Genesis 2.15-17                                                                                                                                                     Carol A. Solovitz

Psalm 32                                                                                                                                                 Lent 1 A

Romans 5.12-19                                                                                                                                                    February 10, 2008

Matthew 4.1-11

 

"Is Anything Truly Free?"

 

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Late yesterday afternoon, I returned from a pastors’ conference – an annual continuing education event that I have missed only once in 14 years, and that because I’d had surgery.  It’s something I look forward to, because I learn so much from the four theologians who offer their wisdom, because I am reunited with many friends from all over the map geographically as well as denominationally, and because it takes place in central Florida.  Ah, yes…  the temperature was in the 80s almost every day.  Among other things, I also spent time with my husband, visited Daytona Beach, watched space shuttle Atlantis go up, and wrote a sermon.  Then I rewrote the sermon.

            You see, one of the speakers at the conference was Dr. Thomas Long, who teaches homiletics [preaching] at Emory University, and another was Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, professor of New Testament at Vanderbilt.  Even though they didn’t see my original sermon, their lectures were enough to tell me that I needed to have another stab at it.  So here goes – the new revised standard version of the sermon for the First Sunday in Lent.

            Two words - “free gift” – should jump out at us from today’s reading from Romans 5.  When we read these words of Paul in this letter alongside the stories of Satan tempting Eve and Adam in Genesis and  Jesus just after his baptism in Matthew, we should start asking a lot of questions about what it means to be offered a free gift.

            It seems there’s an offer in the mail – or worse, in my e-mail – just about every day.  I can’t get over it.   I wonder why so many people want to give me something “Absolutely free!!  No obligation whatsoever!!!”    Do you get those offers, too?  Don’t tell me you are eligible to win the Publishers’ Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, too!

            Isn’t it amazing?  We get so many of these offers that we become suspicious, even cynical.  We simply cannot believe the offers.  Nothing is free, right?  Or if it is, such as a free gift with purchase, it is made so poorly that it will not last the week.  I remember jumping at those offers when I was younger.  And I can’t tell you how many timeshare deals my husband dragged me to, just to get a free set of steak knives or tickets to the Magic Kingdom.  Now, experience and age have taught us to be more skeptical and to walk right by without responding to the “free gift.”  That’s wise.

            In Matthew 4, we see Jesus doing the very same thing.  Satan keeps offering Jesus all kinds of free things, and Jesus walks right by, refusing them all.  Why?  Because each of the free gifts requires an obligation to serve the devil.  The devil says, “If you want everyone to know that you are the Son of God, then turn these rocks into bread and break this crazy fast you’ve been on.”  Jesus replies with words from Deuteronomy 8.3, “One does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  Next the devil offers him the free gift of power over God’s natural order, by defying gravity and challenging God’s word, specifically the promise in Psalm 91 to command the angels to protect us.  Again, Jesus responds with scripture:  Deuteronomy 6.16, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”  Finally, the devil offers Jesus the free gift of power, except this one involves a big obligation; all Jesus had to do was fall down and worship the devil.  Jesus’ final word to the Tempter is from Deuteronomy 6.13, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”  The devil’s “free gift” was not free, and Jesus would have no part of it.

            It is so tempting, though, isn’t it?  Look at Eve in Genesis 3.  The devil came in the form of a serpent and tempted her with the opportunity to eat something that had been forbidden by God.  Eve did not respond with scripture, though – partly because it hadn’t been written yet but mostly because she was intrigued.  “Tell me more,” she said.  The Tempter challenged God’s word, saying, “Don’t believe what the Lord God told you.  You won’t die just from eating or touching this tree.”  And finally, he appealed to her desire for power, saying, “God knows that when you eat of the tree, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  Well, that was enough for Eve.  She liked that idea, and she bought the deal.  What she didn’t realize is that with the deal came the obligation to serve the devil.  After Adam ate of the fruit, too, it meant that both of them had turned their backs on the Creator God who made them who they were and gave them everything they had.

            Does this mean that from today’s readings, we could say that there is nothing truly free?  It’s tempting, isn’t it?

            If we take another look at what the apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, we see that he confidently proclaims that God does offer us a free gift.  It is not like the offer Adam and Eve accepted, for that brought death, and God’s free gift offers life.  Through the grace of Jesus Christ, the gift of salvation is made free for all of us.  We have the free gift of forgiveness, even though we fall into the Tempter’s snare.  We have the free gift of eternal life instead of being captive to death.  We have the free gift of righteousness – the righteousness that truly belongs to Jesus but that he chose to share with us by obeying the Lord’s will.

So what’s the catch?  Where’s the obligation?  I have good news for you, although some might see it as bad news.  There is an obligation.  The gift is free, but a response is required.  We do not just take the gift and run off to play with it as if we got it for ourselves.  No, we must return our thanks to Jesus by doing what he requires of us.  Jesus’ entire ministry was spent teaching us to love our neighbors and our enemies as much as we love ourselves.  He also commanded us to love them as much as he loved us.  To Jesus, love is not just a sentimental, sweet feeling.  To Jesus, to love is to serve.  Ah, there’s the rub.  Something is required of us – as the prophet Micah said, “…to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.”

It is no easy thing to resist temptation.  In fact, it is the hardest thing we face in this earthly walk.  However, an even harder thing to face would be an eternity that is not spent in the presence of our Lord.  Thanks to Jesus’ free gift of his very own life, we are freed from that fear.  Thanking Jesus for this free gift, we are free to love and serve the Lord and all that the Lord has made.  Let us celebrate by serving in Jesus’ name.  Amen