Lent 1

 

 

Most of us do not deal well with uncertainty.  We like things to be well planned and organized.  That is a very human desire.   Nonetheless, despite our best efforts and deepest longings, we often find ourselves in situations that are terribly uncertain.  And that is where the rubber hits the road, where strength of character is revealed and level of faith is revealed.  It is in these circumstances that our faith is tested.

 

The story of Jesus is the wilderness is one of those faith-testing experiences.  It is a story of testing in much the same way that Satan put Job to the test in the Old Testament.  For Job the test had to do with Job’s righteousness, his loyalty to God and his willingness not to curse God even in the face of suffering.  But what is the nature of the test for Jesus? Jesus is the unique Son of God, divinely designated to restore humanity to a right relationship with God.  But Jesus is also the son of God just as Adam was.  Jesus is a fully human son of God.  Jesus is God’s son in two ways.  First he is unique “Son of the Most High” as we are told in Luke 1:32 but Jesus is also the new Adam, the new human being as Paul is so fond of saying in his letter to the Romans.  The first Adam did not stand up to the test and his failure has reverberated throughout human history.  Jesus is being tested for his fidelity to his identity as God’s unique Son and his willingness to live a fully human life, to live as Adam was created to live but did not. 

 

What about the temptations themselves?  Mark’s version of the Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness is so short that we have to draw on Luke and Matthew to have a more comprehensive understanding of this event.  In Matthew and Luke we are told that Satan comes to Jesus and tells him: “Command these stones to become bread.” Satan also tells Jesus:  “Throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple. God will send angels to rescue you.” Finally Satan promises Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he will fall down and worship him.

We don’t have to look far to see the connection to the tests and temptations of Israel in the wilderness.  The three temptations put before Jesus have their parallels to the temptations that the Israelites faced during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.  In both of these experiences there are the themes of food or the idea of God taking care of us, who we are going to worship and putting God to the test. 

 

It is helpful to see Satan’s role as that of seducing us with choices, of testing us as to whether or not we are going to make the right choice or the wrong choice.  Are we going to make a choice that brings us closer to God or are we going to make ones that take us away from God?  Are we going to live out God’s purpose for us or are we going to turn our back on that plan?   Each and every day we are presented with choices that enable us to live a more God centered life or a self-centered life.   Sometimes those choices are big; they are choices that will dramatically change the course of our lives. Sometimes they are very small choices, choices that are seemingly insignificant.

 

In the first temptation, Jesus is being tested in terms of one of the most basic elements, hunger.  He has been in the wilderness for forty days, not having eaten at all during that time and he is hungry!  Jesus’ humanity is in full action; he longs for food.  Satan tries to trick Jesus, telling him to turn a stone into bread.  “Solve your problem right away by just doing this one simple thing.”  But Jesus responds by quoting scripture: “One does not live by bread alone.”  Jesus is able to put off that particular instant gratification because of his trust and faith that God will provide him with what he needs in due course.  Jesus is called to trust God to keep his promise, to bring salvation and bring life out of death even when all of the circumstances of life would call that trust into question.

 

Satan gives Jesus another test. “Enjoy all of this power.  Have all of these kingdoms.  All you have to do is worship me!”  Again Jesus responds with scripture.  “There is only one God for us to worship!”  But Satan is persistent.  “Instead of trust why don’t you get proof?  Instead of walking by faith on God’s terms, why don’t you make God demonstrate saving power on your terms?  Throw yourself down from the temple and force God’s hand.”  Once again, Jesus quotes scripture “Do not put the Lord your God to test.”

 

Wheeling and dealing with God is a very dangerous practice.  We cannot bargain with God.  Any prayer that even suggests: “If you God do this, I will do that” is prayer that is doomed.

 

The placement of the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness early in the gospels is for a specific reason.  Before Jesus was born, the expectations and hopes for a Messiah were very strong among the Israelites.  But the nature of that Messiah was wide open to dispute.  Some expected a royal Davidic Messiah, one who would reestablish the kingdom of Israel.  Even after Jesus was raised from the dead, some of his apostles still asked: “Lord is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”   This expectation fanned hopes that the Messiah would overthrow the Roman overlords.  Others looked for a priestly Messiah who would purify the worship of Israel.  Still others longed for a prophetic Messiah who would lead the Israelites as Moses had done.  The account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness describes Jesus’ response to calls for misuse of his power.  The other clarification that emerges from this story is that Jesus was not going to be a Messiah of theatrical demonstrations.  Being a child of God requires above all faithfulness to God, compromise with Satan could not be allowed. 

 

Sometimes we forget that Jesus had to be taught the essentials of his faith. As the son of faithful Jews, Jesus experienced formation in much the same way as we do.  Jesus did not emerge from the womb preaching!  Luke tells us that it was Jesus’ practice to go to the synagogue.  Twice Luke tells us that Jesus grew in his faith.  Through the sheer practice of going to the synagogue Jesus received and was formed in the Jewish faith of his day. 

 

It should not be a surprise then to learn that when Jesus was tested by Satan he did not defend himself or respond in some sort of clever way.  Jesus responded with scripture, quoting truths he had learned as a child, relying on habits of the heart he had learned at a very young age.  Jesus knew who he was.  He knew that life was more than bread alone, that he would only worship one God and that he would not put God to the test.  These truths were engraved on his heart.   

 

Simply being in a community of faith week after week, these truths become centered on our hearts as well.  Christian formation requires a great deal of commitment.  There is a lot to be said for simply being here week after week, regardless of any external factors that might intervene.  Lent is a wonderful time to reinforce this practice in our own lives. 

 

When we are well grounded in our faith, when we understand that formation is a lifelong process, one that requires regular nourishment and attention, we too are able to deal with the temptations in our lives.  From the benign temptations to the ones that can ruin our lives, we are well shaped and formed to confront the many ways in which Satan appears to us each and every day. 

 

Lent is a wonderful time to clear up any deficiencies we might feel in our spiritual lives.  Lent is a time to put into practice that prayer life that we long for but which has always been on the horizon of our busy lives.  Lent is a time to pray away the temptations that are disrupting our lives, knowing that we are surrounded by others who are doing the very same thing.  Christians around the world have now entered into this spiritually significant time.  It’s as if there is some sort of heavenly highway of prayer running above us.  Maybe we are fully merged onto that highway.  Maybe we are sitting in the merge lane or even stuck at a broken traffic light.  This is the time, Lent is the time to move right onto that highway with all of our hopes, dreams and prayers for ourselves, our families, our church, our communities and the world.