Coyote in a Trap

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Coyotes are known for being tenacious and relatively fearless creatures. They are also obsessively stubborn in the pursuit of something they want. One peculiar characteristic of the coyote is how he will react to being caught in a trap. It has long been known that if a coyote is caught in a trap, he will do anything to escape, even down to gnawing off his own foot or leg in order to get free. Of course, that more than likely means that he will die of blood loss, infection, or starvation. But he will die free! A friend told me that he has never caught a coyote minus a foot, but he has often found severed feet in a trap.

Between last week and today, a line has been crossed. We have entered from the blissful season of Epiphany into the penitential season of Lent. And another line has been crossed in today's Gospel lesson. Jesus, fresh out of the waters of the Jordan where He was baptized by John, is immediately driven out into the wilderness to fast and to be tempted by the devil.

Notice that there is no lolly-gagging about at the Jordan. No party, no cake, no massive to-do or society debut. Right upon the heels of Baptism, Jesus begins to suffer and to be tempted by the devil. The trap has snapped shut. There is no turning back, if there ever was anyhow.

"It Is Written"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man,” St. Paul says. But it seems like there are an awful lot of temptations that are common to man.

What tempts you? Perhaps you experience temptation in the things of the flesh. I don't know about you, but I sure love to eat. For most of us, all-you-can-eat buffets are a trap. All that wonderful-looking food laid out there, just begging you to eat and eat and eat. Pretty soon, one plate turns into two, then three, and so on. We keep eating until we feel like we are ready to burst at the seams. And were we really that hungry in the first place? Was it really necessary, or at all healthy, to stuff ourselves like that? We all experience the temptation toward gluttony from time to time, even it is just that last little piece of pie staring us down from the kitchen counter.

Jesus Calls His Disciples

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Again we hear the proclamation of Jesus' ministry on earth in today's lesson: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” This is the message of Jesus in a nutshell, proclaimed then to the Jews and the would-be disciples, and still to us today. Repent, turn away from your sins, because the reign of God is drawing near to you. And indeed, the reign of God has come near, and is here among us.

There is a split in the understanding of Jesus' statement, often expressed as “now, but not yet.” Two thousand years ago, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the kingdom of heaven had come. The reign of God stood upon that bank, in the person of Jesus, as He proclaimed salvation to all the people of Israel. The kingdom of God drew near to Andrew and Simon that day as they were drawing their nets, and as they heeded the call and left their nets in the boat and became fishers of men.