Luke 4:1-13, Romans 10:8-13
The word “renewal” has a variety of meanings, ranging from the ordinary routines of extending the time you have borrowed a library book or extending the length of a lease or contract to the repetition of a promise as in renewing marriage vows or to giving someone new energy, strength or enthusiasm in some way as in a day of rest to renew one’s spirit.
For the next five Sundays, my intent is to reflect on renewal – certainly on our own personal renewal but also on what renewal might mean for our church life together here at OYM. Since the earliest days of the Church, Christians have prepared for Easter by observing Lent -- a period of 40 days. Lent is much more than a time to give up some unhealthy food or bad habit -- for a short while – and then to go back to it. It is a spiritual opportunity to step away from our regular patterns so we can look truthfully at ourselves and approach God with repentance and gratitude. The earliest Christians understood Lent to be an opportunity to refocus their lives by withdrawing from their usual practices so they could draw closer to Christ. That is why I am inviting us all to deepen our understanding of the joy of Easter by observing a prayerful and reflective Lent.
Toward this end, I have structured the ending of our worship today and for the next four Sundays in Lent a little differently. You will have the opportunity to pray a little longer this morning, to reflect on what you may have heard God saying to you through the Scripture readings, the music, the message, the celebration of Communion. If you care to use them, there are some questions in the bulletin to help you reflect and pray more intentionally.
There is also a Lenten Reflection Garden with stones and shells at the front of the sanctuary. After Communion, you are invited to choose a stone or a shell, if you wish, to help focus your meditation. You may keep it or return it to the Garden afterward.
Let us pray:
Gracious God, make us aware this morning of our need for renewal and what kinds of temptations or testings we may face on our journey of renewal. Help us discern how we might trust you more on our Lenten journey of faith with Jesus toward the cross of Good Friday and the joy of the Risen Christ at Easter. Amen.
I admit I took 13 minutes out of my life this week to watch world-famous golfer Tiger Woods bare his soul to the world on television and over the Internet. He hasn’t played any tour golf, he hasn’t been seen in public and he has not said a word publicly for several months -- until this past week -- about his extramarital affairs, his relationship with his family and when he will return to play golf. One particular sentence he read in his statement caught my attention. He said, “I thought I was entitled.” It is difficult, it seems, for people who believe they are privileged and maybe also wealthy, to think they might not be entitled to any and all of the supposed privileges and advantages associated with their status, position or rank?
In one of our Scripture readings today, Luke speaks of the Devil. He uses the Greek word o diabolos meaning “the one engaged in slander.” The Devil thought his position had its privileges. Verses 5 to 7 of Luke 4 state:
“Then the Devil took [Jesus] up and showed him in a second all the kingdoms of the world. ‘I will give you all this power and all this wealth,’ the Devil told him. ‘It has all been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose. All this will be yours, then, if you worship me.’” [American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation (2nd ed.). New York: American Bible Society.]
The Devil claims to possess the power to give Jesus the glory of the world. But I think the Devil was on his own power trip and exaggerated how much power he really had. And he wasn’t above lying either. As Jesus said in John 8, the Devil is “the father of lies.” We should take care not to diminish the reality of this kind of diabolical influence. One commentator calls the Devil’s influence “co-extensive with the influence of evil in the fabric of human affairs.” [Nolland, J. (2002). Vol. 35A: Word Biblical Commentary: Luke 1:1-9:20. Word Biblical Commentary (180). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.] If we think about the incredible hunger after power and wealth and prestige in individuals and in the leaders of nations today, the temptations the Devil faced Jesus with are right up to date in our world.
What kind of worship is Jesus really being tempted to consider? Not kneeling before some horned creature with cloven hooves and a forked tail but something that would be enticing for Jesus to respond to. Something more enticing than what God had planned for him. You see, Jesus knew that his journey as the Messiah, as the Redeemer and the Saviour of all humanity on Earth, called for cruel suffering and wholehearted obedience to God’s purposes for him. That was his statement to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and [then] enter into his glory?” [The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.] Philippians 2:5-8 captures Jesus’ attitude and motivation. Listen to The Message Bible:
“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.”[Peterson, E. H. (2002). The Message: The Bible in contemporary language. Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.]But the diabolical one was no fool. He knew Jesus didn’t really want to suffer and die such a horrible and excruciating death as crucifixion. Read the accounts of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night he was arrested.[Luke 22:41-44] Jesus so overwhelmed and so agonized in prayer that sweat poured down his face like great drops of blood. He asked his Father to take this awful cup of suffering from him. That was what he wanted! But Jesus also said that his Father’s will for him was what really counted, not his own will. So right at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, the Devil tried to tempt Jesus where it might count the most – to achieve the goal of salvation for all humanity and the glory and the joy that awaited him afterward with his Father without going through terrible suffering and the agony of crucifixion. The temptation Jesus felt in the call to worship the Devil was to find an easier way to pursue his task of being the Messiah. But the Devil’s way was not the way of obedience to God but the way of compromise with diabolical forces and influences then that also still control our world today. All Jesus had to do was work with or, in other words, worship the one who influenced all these forces and the Devil would grant to Jesus all the power he wanted to achieve his goals without having to suffer. At least that is what he said. The Devil wanted Jesus to hear that, since Jesus was the beloved Son of God, he certainly was entitled to a good life.
