Not On Bread Alone

Lent has officially begun!  Every year, the conversation around this time is usually what people decided to give up for Lent.  This Lenten practice can be frustrating, but it is ultimately for us to grow closer to Christ.  Too frequently I hear people staying at the surface level of simply giving something up for a couple of months and then relieved to get it back at Easter. It is easy to miss the deeper meaning behind the sacrifice when we get in the routine of giving something up and not examining it further.  The point is not to “white-knuckle” our way through Lent with whatever we have given up only to binge on Easter morning. If this is our attitude, we have missed the point. 

This brings me to today’s Gospel.  Christ says that we do not live on bread alone.  I think that the hope of Lent is that we will realize that the “bread” that we have given up is temporary and short-lived compared to God.  Our goal should be to change our relationship with what we have given up instead of simply returning to it on Easter morning.  This is why we are called to give up things that we enjoy in a sacrificial way.  If we give up ice cream, the goal is that we will learn to turn to God in prayer instead of ice cream when we have had a difficult day and need relief.  The hope is that we will take this lesson out of Lent and use it in our spiritual growth and journey to union with Christ.  This week, consider reflecting on the deeper meaning of God’s call to sacrifice and how your sacrifice can be used as a way to grow closer to Christ.