This first Sunday of Lent, Christian congregations all over the world heard the story of Jesus in the wilderness. As an allegory, it is full of rich images and meanings. For me, this story is one of Jesus confronting the limitations of his childhood and adolescent images of life. Like all of us, Jesus had to unlearn a great deal in order to fully step into an adult understanding of life, with all the possibilities and limitations of control.

Unfortunately, many of those congregations heard a simplistic explanation about using will power and prayer to resist temptation. That is not the message of this story.

This story is about unlearning. It is about climbing to the top of the rope and discovering that the rope is not attached to anything, that what seemed so firm and reliable at one time in life is now shaky and falling apart.

rule bookJesus, as a good Jewish boy, had learned all he needed to learn about what it meant to be a good Jewish boy. He was observant of his religious traditions and did all that was needed to be in good standing with his culture and his community.

But it was in his personal wilderness that he had to confront the reality that what was necessary to get him through childhood and adolescence was not sufficient to address the challenges of an authentic life as an adult. That required more than compliance and will power. Those are not sufficient to address the many assaults and inevitable losses of adult life.

We spend the first few decades of life learning some important lessons that give us a place to stand. However, moving forward demands unlearning some things. That will be the theme of my next few posts, because that is where I am in my life now, unlearning still more lessons that no longer work for me.