By Deacon Timothy Siburg
Revised Common Lectionary reflection for the First Sunday in Lent, Year A
February 22, 2026
Key Verse: [Jesus tells the devil,] “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” -Matthew 4:10
In homage to my roots, all I can say right now is “Uff Da!” Uff da is a Norwegian expression that can be used for anything really – from “ouch” to “oh my,” to “bummer,” to “that’s hard,” and everything in between. I start there, because as I look at the world around us and we read the Lectionary’s familiar stories this week, all I can think is “Uff Da!” So, “Uff Da,” and Welcome to Lent!
The season of repentance, a time that invites us to reevaluate, reorient, and turn back to God, is upon us. As we do every year on the First Sunday in Lent, we find Jesus in the wilderness after his baptism. He’s fasting and praying. He’s tempted by the devil. Yet he holds firm. At first glance, such a story may not seem ripe with wisdom for stewardship. But if we go a little deeper, we might just sense that stewardship is very much central.
As Jesus is cast into the wilderness after his baptism and before he begins his earthly ministry, he no doubt experiences the hardest elements of humanity. Hunger and isolation, temptation and the allure of a quick fix, and the longing for power and authority. At least those are the temptations that Satan unveils towards Jesus. If Jesus were a normal person, I suspect such temptation would win out. But then, Jesus is not just some normal person.
When tempted to be fed and provided for, Jesus responds, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). God’s Word and promises provide for us. God’s presence and promise hold us when we are in the highs and lows of life. When tempted with the highest of heights and the trick of jumping, Jesus replies to the devil, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7). It goes without saying, but God does not operate like a genie granting wishes. God does not go about granting prosperity for those who do a certain thing or live a certain way. God does not work in the ways of the world through scarcity but through a promise of abundance.
Look around the world today. Many leaders and those in power claim that they alone can fix the world’s problems. That if people just put their trust in them, that all will go well. It’s the same premise that unhealthy leaders and authorities of power have offered for centuries and millennia. That’s basically the premise and promise that the devil offers Jesus. And Jesus doesn’t mince words: “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Matthew 4:10). Jesus is quoting the commandments and the law. He’s essentially quoting the Shema, too. And for this, Satan has no response but to depart.
This begs the question: How would we respond to such temptation? Would we give into the lure of power and privilege? Would we give into the promise of wealth and prosperity? Thankfully, we know it’s not all up to us. If it were, sin would win the day. But as we do in worship when we respond to an invitation to serve and live as disciples, we say, “I ask God to help and guide me.” We are not alone and it’s not all up to us.
That’s a reminder that Lent provides. We cannot do enough. We cannot earn enough. We cannot attain our own salvation. It doesn’t work that way, even though some in the world (and at a recent national prayer breakfast) might claim that it does. Paul explains that Jesus’ saving act is a “free gift” (Romans 5:15). Meaning it’s something we can’t earn but only receive. That’s pure grace. Referencing the Genesis story of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden (Genesis 3:1-7), Paul writes, “just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all” (Romans 5:18). Ultimately, this is the reminder of Lent. That life alone comes from and through God. Not through our own selves. Not through our own worth. For surely, we would all come up short and give into temptation.
Lent reminds us, too, that we can respond to the gift of salvation through all that we say and do as stewards of God’s love. To join in with God in some of God’s ongoing work. To meet our neighbors where they are as a sign of God’s love and presence. This is the work of stewardship. The work we are reminded of back in the beginning of Genesis. Where we hear again that, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). This is the work of all people. The work of caring for creation. The work of stewarding the land. The work of daily life for the sake of each other. The work of showing up alongside neighbors near and far.
The world might have us believe that there is a quick fix for every challenge. That all we might need to do is put our trust in this person or that person. That we or they alone can save us. That our neighbors are to be feared because they might be different than us. But the season of Lent shows another way. The way of the cross. The way of life with God. The way of life together as God’s beloved people of all times and places. The way of deep faith and trust in the gift of life that Jesus provides and that invites us to live and respond as stewards of God’s love.
Yes, “Uff da” might be apt for the way the world is today. And it might even feel a bit appropriate as we find ourselves entering Lent again. But in a strange way, perhaps Lent’s arrival this year is exactly what we need when we need it. To be reminded of God’s love. To be reminded of what matters. To repent and turn towards God.
In Worship and Congregational Life
Sometimes when we hear a familiar story a melody might pop into our heads. Such is the case when reading the Gospel lesson for this week. I found myself singing the hymn and praise song from the 1970s, “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God.” Particularly coming to my mind this week is verse 3: “We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Allelu, alleluia.” Now, admittedly, if your congregation observes Lent by “burying the Alleluia’s” the last part of the hymn could be a challenge. I suppose you could replace it with humming or by singing, “Thank you, thank you, God” or something like that. But given the melody and the message perhaps this would make a nice sermon hymn to build towards in one’s preaching this week. [Source: “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God,” by Karen Lafferty, as found in With One Voice: A Lutheran Resource for Worship, (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1995, 783.]
Worship with Youth and Children
This week’s gospel found Jesus tempted in the wilderness. A Sunday School lesson or Children’s Message in worship might ask them to name things that get in the way of our relationship with God and neighbors, or to name things that might be temptations or distractions. Such a difficult question might be a lot for children or youth. It might be easier if asked the whole congregation were brought into the discussion. Doing so might make for a powerful and poignant beginning to Lent.
Previous reflections for Lent 1A:
2020 – Do a ‘spiritual spring cleaning’ this Lent
2014 – The examination
2011 – You are invited
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