Well, today was the first Sunday in Lent. The reading was the temptation of Jesus in the desert. It’s all about this really devilish Devil offering Jesus all kinds of power and goodies if only he would bow down and worship him. Hah. Of course, our Jesus is smarter than that and finally sends the Devil packing “until an opportune time,” ends the gospel. Hummph. Opportune time, I think? That clever spirit isn’t about to go away forever, I surmise. But, the opportune time turned out to be closer than I imagined!
We buried the “Alleluias” and said our penitential confession at the beginning of the worship service. We heard about the temptation of the Devil and while Sunday is supposed to be exempt from penitential things, it is rarely observed that way during Lent. I was raised that Sunday was always a celebration of the resurrection. Penitence and lenten prayer, fasting, and meditation was for the other six days. I wonder why we don’t do that anymore?
At any rate, here we were steeped in resisting temptation, giving up sweets, or some other delightful food or fun thing to do. And then came coffee hour. We all trudged up to the parish hall, full of penitence, ready to resist temptation. And, there was the Devil in all the dazzling glory a spirit of evil can muster. It was really hard to resist the coffee hour spread before us.
And what, you ask, was that? Power? Empire? Wealth? Aha, No, none of that. Something much, much, better and harder to resist. It was three tubs of ice cream in a variety of flavors. Ok, so no big deal, only ice cream. Aha. No, more. There were waffle cone dishes to serve this sugary, delightful, icy treat. Yummy, big, waffle cone dishes! Resistance is getting harder now.
No, no, no, no! Got a cup of decaf coffee with cream. Turned my back to the ice cream table, and what to my wondering eyes did I see? More temptation. Temptation in a sparkling array of goodies impossible to ignore. There on the second table were the following accompaniments to the ice cream and waffle dish: Chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, sprinkles, chocolate bits, maraschino cherries, whipped cream, marshmallow cream, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, walnuts, crushed nuts, oh my, I am sure I missed something. It was an ice cream sundae Sunday temptation of unimaginable magnitude. And, almost everyone was indulging and indulging.
My eyes were popping out, my heart was beating faster, my mouth was watering, my stomach was growling, and I struggled even harder to resist. That little devil voice in my head kept saying, Go for it, Go for it! But, aha, I grabbed my cape (I hate coats), my purse, and my spouse, and ran for the door! This coffee hour temptation was simply not fair! But, in the end I too managed to send that Devil packing until…..another opportune time.
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