Year A 1st Lent 2026 Led Into Temptation

 Year A Lent 1, 22 February 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

“Led Into Temptation”

Collect: Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only him.’”

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

In my confirmation class last week I mentioned how it is canonically required for us to say the Lord’s Prayer whenever we gather for worship or official meetings. It is such a normal practice we do not even think about it. The phrases roll off our tongue. But when we say it, we have to think about where Jesus came up with it. Was it given to him by God the Father? Did he look back and see where his life needed God to be in on what he was dealing with, being fully human like us? I think, maybe.

So there is a phrase that really relates to today. When we pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, Jesus knew what that looked like. It states very clearly in our Gospel reading, in fact it starts with these words:

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

Jesus was led into temptation.

Let that sink in.

And that is why he might want us to pray that this never happen to us.

What happened in that desert is not something he wants us to deal with. This was no game, some tête-à-tête between Satan and Jesus, a conversation matching wits. No, this was full blown temptation.

Think of something you do not like. Maybe broccoli. Maybe brussel sprouts. Whatever it is, you are not tempted by these things that you do not like. If you don’t like or want this, whatever it is, you are not tempted.

Jesus was tempted. This is no fake out. Jesus came to change the world. The tempter knew that, and looked for the weak points in Jesus’ plan. Satan is not stupid. He knows where there are chinks in our armor. 

There are a few things to take note of in how he tempted Jesus. He did not tempt him with bad things. Taking care of his bodily needs, here with hunger after 40 days of fasting, was an easy target. Jesus was so hungry even the rocks started looking good. Then Satan went after his safety and security. Again, a good thing. We are responsible for taking care of ourselves and those we care for. And lastly, Jesus was offered power. But he was offered it through a short cut. Jesus knew that process is so important. If we gain power without the discipline to get there nothing good can come from it. Jesus knew that there were no easy paths.

Also, the Tempter used Scripture to rationalize with Jesus. Hear from me, you can warp and manipulate Scripture to justify most anything. Thankfully, and we can see it through Jesus’ responses, there are priorities. I have said it before, discernment is about choosing between good things. We want the best, and Jesus knew that God and God’s Kingdom is first. He even said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) Because Jesus put first things first, he could see through these temptations, these things he REALLY wanted and held out for the best and highest.

We are most likely to succumb to temptation when we are at our weakest. Our friends in the 12 Step programs have a memorable slogan. When you are about to make a decision you are tentative about, ask yourself to HALT. H.A.L.T. Am I Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired? If so, HALT your decision. Take care of that underlying need, and think on it fresh. Grab a snack, take a walk and calm down, phone a friend, or take a nap. We are so very human and when we are Hungry, Angry, or HANGRY if both, Lonely, or Tired be very cautious in how you respond or act.

As we enter Lent, and as Jesus entered into his Temptations, it seems as one is asked to lose oneself. To neglect or suppress. It seems that way on the outside. But truly it is in losing ourselves that we find and gain our truest and best self. Jesus put it this way, 

“Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.” Matthew 12:25-26

If you are still looking for something devotional for Lent, it is not too late. C.S. Lewis had a great book written from the perspective of a demon coaching his nephew on fighting the Enemy capital E, or God to us. He spoke of this humbling of self and its danger to those demons:

“When He [God] talks of their losing their selves, He means only abandoning the clamor of self-will; once they have done that, He really gives them back all their personality, and boasts (I am afraid, sincerely) that when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever.”

The Screwtape Letters are a masterpiece of wit in and of itself, but even more, by viewing the Christian struggle through the negative, it really makes what may seem mundane and trivial as world-shaking and necessary. It is a short and fun epistolary novel I really recommend.

Jesus was led to wrestle with those last things before he moved into his public ministry. He had submitted rightly in his baptism, and he faced the Tempter and showed he had his chosen priorities and stuck by them. And the Devil fled.

Friends, you may be in a problem situation that seems insurmountable. Or you may be faced with an easy choice that would destroy everything if selected. HALT, and remember the commitments you have made. A moment of enjoyment could bring your world shattering down.

Jesus prayed for us and our choices, and taught us the same. Lead us not into Temptation, and Deliver us from Evil. For the Kingdom’s is God’s, not ours. And the Power and the Glory are too! For ever and always. It is so important to remember that. And if that does not work, maybe a snack and a nap could help, too. God can be glorified in something as simple as that. Amen

Year A Ash Wednesday 2026 Forgetting for Lent

 Year A Ash Wednesday, 18 February 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

“Forgetting for Lent”

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Greetings on this day of devotion we set aside to begin our most holy Lent. I want to start with one of our Baptismal Covenant vows, the second one in fact.

• Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

People I will, with God's help.

We have promised to be disciplined and to intentionally work on our growth by continuing in the apostle’s teaching and in fellowship. We have promised that when we sin, not if, but when we sin that we will change our ways relying on the Lord to enable that. Friends, we all sin.