But Jesus did not give in to this real temptation. He refused the invitation and responded with a clear word from the Book of Deuteronomy 6:13: “Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve [God] with absolute single-heartedness.” [Peterson, E. H. (2002). The Message: The Bible in contemporary language. Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.]
Professor Fred Craddock reminds us:
“If anyone is having trouble believing that Jesus was really tempted, then he or she needs to keep in mind that temptation is an indication of strength, not of weakness. We are not tempted to do what we cannot do but what is within our power. The greater the strength, the greater the temptation. How fierce must have been Jesus’ battle! And very real; this is no cartoon with pitchforks, red suits, and horns. Temptation is so deceptively attractive. [On another occasion], it was not to a malicious opponent but to a very close friend that Jesus said, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’” [Craddock, F. B. (1990). Luke. Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching (56). Louisville, Ky.: John Knox Press.]Another way to look at temptation is to understand how it lures us into spiritual complacency by misrepresenting the way to fulfil God’s purposes in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. The Church has always understood that our Christian life is like a journey. We are people “of the way” and we are on the way with Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord. This journey has always meant to move us toward a deeper understanding of God and of God’s purposes for us. But how do we do this? Like Christians in the Middle Ages who were encouraged to make journeys or pilgrimages to special holy places called shrines? It was believed if you prayed at these shrines you might be forgiven for your sins and stand a better chance of going to heaven. Others travelled to shrines hoping to be cured from their illnesses.
Here is an intriguing insight about these pilgrimages. Apparently, if someone were rich enough or too busy or maybe just lazy in those days, he could still go on a pilgrimage – in a way, that is. (You could call this: pilgrimage by proxy.) The person could pay someone else to endure the hardships of travel for him or her. Did you know that this service is still available today? If you go to the website www.peregrino.org, you will read about Carlos Gil, a Portuguese computer expert, who has revived this tradition from the Middle Ages by hiring himself out to go on pilgrimages. He calls himself the “Payer of Promises” and charges only $2,500 (that’s $ 2,500 in US funds) for a week’s trip to the Shrine of Fatima in Portugal. Pilgrim Gil ensures that the pilgrimage is authentic by providing a certificate that has been stamped along the way to prove he walked for you as if you walked it yourself. (Who do people think they are fooling, I ask?)
This is an alluring temptation. If you are like me sometimes, I would rather experience God’s grace and love and peace and forgiveness without a lot of sacrifice or commitment and without the need to change or be renewed. I would rather ride on the spiritual strengths of someone else than work through my own issues with all the struggle and commitment needed to trust God more. But there is a true way to fulfil God’s purposes in our lives. And Jesus is our example – showing us the way to handle the troubles, tests and temptations we will encounter in our lives.
How did Jesus meet the temptations he faced? He encountered them with a threefold cord of strength.
- First, Jesus knew who he was. Because of his baptism, he knew clearly that he was God’s beloved Son, chosen by God to be the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world and secure the salvation of all humanity who would repent and believe in him.
- Second, Jesus also knew the Scriptures. He knew them so well that, at the moment of testing and temptation in his life, he responded with “It is written.” Or as the Good News Bible puts it: “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone.’” [American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation (2nd ed.). New York: American Bible Society.] “The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only [the Lord your God]!’”[American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation (2nd ed.). New York: American Bible Society.] “The scripture says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”[American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation (2nd ed.). New York: American Bible Society.
- And, third, Jesus returned from his baptism “full of the Holy Spirit and [he] was led by the Spirit.” [Luke 4:1, 2a]
- Do you know, in the depths of your spirit, that you are passionately loved by God? That is meant to be your identity – you are meant to be a child of God, a friend of Jesus. The great British writer G. K. Chesterton once wrote of “the furious love of God.” He meant nothing less than the enormous vitality and strength and passion of God seeking us and wanting to be with us.
- Do you know the Scriptures? One New Testament writer says: “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. There is nothing that can be hidden from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before [God’s] eyes. And it is to [God] that we must all give an account of ourselves.” [Hebrews 12:12, 13 American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good news Translation (2nd ed.). New York: American Bible Society.] Jesus understood that in the depths if his being. So Jesus was intentional about knowing the Scripture.
- Are you open to the leading of the Holy Spirit? John the Apostle wrote: “The Spirit leads [us] into all the truth ... and of things to come. [The Spirit] will give [Jesus] glory, because [the Spirit] takes what [Jesus] says and tells it to [us].” [John 16:13, 14 American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good news Translation (2nd ed.). New York: American Bible Society.] When we welcome God -- when we welcome Jesus -- into our lives, we make ourselves open to God’s Holy Spirit to be within us and to lead us personally and to lead us as a church.
My friends, we have an opportunity to look truthfully at ourselves and approach God with repentance and gratitude. We have the opportunity to refocus our lives and draw closer to Jesus Christ. We are all invited to deepen our understanding of the joy of Easter by observing a prayerful and reflective period in this time of Lent.
May this be so for me and for you.
Rev. Chris Miller
Lent 1
February 21, 2010
