The First Sunday of Lent – Feb. 21, 2010
Luke 4:1 – 13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'People do not live on bread alone.'"
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
"'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus answered, "It is said: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
This text shapes the Lenten season. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, hearing God say, “You are my son, my beloved, the one who delights me.” In that water his core identity was confirmed, pressed deeply into his soul. Immediately from those waters, the Spirit led Jesus into the desert, where he fasted for 40 days and was tempted by satan.
Matthew says more about fasting in his version of this story (Matt. 4:1 – 11), while Luke gives attention to the leadership of God’s Spirit and to the temptations themselves. Both accounts give shape to Lent, where we take a 40 day walk with Jesus that may involve fasting, self-denial, and purifying.
I want to say a word about the temptations. The three temptations put forth by satan (which means adversary or accuser) have been written about for centuries, analyzed in thousands of ways. I’m not interested in picking apart the temptations; rather, I want to make a general comment about them.
I believe it is particularly significant that the period of fasting and temptation comes directly after Jesus’ baptism. The function of his baptism was to confirm his identity, to stamp Jesus with the mark of God that he would live into fully over the rest of his life. For the rest of Jesus’ life, he lived as a fully actualized human (Son of Man) and also lived fully into the Oneness of God (Son of God).
The temptations, on the other hand, are each temptations – at a moment of weakness, after fasting – for Jesus to turn aside from his core identity. He is tempted to trade in his most authentic self for some easier way of living life. He steadfastly refused to do so.
It is the same temptation you and I face every day, and a trade that you and I make frequently. We often choose for safety or prestige or power or esteem over our truest self.
The devastation is not so much that we are trading for something evil or overtly destructive, but that we are choosing away from the very thing that would give us life and would free us to live transformed lives in the world.
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus would not make that trade. He stayed true to his God-given, God-created identity.
Through Lent, it might be a helpful spiritual discipline to notice how often you are tempted to make that trade in a 24-hour period. You might be surprised at how easy the trade has become for you. And you might have a deeper sense how deeply Jesus lived connected to God.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'People do not live on bread alone.'"
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
"'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus answered, "It is said: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
This text shapes the Lenten season. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, hearing God say, “You are my son, my beloved, the one who delights me.” In that water his core identity was confirmed, pressed deeply into his soul. Immediately from those waters, the Spirit led Jesus into the desert, where he fasted for 40 days and was tempted by satan.
Matthew says more about fasting in his version of this story (Matt. 4:1 – 11), while Luke gives attention to the leadership of God’s Spirit and to the temptations themselves. Both accounts give shape to Lent, where we take a 40 day walk with Jesus that may involve fasting, self-denial, and purifying.
I want to say a word about the temptations. The three temptations put forth by satan (which means adversary or accuser) have been written about for centuries, analyzed in thousands of ways. I’m not interested in picking apart the temptations; rather, I want to make a general comment about them.
I believe it is particularly significant that the period of fasting and temptation comes directly after Jesus’ baptism. The function of his baptism was to confirm his identity, to stamp Jesus with the mark of God that he would live into fully over the rest of his life. For the rest of Jesus’ life, he lived as a fully actualized human (Son of Man) and also lived fully into the Oneness of God (Son of God).
The temptations, on the other hand, are each temptations – at a moment of weakness, after fasting – for Jesus to turn aside from his core identity. He is tempted to trade in his most authentic self for some easier way of living life. He steadfastly refused to do so.
It is the same temptation you and I face every day, and a trade that you and I make frequently. We often choose for safety or prestige or power or esteem over our truest self.
The devastation is not so much that we are trading for something evil or overtly destructive, but that we are choosing away from the very thing that would give us life and would free us to live transformed lives in the world.
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus would not make that trade. He stayed true to his God-given, God-created identity.
Through Lent, it might be a helpful spiritual discipline to notice how often you are tempted to make that trade in a 24-hour period. You might be surprised at how easy the trade has become for you. And you might have a deeper sense how deeply Jesus lived connected to God.
Comments
Post a Comment