Temptation...

Sermon on Lent 1
Luke 4:1-13

This past Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, we acknowledged the beginning of Lent. The service reminds us that as we journey toward Easter, we speak of the “frailty and uncertainty” of our lives, and mark “the penitence of the community as a whole.” We are then invited to “observe a Holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God.”
The season of Lent is traditionally a time of giving something up – something that has unique and substantial meaning to us as individuals. For some people Lent is a time to focus on giving up bad habits, such as smoking or sweets, for others is it a time to focus on taking on new good habits, such as increased self-care or a new prayer routine. Whatever our Lenten journey is, it is a journey that will change us, ideally, to be more closely in tune with ourselves and with God. It is a time of test and temptation, a time where we recognise our own weaknesses, and lean on others, especially God, for support.
And why do we need this support? To resist temptation. To deny ourselves that piece of cake, to avoid hitting the snooze button instead of getting up early for morning prayer. To do our humanly best to observe this holy season. And yet we find ways to justify our actions when we succumb to temptation. We might justify that piece of cake if we went to the gym. We might skip prayer, believing that it’s more important for us to get those extra 10 minutes of sleep, or promising ourselves that we’ll do evening prayer tonight instead. It’s the temptation, especially when we’re at our spiritual weak point, that is our downfall.
Temptation is defined as “a cause or enticement, often toward evil.” And what better example of this can we find but in this morning’s Gospel. Jesus is going through a time of self-denial. He’s alone in the wilderness, taking time away from the tasks of everyday life to focus on a spiritual journey of prayer, meditation, self-care. He’s fasting, so he is physically weak. And, right on cue, in walks temptation. In the physical form of the Devil. With fantastic promises.
The devil knows that Jesus is hungry, so he tempts him to eat. He appeals to the basic physical need for food, challenging Jesus to turn a stone into a loaf of bread. He likely taunted him, saying things like: ‘It’s exactly what you want. No one is watching, no one will know you’ve done it. It will do your body good – you need the nourishment; it’s hot out here in the desert. Prove to me that you are the Son of God by performing this tiny, easy miracle.’ And yet Jesus refuses to do this simple task.
And so the devil tries a different strategy, pitching temptation to the power agenda, promising the authority in all the kingdoms in the world. ‘Come on, Jesus, you know you want everyone to worship Your Father through you, I can make that happen with the authority you seek. I will give you the glory and authority of all those people – just one tiny detail, you have to worship me – then I will give you all of this, and more.’ And again Jesus refuses.
So the devil tries a third strategy, this time using Scripture as a test, taking Jesus to a challenging location and taunting him to use his supernatural connections – God’s angels – to get him out of the place unharmed. ‘Okay then, Jesus, if you’re as amazing as you think you are, then use the assets given you by your Father and fulfill the Holy Writings. If you don’t, you’re just a guy that says some good stuff, and I am proving that I am better than you are.’ And Jesus again refuses.
The Devil at this point realises that he has been beaten, and so he leaves Jesus for the time being. He recognises that Jesus is not just defying the challenges and refusing his ego, but that Jesus has the strength to follow the scriptures. Jesus uses the scriptures, the Holy Word of God, as the force which grants him authority over the Devil. He doesn’t get into a debate on semantics, he doesn’t engage with the devil about what he personally would prefer. He returns completely to the written word.
He quotes: “One does not live by bread alone” thereby denying his own immediate hunger for the greater good of the whole world. He quotes “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him” and challenges the Devils claim to having authority over the nations. He quotes “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” to make sure that the Devil knows exactly who he is trying to tempt, and that Jesus will not fail.
Jesus is also pointing out to the Devil that he knows that the promises made are, quite simply, too good to be true. The Devil has promised the world for the taking – physical needs, authority, and proof of Divinity – but Jesus knows deep down that even if he wanted to, the Devil could not deliver on these promises. The test of turning a stone to bread is a childish test to determine if Jesus can be easily led astray – and the Devil fails. The offer to give the authority of all the kingdoms is, realistically, false advertising. The Devil fails here because Jesus knows that he is lying, and does not believe such vile tricks. In challenging Jesus to prove his divinity at the threat of personal danger, the Devil fails because Jesus knows that he is a Spiritual Being having a Human experience, and that the soul is stronger than the flesh.
Jesus knows that the Devil will use whatever means necessary to trick Him away from his spiritual journey, and he does not allow that to happen. As we are on our own spiritual journey this Lent, we too must recognise that we will be tempted as well. We will be tempted, at our weakest moments, to choose our personal preferences over the larger spiritual goal. We will be tempted by untruths that seem, on the surface, to be meeting our spiritual goals, but we will know deep down that the promise is too good to be true, and thus recognise that it isn’t true. We will be tempted to prefer physical comforts over spiritual growth. May we be as eloquent as Jesus when we rebuke the Devil and refuse these temptations.
We know – as Jesus did – that the Devil will use whatever tools He can find to try and pull us away from our Lenten journey. Just as our Lenten fast is private and unique to each of us, so will the temptations we face be ‘tailor-made’ to challenge us the most. Our victory, like that of Christ, will be when we remain firm to our faith and strong to our practices, and thus – like Jesus – cast aside the Devil and his pathetic attempts to separate us from the love and joy of God. And so, as we enter the first full week of this journey, may our prayer again be for strength, perseverance and faith as we walk the path toward Easter.


Copyright 2010 LMP