 

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

 

As we begin this holy season of Lent,
we, like the people of Israel
about to enter the Promised Land
are challenged to remember
all that God has done for us,
and to offer grateful praise and thanksgiving
to the One who is responsible for everything we have.

 

As we begin this holy season of Lent,
we, like Jesus in the desert,
are tempted by Satan
to use whatever powers or possession we might have
to serve our own needs,
to seek attention for ourselves

rather than for God.

 

As we begin this holy season of Lent,
the Spirit is leading us
to look at our own lives
and how we are responding to the God
who calls us beloved sons and daughters,

with whom God is well pleased,
and so, as we gather around this table
week after week,
as we head toward the Passion, Death and Resurrection
of Jesus,
as we prepare to renew our baptismal promises at Easter,
we pray that the Spirit may help us
as we face temptations today and every day.

 

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us.

Melt us, mold us, fill us, use us.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us.