We could be like the lost coin, rolling along and find we are in a space we should not be. We could be like the lost sheep, going our own way and finding that that led to a place where our shepherd needs to bring us back into the fold. We could be like the flagrantly lost child, the Prodigal, willful and deliberate, rejecting our loving parent and all we were taught and finding that their rules are better than the muck in which we find ourselves in in our sinfulness. There are all kinds of ways to “miss the mark” which is what sin is.

Today we come to an old ritual, an echo of our baptism when we are marked as Christ’s own with the Oil of Chrism. The imposition of ashes is a reminder of our nature, both sinful as well as so very mortal. We come from the earth, and back to it we shall return. There is a reason we are human beings, human coming from humus in Latin, or dirt.

Growing up there were not a lot of liturgical folks in my circles who received ashes, so it was not until college that I was around it a lot. I remember early one Ash Wednesday I had to get a piece of wood for a project, and being a college student I had to have it cut for me not having tools in my dorm room. I ran to Hechinger’s, (Remember Hechinger’s before Home Depot or Lowe’s?) and waited in line to have the employee cut it for me. I was about 4 deep in line waiting for the man working the saw.

The first person in line mentioned to the worker that he had a smudge on his forehead. He just said thanks, and that he would take care of it.

The second person in line also mentioned it saying the first person was not joking. The employee again, thanked them and said he would get it later.

The third person pulled out a handkerchief and offered to wipe it off for the employee. He actually had to stop them. And remember, he has been cutting wood this whole time as well.

When it was my turn, he looked at me and seemed to anticipate that I would mention his ashes that he had had to save three times already. Now, thankfully, I knew what the smudge was and how he had gotten it, pretty early I might add because I was there when the store opened. Looking at me I handed him the plank I needed cutting, and said, “The smudge everyone keeps mentioning…” And he responded, “Yeah…” looking totally exasperated. And I said, “It doesn't pay to be pious, does it?” That at least made him smile.

Friends, we mark ourselves as a reminder of whose we are, and our hopes to be more and more of who Jesus would have us be. Jesus taught us to be diligent in our devotions and quietly follow them. He spoke of  when we give alms, not if. When we pray, not if. When we fast, not if. Devotional acts are part of Jesus recognizing that these bodies are part of our journey through life. We are dust, and we recognize that. By tying our devotions to these corporeal vessels, we acknowledge them and honor them by letting them be holy and sanctified vessels of our very souls. We make the ordinary sacred.

This year, as you may have heard me mention before, is the 800th anniversary of the Transitus (or Death) of St Frances of Assisi. In his final days he was deep in pain, and having a hard time. In his poetic prayer you probably know The Canticle of the Creatures or more often as Brother Sun, Sister Moon, in his final hours he edited this prayer he had been composing for years and added these lines about his imminent death:

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no one living can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin.

Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm.

He embraced this unavoidable fact of life. He did not shrink from it. He did not ignore it like our culture seems to do. He looked her (and I say her because he named her Sister Bodily Death), he looked her in the eye and praised her. She is a part of this life, and can be a beautiful one if seen appropriately.

Friends, we take on this yearly reminder of our limited lifespans so that we have the gumption to do what needs to be done. We have an expiration date. We have a time by which we must be used. Francis was known to remind his follower brothers and sisters, with this.

“Let us begin again, for until now we have done nothing.”

This was not to belittle what has happened but to let us not become complacent. It was about making sure we focus on the gift of being given another day to do good, to be our part of the Body of Christ still at work in this hurting and dying world.

I remember the first time I received the ashes on Ash Wednesday. My sophomore year in school, my roommate was Roman Catholic, and he invited me to come to the Ash Wednesday service. I decided, “Why not?” 

What I found deeply moved me. In the denomination of my birth, we emphasized the local congregation as the most important body in the authority of the Church. But that night, as I joined the line of the penitent, I caught sight of a bigger vision. I began to see the holy catholic and apostolic church in its unity, that one thing that Jesus prayed for and has not happened as of yet. “May they all be one.” But that night I could see it. I could envision those around the world pausing from the normal to prepare for a Holy Lent. It stayed with me. I do not think it was accidental that that simple impact of that act of devotion 38 years ago lead to my being a priest today. That long and winding road continues on, thanks be to God!

So we are in Lent. And we come to it in many ways to show our devotion:

by self-examination and repentance;

by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; 

and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word; 

and, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, 

we kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.

I came here today, just for that. I am guessing you did, too.

When my daughter was young, she made a malapropism that informed my view of Lent ever since. A malapropism is a slip of the tongue that may be more true or more enlightening than what was meant to be said. The words that came out were, “Dad, what are we forgetting for Lent this year?” 

Not giving up, but forgetting. Totally going blank on. Not even recognizing their existence. I loved it. What am I FORGETTING for Lent?

It reminds me how God sees the sin of the repentant. As we read from Psalm 103(:11-14)

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

    so far he removes our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion for his children,

    so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.

For he knows how we were made;

    he remembers that we are dust.

