Lent 1, Feb. 22, 2026 Sermon Pr. Lyndon Sayers
Matthew 4:1-11
It was the Holy Spirit who leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. This is the first Lenten boot camp. Forty days and forty nights, which mirrors the forty years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness. It’s worth remembering, given all the lore about the devil in pop culture, that most of the things we associate with the devil are made up. They are not in scripture. Many are projections of punishments authors hope will happen to their enemies. Take for example Dante’s Inferno, perhaps the most famous work about hell, Dante wrote lengthly descriptions about his enemies suffering into hell. Dante is the one who wrote about hell having different levels that people either descend into or graduate from, including purgatory. Little of this lurid description can be found in the Bible. By contrast the devil in the Gospel of Matthew is something for a Crown prosecutor. God permits him to be there, testing Jesus, challenging God’s telling of events. As a prosecutor figure, the devil presents evidence, quoting scripture: “He will command his angels concerning you” and “on their hands they will bear you up” are references to Psalm 91. Remember that the devil is a Bible scholar. Jesus rebuts the devil’s interpretation of scripture, countering with “do not put the Lord your God to the test” from Deuteronomy 6. A reminder that literal interpretation of scripture does not exist. It is always a matter of interpretations scripture through the lens of the gospel. For us as Christians its about understanding the Bible through the love of Jesus. Because the devil can out quote and out smart us citing chapter and verse.
It reminds me of the importance of us knowing scripture when we encounter people playing devil’s advocate. We have all met people playing that prosecutor role of challenging something we’ve said. Sometimes it’s about something that doesn’t matter. For example if you say you enjoy eating at a local diner and someone says they can’t believe anyone would want to eat there because the food or coffee isn’t good. The converse can also be the case where someone criticizes eating a café with good brunch and coffee. Both things can be true at the same time. You can like going to a blue-collar diner and you can like going to a bougie café. No one’s salvation or wellbeing at stake in either case.
However we know there are cases where someone is playing devil’s advocate, which more closely resembles the devil in the gospel reading. Lately there have been political leaders scoring points with their base taking aim at two vulnerable populations: residential school denialists, questioning whether Indigenous children died or suffered at residential schools. And also taking aim at giving trans kids the freedom to exist in public schools. In both cases, the person playing devil’s advocate knows that both vulnerable groups have little power to fight back. In one sense they are worse than the devil in our gospel reading, who is picking on Jesus, the Son of God. At least Jesus is a worthy opponent who can stand up for himself. It’s a bit more of a fair fight, than someone with power standing over top Indigenous people and trans kids, who typically do not have positions of power of the same magnitude. And it’s harder to undo lies shared with millions of people online than it is in a one-on-one conversation. In that sense the actual devil plays by fairer rules than elected leaders in 2026 espousing hate.
Let’s take a step back for a moment and consider our Lenten journey these forty days. Like Jesus we too feel like we’re driven into the wilderness. Whether literal or figurative, we find ourselves in inhospitable place in life. Whether we or loved ones are dying or have died. Whether we are grappling with health issues. Whether we are worried about jobs given looming cuts in government or corporations. Whether we are struggling with sleep and the anxiety around the political landscape.
This Lenten season is a good time to take stock and consider the kinds of Lenten practices that will sustain us these coming weeks. Rather than feeling guilty as to whether we are maintaining one or another kind of spiritual practice, another approach is to ask, “What is one thing that will sustain you this Lent?” Maybe it is sitting in silence for a couple minutes. Maybe it is a prayer of gratitude. Maybe it is joining us for soup and evening prayer Thursdays in Lent. It could be doing something extra, making time for a justice-oriented activity, however small. I am going to give you five minutes to discuss this question in a minute. The main thing is we don’t want this to be another source of anxiety or feeling we’re not good enough. Many of us already beaut up ourselves enough without Lent doing it for us. I invite you to discuss the question: “What is one thing that will sustain you this Lent?”
