bread and circus

Saturday February 23^rd, Luke 4:  9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"  12 Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Those opportune times come again and again in the life of Jesus.  There is Peter on the mountain, “let us build three booths.”  The soldier at the cross, “If you are the Christ, then come on down from there.”  The home town crowd, “do for us as you did in Capernaum.”  And from you and I, “if only you do this for me, I will follow you.”  Jesus doesn't lead us away from life, but into it where we find the opportunity to “be” the body of Christ.  Bread and Circus can dull our eyes and our hearts for a while, but in the end, it is being a part of the body of Christ that sustains life, here and now and in the life to come.