Sermon for Sunday March 6 2022 - On Temptations

GOSPEL: Luke 4:1-13

The gospel is announced.

The holy gospel according to St. Luke the 4th chapter.

Glory to you, O Lord.

1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
  5Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, “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. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8Jesus answered him, “It is written, 
 ‘Worship the Lord your God,
  and serve only him.’ ”
  9Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, 
 ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
  to protect you,’
11and 
 ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
  so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

The temptations we heard

are about Jesus of Nazareth,

and they are also about us. 

They speak to our greatest fears and anxieties. 

Borrowing from Craig Barnes,

President of Princeton Theological Seminary, 

The first temptation 

is not so much about turning stones into bread;

it is not a temptation to eat; 

rather it is a temptation to not be hungry. 

Humans are created with a hunger, 

a longing, 

a yearning, 

and not just for food. 

We are tempted to let our hunger drive us 

to the point where we might give up everything 

for that which we hunger for,

so we might be satisfied. 

Hunger is healthy, 

it helps direct us to our God, 

the One in whom we shall 

neither hunger nor thirst anymore. 

Jesus is tempted to jump off the temple, 

450 feet down into the valley. 

Here’s the temptation: 

to not trust that we are God’s beloved. 

This might be our greatest temptation. 

This was declared to Jesus at his baptism;

you are my beloved. 

Trust and believe that this is declared to you as well

in your baptism; 

you are God’s beloved. 

God loves you. 

God loves you. 

God loves you. 

We are so tempted to not trust this. 

Jump from here and you’ll be fine, 

not because you are so loved, 

but because you are so necessary, 

that angels will catch you.

Another way of putting it, 

we are tempted into thinking we are so necessary 

that we would test God over it. 

Here’s a truth: you are not necessary. 

But you are chosen. 

You are too important to be necessary. 

You are cherished. 

You are loved. 

Why settle for being necessary 

when you can trust that you are cherished? 

Temptations are about our anxieties and our fears:

We are tempted to be driven by fear 

and not by our belief: 

fear that we aren’t good enough, 

fear that God’s not good enough. 

We are tempted to look for certainty and clarity 

of any kind, 

whether truthful or not.

Clarity and certainty are far more comfortable than faith.

Clarity says men are better than women. 

Clarity says one race or ethnicity 

is better than another.

Certainty says my beliefs don’t need to stand up to scrutiny

Clarity - Certainty - are not necessarily truth. 

Truth says all are beloved.

We are not called into clarity,

we are called to be people of truth - of faith. 

Perhaps our temptations comes down to this: 

We are tempted let the ends justify the means. 

We are tempted to give into a little corruption 

in order to achieve our goals. 

You, baptized Christian, 

might not feel tempted to rob a bank 

to allow for your own financial freedom, 

then again maybe you are, 

but you might be tempted to allow some evil 

to penetrate your financial plan. 

You, baptized Christian,

might not feel tempted to kill someone, 

but you’ll be tempted to shun and ignore, 

to belittle and deride

to suit your purposes. 

It is the tempter’s idea

that you have to ease up on your high ideals,

or better, to ease up on God’s will. 

The devil asks for complicity 

with all the big and little evils around you. 

Our God calls us to faith.

Here’s where I think Jesus was really tested,

or tempted. 

The devil says “If you are the Son of God…” 

Those are the tempting words,

not so much to do the thing that the liar suggests:

but to try and prove that indeed

you are the Son of God. 

Jesus doesn’t need to prove that he is 

the Son of God to anyone. 

Jesus doesn’t give into that temptation.

Like Jesus,

you and I might find ourselves 

tempted to prove our worth.

If you really believe in Jesus, 

then you should receive anything that you pray for.

If you really are a follower of Jesus,

then you would join church council. 

If you really are a Christian

you can give up chocolate for Lent. 

If you really are a Christian,

then just do the thing

and God will forgive you anyway.

I suggest that we not give into the temptation of 

“If”

You are the baptized. 

You are filled with God’s Spirit. 

You are forgiven,

You are loved. 

You matter,

You belong in the Body of Christ,

You have purpose in Jesus’ ministry.

You don’t need to prove that to anyone. 

It is who you are. 

There is no “If”

So maybe we stop saying “If” 

and use the word “Since.”

Since I am baptized,

I wont question my worth in God’s eyes.

Since I am loved,

I will not talk down to myself or others.

Since I am forgiven,

I wont fill my hunger with quick fixes

Since I am filled with God’s Spirit,

I will not be complicit with evils,

big or small.

Another temptation that Jesus faces here,

and one that might speak to you as well:

I think Jesus was tempted to control the outcome,

just in case God’s plan wont work;

Worship me, the Satan,

and you’ll have your followers.

If you really are God,

then eat - you don’t need the journey of hunger.

Manipulate - just a little - 

and you’ll be sure to get your outcome.

Not “If”, but “since” Jesus is the Son of God,

Jesus doesn’t need to manipulate,

or give into some evil

to control the outcome.

Since Jesus is accompanied by the Holy Spirit,

Since Jesus is God in the flesh,

Jesus can be vulnerable,

Jesus can say No to temptation

and grow in the wilderness. 

Jesus doesn’t need to pretend to be something he isn’t,

and neither do you.

We are often tempted to control things

to manipulate things

to get the outcome that we want.

But since we are the baptized,

since our future with our God is secure,

we don’t need to force ourselves,

manipulate and coerce, 

rather we can simply trust God 

and God’s work in our wilderness.

My family in Christ,

Since you are filled with the Holy Spirit, 

you will face temptation:

to think you are less than loved,

to think you are more important than another

to fill your hunger quickly,

to prove your worth,

to control for your own motives

to be complicit with the evils,

big and small.

Jesus Christ, our Saviour, our Rabbi,

will not compromise to save us. 

Evil doesn’t get a hall pass with Jesus.

So how might you, baptized child of God, live 

since you are filled with Jesus’ Spirit?

If you worshipped with us on Ash Wednesday,

you will remember I invited you into an exercise,

and I encourage you all to take a chance on this.

To write down the sin in you that needs to die this Lent.

to mark down those little evils inside of us

that we keep alive,

though they stink of death. 

I invited you to leave those sins with Jesus,

to trust that they be burned away like chaff

by the fire of the Holy Spirit,

to remind yourselves daily of these sins that need to die,

to put them in your reminders app,

stick them to your bathroom mirror,

whatever might work for you 

to be reminded of what needs to die in you.

And then to wonder 

at what new life God might resurrect in their place.

To imagine the love,

the compassion,

the self-worth 

that might blossom in its place.

Death can be good news,

for resurrection is only possible with death.

Resurrection need not wait until Easter,

God might bring resurrection in you now.

So I invite you to continue this exercise,

and today, to add your temptations to that list. 

Name your temptations,

Admit to them,

acknowledge them,

allow them to be real - don’t pretend they aren’t.

Since you are filled with the Holy Spirit,

you will face temptation.

But since you are filled with the Holy Spirit,

you will never face temptations alone.

May God bring you growth and new possibilities

in the wildernesses you face.

May you have the courage to say No

to the evils, big and small, 

that ask for your complicity.

and since you are filled with the Holy Spirit,

may resurrection and new life rise in you today.

Thanks be to God. Amen.