Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Luke 4:1-15
The Testing of Jesus
4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
9 Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
11 and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry
14 Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding region. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
Devotion from Grove Community Center, Mazomanie, Wis.
The real problem of this passage from Luke is that Jesus is alone. The wilderness is rough; this is a place of separation, the sort of desert climate early Judeans would have found familiar. We know that Jesus is hungry (2), and this contributes to the sense of desperation. The devil’s temptations only exacerbate the situation, offering Jesus instant relief from his hunger (3-4), his low emotional state (5-8) and his mortal frailty (9-12). But none of these temptations, or even the harshness of the wilderness, have the same power without Jesus’ lonesome condition. We see Jesus in the “wilderness,” but the condition of being alone can be found anywhere: in the biblical wilderness, in our cities and suburbs, and in small-town Wisconsin, where we will travel later in this reflection.
“Alone” is where temptation happens, where injustice lurks. Jesus’ loneliness is where he is presented with the opportunity to dominate “kingdoms” (5). Alone, Jesus is tempted with the power to create bread out of a rock, to defy God’s created order for only himself LENT Week 1—Grove Community Center Luke 4:1-15 4 (3-4). Aside from the devil, Jesus is alone through this entire passage. What Satan offers are quick, easy solutions to intractable problems that can never be addressed alone.
Isolation brings temptation and the devil; community brings mission, meaning and celebration of our gifts. Indeed, in verses 14-15, Jesus returns to Galilee, to community, to opportunities to teach and be “praised.” We are featuring stories from the ELCA’s partners in social ministry precisely because they chronicle bold responses to community-based problems, responses that were determined and executed by those very communities. Indeed, those responses were made possible by gifts to ELCA World Hunger.
In Mazomanie, Wis., the members of Grove Community Center, a mission of New Heights Lutheran Church, refuse to see themselves as alone in their small town. Faith Fehlen, director of strategy and community life for “the Grove,” describes her “call to live in community” in the most open terms possible: “My job isn’t to judge you; it’s to love you.” In fact, this ethos of love and community is essential to the Grove’s vision of a place where people in a small town that “needs community” can find essential services, recreation and belonging. The Grove has opened itself to its community to show love for its people. It offers a social worker, a clothing and food pantry (Heights Unlimited, led by Deacon Francine Rask), tutoring services, a fiber arts group, a walking loop, a worship space used by New Heights, and many other open meeting spaces. All these services and ministries are the result of the Grove’s intentional outreach to the town.
The Grove is one example of our church working so that no one walks in the wilderness. The Rev. Rob Nelson, pastor of New Heights, explains that, with SMO status, the Grove can shed the baggage of the institutional church yet still carry out the congregation’s mission of radical welcome and love for its community.
Reflection Questions
What has “alone” looked like in your life? Where have you turned during those moments?
Where in your neighborhood or in the world might people need community? What can you do about it?
When you hear of a church doing ministry in its community without labeling itself a church, how does that make you feel? How would that affect your faith community’s ministry in your neighborhood?