It is striking that in our gospel reading this week (Mt 4:1-11), we learn that the very first thing God has to do on earth is to make a commitment.

He resists the temptations of the adversary in the desert by saying ‘yes’ to the will of the Father- He resists by committing himself to the will of the divine. Christ had no weapon in the desert except his ability to say ‘yes’ to God. For Christ, commitment was His sword. Because of this commitment, the angels could come close.

Within each one of us there is also this sword of commitment- this power to say ‘yes’. And it is through this inner power to say ‘yes’ to our ideals, to what is highest, that the angels can come close. For as Goethe says ‘ the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.”

And yet, so much of our lives are spent coming up against temptations and difficulties; dealing with desperate challenges- perhaps even feeling despair and hopelessness. When we find ourselves in the inner desert, like Christ, we must remember, there is one thing we will always have, one thing that no one can take away from us; the sword of commitment- our ability to say ‘yes’ to God. For ultimately, it will be this ‘yes’ power in us that allows His realm, His being to come close, to descend into the earth.

In The Act of Consecration, our communion service, we practice this ‘yes’. Each time, we are invited to practice committing ourselves to the divine…. when we pour the water and wine into the chalice we are called to open a space in our hearts for the angels to draw near…His life in our life, His light in our daylight, happens because we say yes to Him.

This contemplation by Rev. Evans was inspired by Mt. 4:1-11, the temptation in the desert.