Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
Luke 4:1-4
In the Barnsley circuit we are thinking about Holy Habits, and we are just about to consider Breaking Bread or Holy Communion. The Bible is filled with stories about bread and sharing bread with others. One of our lent readings in about Jesus being tempted by the devil when he was hungry to turn stones to bread.
Bread is important and most countries in the world have their own version of it. If you were to have bread, what type would you choose – bagels, pitta, crusty, white, brown…the choice is endless. This is one instance that Jesus refuses to break bread, but there are many stories in the gospels where Jesus breaks bread with others. During Lent, many people give up something, but how about this Lent, you challenge yourself to break bread with someone else, perhaps someone you don’t know well.
God of the wilderness,
You broke bread with friends and strangers
Yet resisted temptation in the wilderness
Guide us through this Lent
As we resist the temptations of the world
And seek to break bread with others
That through sharing in bread
We get to know others and to know you better
Amen
