By the Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector
A woman was showing her friend a dress she bought earlier in the day. It was a beautiful dress but she was nervous because money was tight in the family and she hadn't discussed the purchase with her husband. She was afraid he was going to be mad. She assured her friend she tried to resist the temptation. She said, "I could feel the devil tempting me, telling me I should get it and he kept at me, tempting and tempting until I shouted 'Get behind me Satan!'" Her friend shouted "Amen" but then looked confused and asked, "then why do you have the dress?"
"Because I heard the Devil say, 'Mm mm mm, it looks even better from the back.'"
Play write Oscar Wilde wrote, "I can resist anything but temptation." Few stories are more delicious about temptation than that of Eve and the apple. How many of us are fine until we're told what NOT to do? Imagine that rush of joy she felt after the first bite when her eyes were opened and she saw as she had never seen before. And then the consequences.
The temptations of Jesus is a story that shows a very human dimension in a man whose humanity we often lose track of. Most stories focus on the miracles and healing, the great teaching and other stories that reveal the truly divine in him, But this story, placed strategically on the first Sunday in Lent, demonstrates a truly human characteristic. As we enter Lent and are encouraged to look at our own temptations and how we did or did not give into them, we do so from the vantage point of seeing Jesus in a similar situation. His temptations were our temptations in the way that there is nothing new under the sun.
The temptations were about materials, power, and glory. Whether it's making bread when you're hungry, or proving that you can't get hurt, or placing yourself in a position to be adored by others -- the situations are different but at their heart, all temptations fit these categories.
The devil also plays a common role, using what we love to make us do what we don't want to do. Here, the devil uses scripture to tempt Jesus. He says, "It is written 'He will command His angels concerning you... On their hands they will bear you up....'" Misusing scripture is an old trick also. Jesus deftly parries each use of scripture with another verse.
Jesus resists each temptation, but it's wonderful for us that he had them. As in so many situations, he shows us the way out of trouble. Temptation exists, but we don't have to give in.
The current recession is a litany of temptations for material, power and glory that we given in to with disastrous results. On so many levels the desire to have more, to be more impressive, or to exert more muscle and gain economic power and prestige proved too strong for so many who wanted their own corner of Eden and ended up being pushed out. There's nothing wrong with wanting and working toward goals, but when they become obsessive or necessary for concepts of self worth, we enter a dangerous place.
Jesus reached what may have been the most decisive moment of his earthly life. Had he made the bread, or jumped, or bowed to the devil in exchange for glory, things would have turned out very differently for all of us. But he didn't. He embraced who he was and kept perspective on what was really important -- his relationship with God and other people. He did not strive to be better than others, but relished being equal to them.
The Apostle Paul writes about the theme of temptation and obedience in his Epistle. He compares Adam and Jesus, whom he refers to occasionally as the new Adam. The old Adam's disobedience led to his downfall and the new Adam whose obedience led to his resurrection. The analogy is for our benefit and it's not about punishment for crimes as much as it is as a way of living. Those whose lives are filled with the obsessive need to get more stuff, power or glory create a hell for themselves of looking over their shoulders to see who's going to knock them down. We're seeing this play out tragically in the Middle East. The opposite of this scene is one that played out in South Africa with Nelson Mandela, who is one of my heroes. He had his own moments of temptation and decision. Amid blood thirsty calls for revenge and plunder, his own anger at his imprisonment, he chose a path of peace and reconciliation. We see these temptations in scripture in the language of story and symbol, we see them played out on the world stage and the season of Lent is to give us a time to see how it plays out in our lives.
We all have our own moments of decision. Nations are not resting on most of ours, but lives of people important to us are impacted by our decisions and how we respond to temptations. The language of Genesis has God expelling Adam and Eve, but I think it was they who chose to leave without realizing it. Just as we leave the peace and serenity of our lives when we choose to make harmful decisions. The choices may not be conscious, but they are real none the less.
Jesus shows us how to regain Eden by loving God and our neighbor. The scriptures are for our learning, the traditions of the church are a vehicle to put that learning into practice. This season of Lent is one such tradition. Its solemnity symbolizes how seriously we take the opportunity to examine ourselves and sift our choices. The disciplines of giving up something or taking something on that challenge us and help us grow, stretch us and give a glimpse of how we might improve. They all add up to a preparation for the feast of the Resurrection called Easter in which the promise of Jesus is echoed again that there is always new life, even in the midst of sadness or destruction.
When we take a snapshot of our world today, there is so much pain and anguish. The ongoing war and strife in Afghanistan and Iraq, the terrible earthquake in Tokyo as well as the one a year ago in Haiti. Temptations come in the form of what we want to do for ourselves and another form of temptation comes in feeling powerless to meet challenges which seem too big for us.
If we focus on the pain and anguish, we'll miss the signs of resurrection in their midst. People meet suffering with love. For every problem and challenge, there are people who work in a variety of ways to address it. Friends helping other friends, groups of people helping each other and in some cases nations helping each other. Next week a group of children from Africa who are orphaned by AIDS and other diseases or violence in their own country will witness to us the power of resurrection in their lives. They've risen to meet their challenges with faith and courage. Their song and movement are signs of their triumph. They are not paralyzed or broken by their tragedies and setbacks. They might be tempted to give in, but they don't.
None of us have guarantees of lives without tragedy or setbacks. I think the first temptations for materials, power and glory are attempts to barricade ourselves from such things, but ultimately such attempts fail. The biggest temptation is to believe that God has abandoned us and left us to our own devices. But again and again we see how God is at work in the love and persistence of the good that is present in people who meet their challenges in faith and help others to do so. Worshiping God is a way of tapping into that strength and courage to meet our own struggles.
In Luke's version of this story he said that after the Devil departed, he waited for another opportune time to visit Jesus. Matthew doesn't have that, but there's some truth in that too. Temptation comes whether the devil is in front of us or behind us, at very surprising times.
Use Lent as a time to think about these things and to allow them to make the promise of new life and resurrection strengthen us to meet life's challenges. Amen.
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