Temptations

For the First Sunday of Lent, and the temptation in the desert:

We do not live on bread alone,
but by the word of God—
a feast that may as well be stones,
if words are all our food.

O Christ into the desert led,
and there how sorely tried,
you give us both the Word and bread,
and we are satisfied.

We shall not test you, Lord our God,
demanding signs and works,
but strike the rock with Moses' rod
or we shall die of thirst.

And so we strike you, saving Lord,
to test this love divine.
You give us water—what is more,
you turn it into wine.

Yes, we shall worship God alone,
and him alone we'll serve.
If we should kneel before his throne,
it's more than we deserve.

So, Master, you should say to us, 
“Serve me, so I can eat.”
Instead, you look upon our dust
and kneel to wash our feet.

Yes, you, who made us, know our strength,
our weakness and desires.
What we would chase to find but death,
you turn into new life.

The temptation of Christ by Tobias Verhaecht – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114470497