First Sunday of Lent
Back to the Wilderness
Jesus, full of the Holy
Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during
those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him,
"If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of
bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by
bread alone.'"
Then the devil led him
up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil
said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for
it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then,
will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is
written,
'Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.'"
Then the devil took him
to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him,
"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is
written,
'He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,'
and
'On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot
against a stone.'"
Jesus answered him,
"It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the
devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:1-13
Jewish
Sacrifice and the Temptation of Christ
BOTTICELLI,
Sandro
1478-1481
Cappella
Sistina
(Vatican
Palace, Vatican City)
Rome
Italy
|
Notes: |
Pope Sixtus IV
commissioned Botticelli along with other artists to decorate the walls of his
new papal electoral chapel ("Sistine" Chapel, after
"Sixtus".) Botticelli painted three frescoed sections of the walls,
one of which was "Jewish Sacrifice and the Temptation of
Christ." In 1475, the
Dominican practice of the rosary was revived in Germany and quickly became
widespread among Dominicans, Benedictines, and Carthusians. Pope Sixtus IV, a
Franciscan who served from 1472-1484, also encouraged the practice through
papal bulls and indulgences. The devil in
Botticelli's painting wears clerical garb and carries rosary beads, a clear
contemporary reference to the new rosary practices, which carried with them
the promise of remission of punishment for confessed sins through
indulgences. This fashioning of the devil as an active, practicing cleric was
a popular motif in Temptation-themed art of the period. What it signifies is
less clear; does the rosary indicate that, with Mary's intercession and
Christ's grace, even the devil can be saved? Or is it a less benign
fashioning, indicating that the devil is very clever and can disguise himself
in the garb of the faithful? "Christ's
threefold temptation by the Devil, as described in the Gospel according to St
Matthew [ACT note: the Lukan version differs in the order of the temptations
and the closing section, but is essentially the same otherwise], can be seen
in the background of the picture, with the Devil disguised as a hermit. At
top left, up on the mountain, he is challenging Christ to turn stones into
bread; in the centre, we see the two standing on a temple, with the Devil
attempting to persuade Christ to cast Himself down; on the right-hand side,
finally, he is showing the Son of God the splendour of the world's riches,
over which he is offering to make Him master. However, Christ drives away the
Devil, who ultimately reveals his true devilish form. On the right in the
background, three angels have prepared a table for the celebration of the
Eucharist, a scene which only becomes comprehensible when seen in conjunction
with the event in the foreground of the fresco. The unity of these
two events from the point of view of content is clarified by the reappearance
of Christ with the three angels in the middle ground on the left of the
picture, where He is apparently explaining the incident occurring in the
foreground to the heavenly messengers. We are concerned here with the
celebration of a Jewish sacrifice, conducted daily before the Temple in
accordance with ancient custom. The high priest is receiving the blood-filled
sacrificial bowl, while several people are bringing animals and wood as
offerings. At first sight, the inclusion of this Jewish sacrificial scene in
the Christ cycle would appear extremely puzzling; however, its explanation
may be found in the typological interpretaion. The Jewish sacrifice portrayed
here refers to the crucifixion of Christ, who through His death offered up
His flesh and blood for the redemption of mankind. Christ's sacrifice is
reconstructed in the celebration of the Eucharist, alluded to here by the
gift table prepared by the angels." [from Sandro Botticelli,
1444/45-1510, by Barbara Deimling. Taschen, rev. ed., 2000, pg. 34-35.] |
(Detail)
The greatest temptations are not those
that solicit our consent to obvious sin,
but those that offer us great evils
masking as the greatest goods.
~
Thomas Merton
Why is it that any time we speak of temptation
we always speak of temptation as something
that inclines us to wrong.
We have more temptations to become good
than we do to become bad.
~
Fulton J. Sheen
Pastor
Chuck led the Children’s Parade for Mardi Gras on Sunday.
Tossing
out Mardi Gras beads.
Pastor
Chuck’s wife ordered King Cakes from New Orleans.
Becky
Guy gave our Painted Toe members a tour of the new exhibit,
“The
Engaged Object," at Foothills Art Center on Monday.
Weapons
of Peace — “Bang, Etc.”
Robert
Mickelsen
Mims,
Florida
Fence
Jesse
Mathes
This
one is for you, JACKIE!
Maybe
you could wear it instead of your horrible neck brace?
Laurie
Davis
Bowling
at The Wild Game on Wednesday evening.
(I
just took pictures.)
Curt
Harris was designated Rotarian of the Year for his
multiple
contributions. He and two other members
just
returned from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
Curt
has climbed it … six times?
Spares
and Pairs was at the home of Neil and Jennie Snyder Friday evening.
Alas.
Sharron
Leonard fell and broke her leg/hip at the lake this morning.
This
is a picture taken inside the ambulance of their
emergency
response summons to Evergreen Lake.
Sharron
had surgery this evening and now has a pin in her upper femur.
PLEASE
SEND PRAYERS AND HEALING THOUGHTS!!!
Lent
is never a question of worthiness; Lent is a question of mindfulness, of
bringing to our minds the Mind of Christ, which is compassionate, loving, and
tender to all human beings and absolutely faithful to the Love of God, which he
experienced first hand in the Trinity.
~ Alison
Kirkpatrick
February 14, 2016 First Sunday in Lent
Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13