That conversation, and my own need to turn to God and start trusting more than I worry, influenced the message below.
The lectionary texts for this week are:
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
It had been announced:
You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.
Jesus was baptized, and the voice of the Father spoke those words as the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus the Son in bodily form like a dove. It was a pretty big announcement. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, completely taken with what had just happened to him. He went off into the wilderness, following the call of that Spirit. He did not eat anything for 40 days and he gets hungry.
I love that Luke tells us Jesus gets hungry. Because if the voice of God the Father has just pronounced you God’s Son, and the Holy Spirit has shown up in person, it might be easy to think that this Jesus was all divine all the time. And he was! But he was also all human. All the time.
Because Jesus was fully human, it means he could have given in to the devil, right? He could have said “well, sure, this devil is a trick one, but I’m hungry and surely my father does not want me to be HUNGRY? And the Holy Spirit led me here, so it should be ok, right?” But Jesus didn’t do that. Jesus knew that being hungry was the least of his problems when the devil was there, suggesting all sorts of who-knows-what. So Jesus resisted.
But the devil was not done. The devil knew that he was just getting started. Jesus didn’t want the bread? Ok, fine. Jesus resisted things of the flesh.
But what about POWER? What man can resist POWER? So the devil declared that he had all the power, and he was going to make a special deal, just for Jesus!
The thing is… Jesus really was famished. Starving. And being hungry creates all kinds of problems, and good judgment can just slide right out the window. Have you ever been tired, and hungry, and really frustrated?
I have. It seems like kind of a lot lately. And my mind goes right to “WHY ARE THINGS SO AWFUL?” It is in those moments that thoughts creep into my tired, frustrated brain. Things like
* “it’s because God has forgotten you” or
* “that’s why things are so bad, you know… because the forces of evil have finally won” or
* “how could it possibly be any worse? What difference does it make at this point?”
Those are the times we ask where God has gone, why everything is so impossible, how THE BAD PEOPLE can have so much power… how we can live in a world so inhospitable.
We do it all the time! We look around at the shambles of life in this world and it is so tempting to believe that all power has been given over to
* political affiliation, that tempts us to think of us and them, that urges us to take a stand on the right (or the left) and it will all be good
* patriotism, that tempts us to think that flying the right flag and pledging the right allegiance will somehow protect us when we are hungry and exhausted
* food, that tempts us to insist that a diet with meat but no grains, or grains but no meat, or grains and fish, or whatever combination of things is fashionable – that what we eat is the key to living a good life
* stuff – or the management of stuff – because somehow an uncluttered house with things that only spark joy, or a house that has bookshelves on every wall, or closets full of shoes and beautiful clothing, will bring redemption from the pain of the everyday world.
IT CAN ALL BE YOURS.
But it never works out that way, does it. Because it’s a big old lie – the same lie the devil told Jesus. Authority has NOT been given over to political parties or nation states or food or stuff.
Authority has always been with God. In the Deuteronomy reading, the Israelites are instructed to remember their history as they take their offering – to remember how God is the one who rescued them “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power and with signs and wonders” (Deut 16:8).
And if we can remember that (which, let’s be honest, we really don’t remember on the regular), the devil brings out the biggest trick of all – with Jesus and with us. Except Jesus resisted the temptation that we often do not resist. The devil used God’s own words, but twisted them mercilessly.
Jesus and everyone at his baptism had just heard it pronounced that Jesus is the Son of God, and the devil used that to say “If you ARE the Son of God….”
But the devil does not really want Jesus to act like the Son of God. The devil wanted Jesus to act like an ordinary human being who can’t quite completely trust that God is firmly in charge. That the mighty hand and outstretched arm that rescued the Israelites is still firmly in charge, caring for and protecting God’s people (which is to say – ALL people.)
But Jesus, who has been present since before the beginning, is not tricked. Jesus does not give in, but declares that GOD is in charge. So in charge that there is no need to worry. So in charge that you do not have to…
Wait. No. So in charge that you do not GET to decide how God will be in charge.
And how aggravating is that??
Because what if God does things wrong?
What if the things that we are so utterly certain are true, turn out to be different than God’s estimation and behavior?
And if you are thinking that you would never think that God is wrong, take a moment. Do you believe that churches should have armed guards for services because there are dangerous, ugly men out there and it is your responsibility to provide safe environments? Where does God fit into that equation? Why do you have to use violent means to protect those you love, when God loves them (and you) even more?
Or do you worry that conservative people who make strong claims about who is and is not acceptable for various activities and roles in the church will somehow destroy the church and no young people will want to worship and practice faith? Where does God fit into the equation? Why do you have to protect and preserve the church that God started and the people who God loves more than you can imagine?
Jesus knew. Like the Israelites in Deuteronomy, Jesus remembered. And when the devil suggested that Jesus do something plain dangerous and stupid, when the devil suggested a trust in God that was independent of KNOWING God…
Jesus said NO. Nope. Nuh-uh. Because Jesus knew what we so often forget: It is not up to us to decide when or how God saves us. It is up to us to trust that God will save us in ways better than we can begin to fathom.
In all three temptations, Jesus looked to God. Because
Jesus knew that God will always love God’s children and there is never a time that we need to turn to evil for our salvation.
Jesus knew that God will always keep God’s authority and there is never a need to give up on God and turn to any human promises that cannot do what they promise.
Jesus knew that God is completely in charge. We don’t have to understand how it works (which is both maddening and a huge relief.)
The God who rescued the Israelites from Egyptians and Babylonians and a wide variety of other violent peoples and terrible circumstances is the same God who will rescue us from Republicans and Democrats and flags and diets and the endless array of organizers and marketing strategies.
That God – the Trinity present at the baptism of Jesus – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – are always together, always three, always one. They are the source of
the divinity that led to Jesus resisting the devil’s temptations even as he led a completely human life.
the divinity that allowed Jesus to fulfill the law and live completely as human beings were intended to live
the divinity that led to the Resurrection when broken human beings killed the one human being who was not broken at all – Jesus.
And because Jesus lived the life, died the death, and was Resurrected, the Holy Spirit came and breathed upon us…. Breathes upon us still so that we can live a full life.
Life as we were meant to live (at least in shining moments that we could not manage on our own)
Life soaked in God’s love
Life redeemed so that every time we go wrong we can be assured that we are forgiven.
That God has done what God promised.
That there are more important things than our bellies
That no human, earthly behavior or organization can or will ever have God’s authority to redeem or rescue us
That God will be with us, for us, in and around us forever.
We cannot resist temptation like Jesus did… but because of what Jesus did, we are redeemed and can live like redeemed people.
We can live like we actually trust God.
Amen.
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