Temptation in the Wilderness
I have always been drawn to the season of Lent. I find the focus on both the journey to Jerusalem and our own need of repentance to be deeply moving. I was, therefore, both excited and a little apprehensive to give the opening sermon for this year's Lenten season at Groomsport Presbyterian. I, unfortunately, had issues again with the video recording (which I now think have, hopefully, been resolved with a software update), but thankfully my beautiful and charming wife thought to run an audio recording on her phone. My sermon manuscript is follows the audio recording.
May this Lenten season be a time of reflection and peace for you and yours.
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”
In the season of Lent, we follow Jesus on the road to Jerusalem as we remember the events that led to his death on the cross. Over the coming weeks, the church around the world will be telling once again the familiar story of journey and conflict. From high pulpits in cathedrals to huddled groups in tin roofed huts, Christians around the world will be asking what this story means for us in our time.
How appropriate, then, that we begin in the wilderness. The wilderness; it is a familiar place for the people of God. It is a place of both trial and preparation. For the people of Israel, the wilderness is what stood between them and the promised land, a place where they would spend 40 years learning how to trust again. For David, the wilderness is where he fled from Saul, and where he would turn to God in praise. The wilderness is where John the Baptist cries out to the people of God, and where he would baptize Jesus in the river Jordan. So, it comes as little surprise that when Jesus is ready to begin his earthly ministry, he too is driven into the wilderness.
However, for all the prevalence of the wilderness in our Christian family story, it is a place we would rather not dwell in for very long, if at all. In fact, we often do our best to avoid the wilderness. Our gardens are neatly tended and pruned, our forest parks are filled trails and guidebooks, and those who actively seek out deep wilderness are often viewed with a mix of amusement and skepticism. How much more true does this become when we move the conversation to the wilderness of our spiritual lives. We prefer our experiences with the holy to be predictable, and orderly, and dignified, and respectable. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us prefer the god who shows up in the quiet moments of worship to the god whose spirit hovered over the chaos of creation, roaming wild and free.
We don't know what to do with a wilderness God; we are even less sure what to do with a wilderness Messiah. After all, in the verses preceding today's reading Jesus has just been baptized in the Jordan River by John, and in what must be the most dramatic baptism in all of history, the clouds part and a voice comes down from heaven proclaiming Jesus to be the son of God, in whom God is well pleased. From the point of view of those of us hearing the gospel story there should be no doubt of who Jesus is and what he is being called to do.
So, why then the wilderness? Why the 40 days? Why the temptation? Surely we do not need another proof of Jesus legitimacy! The writers of the Gospels do not include material merely for transition; no, everything here has a clear purpose. So what purpose does Jesus find in the wilderness?
Like all stories in the Gospel, the sequencing here matters. Notice the order: Jesus is baptized, his calling is confirmed by voice from heaven, he is filled with the Holy Spirit, and only then is he led into the wilderness to face temptation. This is not a matter of Jesus proving himself worthy; if that were the case he would have had to face temptation first to prove himself, and only if he passed the test would God have given his blessing. No, Jesus has already had the skies open up and the voice of God come forth and the power of the spirit flow into him; Jesus already knows his task, he knows the road that lies ahead, he knows his purpose.
It is precisely because he knows his purpose that Jesus is led into the wilderness to face temptation. Remember, Jesus has come to preach a gospel that the apostle Paul will describe as “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” Jesus presents a way of life that stands in stark contrast to the way almost anyone he would have met, whether Roman or Jew, would have lived their lives. He would have known just how challenging this road would prove to be; how lonely, how exhausting, and how pain-filled. He knew would spend long days on the road with far from enough to eat; nights sleeping in a shared room with those on the lowest rung of the social ladder while those in political power rested easy; and eventually a humiliating death where even he would wonder if God had forsaken him.
So, the temptation comes. With smooth words that seem wise and prudent, it comes: “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” We hear the temptation saying, “You are hungry now, and you and your friends will be hungry often on this journey, why not use your power to make sure you have enough - it is the responsible thing to do!”
With a vision of success and grandeur, looking over the power of all the kingdoms of the world, the temptation comes again: “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.” We hear the temptation saying, “How much easier would your journey be if you had the power and influence of a great empire behind you? How much good could you do for every-day, regular people? You are a good person, and with their power you could do great things!”
And then, with subtlety and cunning, from the top of the holy of holies, the temptation comes a third time: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here…He will protect you.” And we hear the temptation saying, “I know you have doubts, you wonder if that voice you heard, that vision you had, was real. Wouldn’t it be nice to know for sure that God was 100% on your side before going off on this journey? Is it wrong to just ask for a little assurance?”
In my childhood Sunday School classroom we had a painting of this scene from scripture. As I remember it, the figure of the tempter was holding out his hand to Jesus, seeming to invite him to follow. He was clearly a bad person; you could tell by the way he was dressed and the look in his face. But Jesus, with his perfect skin, blue eyes, and flowing blonde hair, just stood there, resolute, his back to him. It was clear, at least to my 9 year-old self, that Jesus was never really tempted; he knew what was right,and that we needed to be the same: never, ever even think about giving in; because it would always be clear, right & wrong.
I wonder about that painting. Partly I wonder what it was doing in a Sunday School classroom; but that isn’t the important detail. I wonder if that is the way we think about temptation; that it will always come from someone, or somewhere, that we can clearly tell is bad. We will know it for evil, and so it won’t really be all that hard to resist, because, after all, we are good people!
No, I think any of us who have lived in this world for long know that temptation comes, not dressed as a villain in a pantomime, where we know to “booo” - but rather as someone wise and reasonable, someone who has our best interest at heart. Temptation will reassure us that our actions are just about being responsible, using our power wisely, and getting a little reassurance along the way.
I imagine that Jesus, being fully human, didn’t simply turn his back on the tempter. I imagine that he felt at a very deep level drawn to the possibilities offered - using his power to gain power - using that power to force the world to do his will - and forcing even God to act. And for someone playing by the rules of this world, those are logical and reasonable acts. But Jesus doesn’t play by the rules of this world - he came to upend our expectations and our relationships; he came to show love and mercy to those least expected, and to proclaim a coming kingdom ruled not by the powers of warfare or oppression, but ruled by a servant king. Jesus knows his path, and that knowledge gives him the strength to withstand even the most cunning of the devil’s words.
Can we say the same, as individuals, or more importantly, as the church? Are we so sure of our calling, so secure in who we have been made to be, that we can stand up to the seemingly wise words that promise us power and influence? For surely we face the same temptations! The voice that says “we are just being responsible” or “if only we just had a little assurance things are going to be ok.” It is the voice that dulls our response to pain and suffering in the world, it is the voice that keeps us focused on worries about our future rather than the possibilities of our present, and it is the voice that magnifies our fear and diminishes our trust, in God and in each other.
As a church and as a society, we seem to be standing at a crossroads. The world appears to be changing faster than it ever has before; and we wonder, how do we, the church fit into this new age? What is our calling; here in this place, in this time?
My friends, our calling is the same today as it has been since the first believers rose out of the waters of baptism: we are to be the hands and feet of Christ in a broken and fearful world. We are to preach the good news of salvation; feed the hungry, clothe the naked, bind up the broken hearted. Simply put, we are to love God, and love one another.
And we are to do this without fear, even if we are standing in the wilderness of an unknown future. For just as Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit during his time of temptation in the wilderness, so are we. And that is very good news indeed. Amen.