Loading...Play a little game with me if you will: word associations.
“Sun” – set, rise, beach, moon.
“Red” – blue, love, heart.
"Temptations” – devil, sins, cat food, musical group, Lord’s prayer, chocolate, mis-steps, short-changing oneself or others.
For Jesus, temptations might have meant
choosing his own self
hearing Scripture to prop up himself and justify actions
that he has to prove himself in some way.
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We hear this story about the “Temptations of Jesus” every year on the 1st Sunday in Lent. There are actually three versions of it in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (each is slightly different from the others).
As we are in the first days of Lent,
you might be trying to honestly face the reality of your limitations or of your mortality.
Deep thoughts which often come up in this season.
So, it’s possible that this story is placed here on the first Sunday in Lent to get us in a “Lenten frame of mind”.
(As in “If you gave “something up for Lent”, you may feel tempted to cheat in some way.” So, (?) maybe this story is meant to be heard today as a word of encouragement?)
I’m not sure about that last part,
but I suspect that some will hear that or make that connection.
After all, this story is not about garden variety sins/temptations
or even those that could be classified as “mortal sins”.
Recently, when talking about this text with some pastor friends,
one of them observed that this text is often heard and interpreted as:
“Jesus now knows what it’s like to be human because he faced temptations! And, he overcame them!”
But as my friend pointed out
Jesus is facing temptations I’ve never faced in this story:
turning stones to bread
power over all the empires of the world
flying/levitating
I’d have to agree with my friend;
these are not temptations I’ve had to overcome, much less deal with!
This story is not exactly a “follow me”, example story.
Nor is it a morality test.
It’s not even a way to guilt us into reading/knowing Scripture better (after all, the Tempter knows Scripture really well, and - well – that’s part of the temptation!)
I would say that this story is not even a means of promoting a version of spiritual jujutsu to meet and overcome the strength of the tempter through holy weakness (even if Jesus matches the Tempter quote for quote and out-manouevers him!)
So, if the story is not example, or morality, or guilt, or jiu jitsu advertisement, then what might it really be about?
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To think on this a bit more,
listen to a couple of bits of wisdom (including a story):
As Jesus is going about towns and villages a little bit later --
teaching, healing, welcoming, and sending --
he takes a moment to tell his followers that he will suffer,
be rejected and betrayed, and be killed.
And not only that, but that his followers will also experience
hardships of various sorts because they follow him.
Indeed, all followers will have to lose their life (at minimum, the life they know and think they “deserve”) as they follow him.
But, Jesus continues, this is life:
he himself will be raised again;
and, in losing their lives for his sake, his followers will gain life.
In other words, life/death; loss/gain; power, strength, and weakness are NOT what you think they are.
It’s tempting to turn a life with God
and a life following Jesus
into a strength/might competition.
A competition that begins to sound like
“if I believe in God enough, life will be good and I’ll be blessed”
or, “If only you pray enough, nothing bad will happen”
or, “if you know the Bible well enough, you can do no wrong.”
But followers of Jesus then and now know that’s not really so.
That’s not the promise that’s given by God in Christ.
That’s not the promise of the Holy Spirit with us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Deuteronomy we have this story – instructions about giving offerings:
When you bring your first fruits in offering, make sure to say this –
A wandering Aramean chosen by God was my ancestor
(the family ended up in Egypt and was HUGE)
God claimed this very big family, rescued them and led them through wilderness and confusion to this place where crops grew, animals flourished and we, God’s people, live in the promise.
The story that is told as offerings are brought is about God.
It’s about God’s claim on the human family.
It’s about God’s work in us to bring life.
It’s about God’s promise made and fulfilled. Over and over again.
~~~~~~~~~
It’s interesting to me that these instructions wrapped up
in the retelling of the story of God’s faithfulness
are give to us on this same day as the story of Jesus,
beloved and claimed Son of God,
facing the Tempter in the wilderness and in the desert –
a place where emptiness and loneliness can feel their sharpest.
Rather than being a story about morality, or standing up to temptation, or guilt, or “just being strong enough”,
I suggest you think of this story of Jesus facing the tempter in the wilderness as an invitation to trust in and rely upon the promises of God –
promises given and fulfilled
through Scriptures, in the world, in your life,
in water, in word, in bread, and in wine.
Jesus facing the Tempter or
you facing the realities of every day life, frustrations and all,
are enveloped and wrapped up in the faithfulness of God with you.
Now and always.
In the midst of your loneliest days, your most desert-y of days,
your hardest days, your most challenging days.
This is a promise that you can trust and rely upon
because it’s a promise that has been kept day after day,
year after year,
for all people, for all God’s people.
Amen!