Friends, if we think of our Lenten devotions as giving something up, or a hardship, they will be. But if we let whatever it is go entirely, that is an entirely different perspective.

Those things I am forgetting for Lent, I do not even recognize them. They are gone, not missed.

Those things I am taking on, I forget what I would normally do. I run to the new, embracing and normalizing them as part of my routine and maybe even myself.

But most importantly, I forget myself, the guilt and shame of my sin, my ego that gets in the way of kneeling before God, the distractions that hinder my focus from where it should be.

Blessings on you, the penitent and righteous of God, and may your path be smooth the coming 40 days! Amen

Year A Last Epiphany 2026 God Leans In

 Year A Last Sunday after Epiphany, 15 February 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

Celtic Service “God Leans In”

Collect: O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Tonight we see the height if the Epiphany, when we see Jesus revealed for who he truly is. Epiphany is all about that, and tonight’s Gospel looks at what we call the Transfiguration. And what a tale!

There is even a voice from heaven to make it clear who Jesus is. The Beloved. Ho Agapetos in the Greek. The word used here in the Transfiguration is the same word we hear from God at Jesus’ baptism. The Beloved.

And we know from where the story goes that we are the Beloved of Jesus, so much so that he gladly gave his life for any of us, for all of us. 

This story is told in three of the four Gospels. The synoptic Gospels, the three from the “same view.” Matthew, Mark and Luke. They follow the similar structure. Jesus asks his apostles, “Who do they say that I am?” And Peter, the loudmouth that speaks first and acts later declares, “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Soon after this event, we reach the pinnacle of Jesus’ adoration, when he is recognized by God as being his Son, the Messiah, THE Beloved. 

Jesus took his intimates, Peter, James and John with him up the mountain to pray.  And notice, when he prays, God shows up. (Side note: I believe when any of us pray, God shows up. We just may not be attuned to what that looks like.) 

The Transfiguration is one of my favorite stories. It is a favorite for many reasons. It lifts up Jesus. He is more than a prophet; he is more than a Rabbi (teacher); he is more than a commentator on the Law (someone who does Midrash). He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Chosen One, the Beloved. In all of time and history it is abundantly clear that this is the pinnacle of what being a human can be. The title “the Son of Man” is exactly that, the Quintessential Human, the capital-H capital-O Human One as the Contemporary English Bible translates that title “Son of Man.” And as we prayed today, it was on this mount that we have his glory revealed. 

Now I am going to get a little science-y here for a minute, so stay with me if you would like. Or if you don’t want to get a little cross-eyed, check out for about thirty seconds, well to be honest,  two minutes. One thing that I hold onto, is that as we learn more and more about the nature of time in Physics, the Transfiguration makes more and more sense. Time is not a string, going from the beginning to the end, pulled taut and we are trapped in this tube that only travels in one direction. More and more in advanced physics we see that time is just another dimension just like height, width and depth, our normal 3. Time is the fourth dimension, and if we could see it, it is less like a taut string than it is bowl of spaghetti consisting of one REALLY LONG noodle.

When I read this story, I like to think that Jesus went up to pray, and God shows up. And Moses shows up. And Elijah shows up. Now if we read it in a traditional sense, Moses and Elijah come back from heaven to celebrate and uphold the Son. Symbolically this works well. Moses is the embodiment of the LAW, the Law Incarnate. And Elijah is the quintessential prophet, boldly declaring God’s word no matter the cost. And Jesus came to fulfill both the LAW and the PROPHETS, he even said as much. (Matthew 5:17) I see Jesus also as the embodiment of GRACE. Only Grace can fulfill both the Law and the Prophets. That is our traditional view. And I am fine with that view, too!

But what if we filter the Transfiguration through a different view. What if Jesus is praying and Moses and Elijah show up? And what if Moses was praying and Elijah and Jesus showed up? And what if Elijah was praying and Moses and Jesus showed up? In fact, we are given details about profound times of prayer of Moses on Sinai when he received the Commandments, and Elijah on Horeb after he took on the prophets of Baal and heard that still small voice. But they did not have witnesses to give the details. What if in these intense moments of prayer they were given a vision, Moses of the future of his people he helped deliver, how they would rebel, but that through them the whole world would be redeemed. Or Elijah, while fleeing Ahab and Jezebel, while hiding in the cave the still small voice pointed to where they came from, and though the times seem dark at the moment, where they will go. And Jesus, he gets to see the path of God from Law through Prophets to Grace, and was comforted and affirmed especially before he turns his face to Jerusalem and his imminent persecution, death, and resurrection. In fact, in the synoptics Gospels, it is after this that he begins the predictions of his passion.

If that was too science-fiction-y, I apologize, but I have always been fascinated by this story and its implications. But maybe I watched too much Star Trek growing up. But think on this. When you pray, see it as the Universe pausing and God shushing everything so that you can clearly be heard. Picture God leaning in to focus on you and what you pray for. I know I would pray differently with that in mind. Chew on that Beloved of God! Amen