St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN
Year A - Lent 1 - March 1, 2020
Did you ever want something so bad? I don’t mean need… I mean WANT! Want something so bad that it hurts… As a kid, maybe you wanted the latest video game… or if you’re my age, as a kid, you wanted a new baseball glove or possibly a new doll…
Or – as we get older… the “things” become more expensive - a new car – or motorcycle or maybe the latest gadget, a new phone or possibly a new job or a promotion… or maybe a big house…
Our wants as humans make us do dumb things sometimes… They make us take shortcuts, they may make us fall deep into debt… We think they fill a void that we have as we search for something genuine - with real meaning… Our wants and desires open the door for temptations… Temptations that may seem great at first glance, that always end up those things that we regret most…
We are human after all… and without willpower against the temptations that are all around us, we are vulnerable… we are vulnerable to the tempter… That is why we need God’s help!
On this first Sunday in the Season of Lent, we are faced with temptation… Temptation is one of those things that gets between us and God. It’s one of those things that wreck our relationship. Temptation is one of those things in this season that we are called to examine a little closer in order to make changes in the things we do as we seek to be closer to God.
We hear a lot about temptation throughout the readings this morning… In the story from Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve that they can eat from every tree in the garden, but NOT from the tree in the center of the garden. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave them a command, but they didn’t want to hear it! After all, they were only human! And the snake said it was ok – what could it hurt? So, they ate… They put themselves first and they ate… and we all know where that got them…
In Matthew’s gospel story we hear something a bit different… We hear of Jesus, who after his baptism, was driven by the spirit into the desert wilderness (into those unsafe dark places of the wild and unruly)… Jesus is driven out in order to focus… to fast and meditate prior to beginning his difficult ministry…
But, even in the desert, Jesus was not free from the “tempter.” The Greek word diabolos – that is translated as “devil” in this passage, literally means deceiver or tempter – Jesus’ story was a bit different, from our normal encounters with temptation… He is a man (fully human) that in the harshest of conditions... But even in those conditions – He is able to resist temptation.
The tempter attacks Jesus at his weakest point – in his compelling physical hunger. Jesus must eat – otherwise he will die and his mission will die with him… and the tempter uses persuasive logic! Jesus does not say that we do not need bread, but he says that we do not live by bread alone. We must have bread – and food sustenance in order to live, but our deeper desires are satisfied only by the word of God. Jesus will provide bread, but in doing so, he will not turn his back on God. It is here, as the church, that we should remember the centrality of the word of God, and what it means to feast on Jesus.
It is a way of deepening our spiritual lives with prayer and study on the ways of Jesus… Yes, we rightly provide help to those in need – food, water, shelter, clothing, health care, hygiene – but our first duty is to be fed by the word of God because it empowers us and directs us to do what we do. It’s what makes us different… Different than any other social organization that does good works… We do these things, because we are guided by Jesus – we are guided by the word of God. It is interesting that much of Jesus’ ministry focused on feeding the hungry.
Next, Jesus is tempted to use a spectacular demonstration of power by throwing himself off the highest point in Jerusalem (the pinnacle of the temple) The tempter quotes Psalm 91 – and uses this scripture for evil purposes, insinuating to Jesus that it would be ok - after all God would protect him, and it would probably rally the people quickly as they see Jesus do this powerful act… By challenging Jesus to this heroic test, the devil has actually identified a strategy for saving people, not one by one, but by the wagonload! But Jesus is prepared and quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, giving one scripture precedence over another. No one, not even Jesus, has the right to put God to the test. Because, such testing is evidence of proof” not of faith. To test God is to put us in the driver's seat and to require God to follow our lead rather than us following God’s lead.
Then, Jesus is taken to the mountain, and sees all of the Kingdoms in the world and all of their glory spender… Again, like last week, we are reminded of Moses, who also met God on a high mountain. But, on this high mountain, Jesus is confronted by the devil (the deceiver/the tempter). Jesus has come to save the world, and the devil offers him the world – a world that isn’t even his to offer… Moses, also, could see the kingdoms of the world from the top of his high mountain. On that mountain, God promised that Israel would prosper, but God also warned the people to remember that their blessings (everything they have) come from God… (Deuteronomy 8:17-20). Jesus again quotes Deuteronomy, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him,’ reminding us that God is the only proper object of worship. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that no one can serve two masters… and here, he practices what he preaches in his own life.
There is one major thing that we learn from all these passages… Temptations, as great as it may be, can be overcome. Jesus, in all his humanity, proved that to us. God is our only power and strength in the face of temptation.
There may be times that we wrestle with temptations in our life, be it at the store, at work, or in our travels, but we always should be quick to walk away. We need to listen to the voice of that silent wisdom… that gentle voice that says NO! …and understand that there is nothing to be gained by wrestling with the tempter.
The tempter comes in all shapes and sizes, offering us everything, but only delivering frustration and confusion. When this happens, we pray to our God, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” – we can only deal with the tempter like Jesus dealt with the tempter – with God directing us in our lives.
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