Deuteronomy 26.1-11                                                                                          Carol A. Solovitz

Psalm 91                                                                                                 Lent 1C

Romans 10.8b-13                                                                                                  February 25, 2007

Luke 4.1-13           

The Trouble with Temptation

 

 

During this season of Lent, we are asked to ponder our humanity and the shortcomings that come with being human.  Sometimes we get so caught up in focusing on sin and things to give up that we grow weary of the journey and lose hope.  Lent is not meant to be a time spent drowning in our sins, but it is a time to be carried to safety by the waters of baptism that save us by the death of our old selves and the resurrection of new selves.  However, we still are subject to all the troubles that come with being human, including temptation.

Recently I heard a Mennonite minister speaking on the radio.  He told of going on a hunting trip with a group of friends who never failed to be in awe of a Mennonite minister who owns guns and hunts deer and pheasants.  The conversation turned to how they protect their firearms from thieves.  Many of the hunters shared that they lock up their rifles and shotguns but usually keep one gun hidden elsewhere in the house so that they can defend themselves in case a burglar breaks in and threatens them.  The Mennonite minister said, “That’s very interesting.  I lock up ALL my guns so that, if someone should break into the house, I will not be tempted to shoot them.”  The others laughed, but he was serious.  He knew that if a gun were close at hand, he might not be able to resist the temptation to harm or kill another human being.

I am not telling this story to talk about gun control.  Rather, I think this story illustrates the trouble we have with temptation.  The trouble with temptation, you see, is that not one of us is immune to it.  Everyone who has ever had a modicum of humanity is subject to temptation and thus vulnerable to committing sins.  We have just heard from the Gospel of Luke the account of Jesus’ troubles with temptations when he spent 40 days in the wilderness after being baptized.  Being fully human as well as fully divine, Jesus was not immune from the temptations of the devil.  In fact, because he was newly baptized, Jesus was an even more attractive challenge for the devil – almost as if he would get extra points for leading the Son of God into sinful acts.  As hungry and exhausted as he was, however, Jesus resisted the devil’s juicy temptations by recalling the Word of God in response to the devil’s offers.  “It is written…” Jesus said in response to every temptation.  “One does not live by bread alone.  Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”  Even when the devil tried to use Scripture (Psalm 91) to tempt Jesus, saying “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you; on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone,”  Jesus responded, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Don’t you wish we could get rid of the devil so easily?  That rascal keeps outsmarting us, and we just cannot think quickly enough to outfox the old fox.  We talk ourselves into a trap, thinking, “I know there must be a Bible verse that will help me resist this offer that I know is too good to be true, but nothing comes to mind right now.  Besides, would it be so bad to give in just this one time?  I’m tired, hungry, and in a hurry, and it’s such a little thing.”  And there we are, caught in the web of evil, unable to free ourselves.

Well, folks, it is very easy for us to get caught in temptation’s grasp, but it is a mistake to say that Jesus got rid of the devil any more easily than we can.  In his tired, hungry condition, Jesus was very tempted – as tempted as you and I would be.  The devil’s power was quite obvious, and it would have been easy for Jesus to decide that God had abandoned him in the wilderness.  Yet he kept the faith in his heavenly Father, and he took advantage of the opportunity to share that faith with the devil himself.  Oh, for a faith like that!

What we also must ponder is what Jesus did so that we who are by nature infected with the disease of sin might also receive God’s forgiveness when we are powerless against temptation and commit those sinful acts.  Although he did not know the stain of sinning, Jesus knew what it was like to be tempted, and he loved us enough to save us from sin’s punishment.  Jesus gave his own life to serve the death sentences we deserve for what we have done in disobedience to God.

In the tenth chapter of Romans, St. Paul recalls the words of the prophet Joel, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  Jesus did exactly that; he called on the name of the Lord when he could have called on the power of the devil.  God did what was promised and saved Jesus.  In fact, Jesus was stronger than ever after he returned from the wilderness.  Jesus trusted that the Lord would never abandon him.  God did not let him down.  God’s word did not return empty.  And God will not let us down either.  We only have to believe that and to act in faithfulness to our belief.

A friend of mine – a native Cherokee – told me of a rite of passage among the Cherokee people.  A young man is taken to the wilderness by his father; he is blindfolded and left there to sit on a stump the entire night.  He is told not to take off the blindfold until the first ray of the rising sun shines through it.  He also is instructed not to cry out for help.  It would do no good, for no one would take him out of there during the night.  Once he survives the night, the youth is considered a man, an adult.  He cannot tell the other youth about his experience because each experience is unique.  Each youth must come into his own manhood.  During the night, the boy may hear all kinds of frightening sounds – the sound of his father’s footsteps, leaving him alone; the noises of animals or maybe a hostile human, the sounds of wind in the trees, grass and soil.  He feels all alone against the elements, but he must sit there stoically until morning.  Finally, the sun comes up, and he can remove the blindfold.  It is then that he sees his own father sitting on another stump near him.  He realizes that his father never left at all; he has been there the entire night, watching over him.  The youth never had been alone at all through the ritual.

In the same way, we are never all alone in our most frightening experiences.  Even when we do not know it, our heavenly Father is sitting on a stump next to us, protecting us from all harm.  We are still vulnerable to the dangers around us, but we are not facing the danger alone.  More importantly, when we do fail and fall prey to our fears and tempters, God through Jesus Christ has still rescued us and saved us from eternal damnation.  Jesus understood our temptations and humanity, and his death and resurrection gave us the gift of daily turning away from the devil to return to the Lord our God.  The real trouble with temptation is that it can convince us that what we know about God is not really the everlasting Truth.   

After our worship ends today, I encourage you to look at the last page of your bulletin.  It is called “Processing the Message.”  Please think through the questions and answer them prayerfully.  Perhaps you will have an opportunity to discuss it with others.  May your faith continue to grow, and may you know the presence of God in your every moment of the week to come. 

 

Let us pray:  Lord Jesus, you know fully what it means to be human.  You understand us and love us as your sisters and brothers.  Thank you for sharing your divinity with us and giving us forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation in spite of our troubles with temptation.  Accept our repentance and bring us safely back to you.  Amen

Processing Today’s Message

 

While he was in the wilderness for 40 days and nights without food, Jesus faced at least three temptations: to use his divine power to turn rocks into bread, as well as to worship the devil in exchange for power and glory.  We are not amazed that Jesus resisted the tempter’s wily offers, but we know that we often fall into temptation’s trap. 

In your opinion, what are some of the strongest temptations of our society?

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are some of your strongest temptations?

 

 

 

 

 

 

We talk about peer pressure and its effect on youth.  Some peer pressure is good, and some of it leads us into doing things we know hurt ourselves and others.  In truth, no matter your age, there is peer pressure.  Where is the peer pressure, good and bad, in your life?

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Save us from the time of trial” [Luke 11.4] or “Lead us not into temptation” [Matthew 6.13].  Can human beings ever escape the power that sin has over us?  Can human beings resist all temptations?  What are some temptations you find easy to withstand?

 

 

 

 

 

 

How can Jesus teach us and help us to avoid hurting God and our neighbor?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 25, 2007