In the Desert

The First Sunday in Lent

March 9, 2025

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

 “In the Desert”

Many of us have traveled to the desert, whether overseas or here at home in places like the desert Southwest of our own country. Although formidable, there is a certain rugged beauty in the desert terrain. Blistering heat during the day followed by freezing temperatures at night, the desert is not a place to mess around with. Unless you know what you’re doing, it could cost you your life. We hear about the desert in the Gospel lesson on this First Sunday in Lent. Jesus is out in the desert, most likely a place called the Judean wilderness, where he was tempted for forty days by the devil. The original word here (ἐρημία) can be translated as desert, wilderness, an uninhabited place, a wasteland. To this day, the Judean wilderness remains an inhospitable place. But the wilderness or desert is also the location of today’s Old Testament lesson (Deuteronomy 26:1-11). God’s people were nearing the end of their forty years’ wandering before entering the Promised Land. And so we find that they also were in the desert, like Jesus – on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. We’re going to overlay both of these readings, Old Testament and Gospel, to gain insight into what it means to be in the desert as we begin our Lenten journey. From these readings, we will look at three R’s: Rejoice, Release, and Return. May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

First, from the Old Testament lesson, we see that there is a call to rejoice. This whole season of Lent can be recast in a new light. Often, Lent seems so heavy and somber; there is no joy. The traditional Lenten focus on our sins and the call to repentance is there, but is that all? If we look at the Old Testament lesson, it sounds like this is a Thanksgiving Scripture lesson, or one for a stewardship theme. It almost feels misplaced on this First Sunday in Lent. In good Lutheran fashion, we may ask: “What does this mean?” What we see here is a cause-and-effect relationship in that reading from Deuteronomy. The cause is God’s mighty deliverance of his people from slavery in Egypt, as well as his gracious providing for them throughout their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. That mighty deliverance – all that God has done for his people – leads to rejoicing. When God’s people do finally enter into the Promised Land and eat the produce of the land, this is what we read in the final verse of that Scripture passage: “And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you” (Deuteronomy 26:11). Let the rejoicing of God’s people of old lead to our own rejoicing today, even in this Lenten season. Let us continue to rejoice in God’s mighty deliverance, not only from slavery in Egypt, but from our slavery to sin, death and hell. Let us rejoice in how God accomplished this mighty deliverance through his own beloved Son, who was tempted by Satan in the desert; who suffered and died for our salvation; who rose again in triumph over death and the grave. Let this Lenten season be filled with rejoicing as we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming Easter celebration.

Second, from that Old Testament lesson, we see that there is a call to release. This passage talks about first fruits giving as God’s people left the desert behind and settled into their new home. From the harvest that they would gather in, they were to take a portion of this and present it as an offering to the Lord. Notice what verse two says: “You shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there” (Deuteronomy 26:2). God isn’t interested in second-best, remnants and remains, the leftovers, from the fields of his people. What God wants from his people is the first and the best, not just of their produce, but of their lives. In offering this up to the Lord, God’s people begin to release their grip on things. Verse ten even gives words for them to say as they present their first fruits offering: “And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me” (Deuteronomy 26:10). In this Lenten season, what is it that we are offering up to the Lord? Is it the first and best of our lives, or is it just the scraps and leftovers? Sometimes we have to be led out into the desert, if not literally, then figuratively, in order for us to see that every gift and blessing we have in life comes from the hand of the Lord. Sometimes we have to be humbled and brought low to understand this truth. Jesus entrusted himself into the hands of his Father and released his very life on the tree of the cross, shedding his blood for us all. Again, we see a cause-and-effect relationship here. If God offered up the life of his only Son for us, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (see Romans 8:32)? That is the cause, and the intended effect is for us to open our hands and release the grip that we have on the things in this life; the things that we cling to so tightly. This Lenten season is an opportunity for us to consider not only our own needs, but the needs of others. In the midst of continued downsizing of the federal government, many people are anxious and fearful. Jobs and careers are on the line. Here is a call for each one of us to see Christ in our neighbor and be Christ to our neighbor.

Third, from that Old Testament lesson, we see that there is a call to return. Verse ten tells God’s people, recent arrivals from their desert wanderings, that they are to present their first fruits before the Lord “and worship before the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 26:11b). God’s people of old were called to return to worship, and so are we. This Lenten season is a wonderful opportunity to do this; to hit the reset button in our busy lives and return to the blessing of regular worship. The definition of “regular worship” has shifted over the last two decades. Researchers now point out that regular worship attendance is once or twice a month (Explore the latest church attendance statistics in 2024 and discover surprising insights into the changing landscape of church attendance. | ChurchTrac Blog). Of course, these statistics point to deeper concerns about our priorities in life. The truth is that we are pulled in many different directions. We can come up with lots of reasons why we just can’t be in worship on any given Sunday. Some of these are real and valid, but others not. Without the blessing of receiving God’s wonderful gifts in Word and Sacrament on a regular basis, we end up in a spiritual desert. We end up parched, weary, and dried up. There is a better way, and that is to do the very thing we sing of in our Lenten verse: “Return to the Lord your God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Joel 2:13). In our returning to the Lord, who is indeed gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, there is rejoicing, and so this last “R” takes us back to the first “R” – rejoice.

In the desert, in the midst of our own temptations, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, scorning the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Amen.