Lent 1 2016

1 Lent 2016 (Year C)

We’ve probably heard it said both in Scripture, among other places, that “Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, and yet did not sin. I don’t know if any of you have ever wondered what this is supposed to mean—certainly we read about his temptation in the wilderness after his baptism. And, if we pay attention to other places in the Gospels, we’re able to find a few other places where we might say that he was tempted, as well.

But, if we were just to go on what we’ve read today, and his temptation in the wilderness, we may wonder how in the world this was anything like the ways that we’re tempted in our own lives. What’s more, if Jesus is really divine; really the Son of God, then wouldn’t overcoming temptation be that much easier? So, how does this count as being “tempted in every way as we are?”

I suppose while we’re on the subject, perhaps we may even wonder why all of this even matters. I mean, does it really matter whether or not Jesus was tempted like us, or whether or not he resisted?

Well, rather than try to cover all of the different theological reasons and explanations, maybe we’d do best to simply start with our Gospel reading for today. We know that Jesus is sent out into the wilderness, and he fasts for 40 days and 40 nights (a strong allusion to Moses on Mt. Sinai). When the forty days are over, we’re told he became extremely hungry, and this is where the devil begins his work of temptation. But we’ll come back to this in a moment.

First, I want to point out that all of this takes place after Jesus was baptized by John. If you remember that story, you’ll recall that the heavens opened, the Spirit alighted on Jesus, and the voice from Heaven declared Jesus to be God’s Son.

Ah, but such is the experience of life—Jesus is no more affirmed as the Son of God, and immediately he is sent into the wilderness to have that identity put to the test. His time in the desert begins with a long period of fasting—but in this Jesus is sustained somehow by the Spirit. It’s not until the fast has ended that we’re told he’s hungry—who wouldn’t be after that amount of time? And yet, rather than making his way to the nearest falafel stand, Jesus is met by the devil. It’s the devil who suggests that Jesus ought just to turn the stones into bread. His fast is over, we know later on that he’ll cause bread to miraculously feed 5,000 people…so, why shouldn’t he use his authority to get himself something to eat?

But this isn’t the point at all. Jesus says that we do not live by bread. We may need bread for sustenance, but we live because God sustains us completely. And as to the feeding of the 5,000—that wasn’t about the bread (Jesus even explains this fact), it was about showing the power of God.

Next, the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. The devil says that Jesus needs simply to worship him, and all of this would be given to Jesus. Certainly this would be an easier way of doing things. After all, Jesus was sent into the world to save it. If he would just do what the devil said and worship him, Jesus would possess all of the kingdoms of the world…he would never have to face being betrayed, abused, or even killed on the cross.

The stakes are high, sure. Worshipping the devil is never a good idea—but if it saves the world, and puts control into the right hands…how is this a bad thing?

Well, once again, this isn’t the point. It may be easiest for Jesus to simply do this thing, take possession of the world and be done with it. But, even if the devil did make good on the deal, we would never see where our own lust for control and power can lead. We would never learn that our desire for power and control are what lead us to murder Jesus, the Author of Life himself. And we certainly would never see the fuller victory that comes through Jesus’ resurrection. Besides, worship can only be offered to God—worship given anywhere else takes all the worth away from worship, and that cheapens the worshipper as well.

Finally, Jesus is taken to what is called “the pinnacle of the Temple” in Jerusalem. This confuses most scholars, because the Temple was built as a cube. So, no pinnacles.

Anyway, considering that Jesus not only claims to trust God for sustenance; believe that faithfulness to God is more important than anything else (even gaining the world Jesus came to save)…the devil checks to see how sincere Jesus is. This time, himself quoting Psalm 91, the devil says if Jesus believes all of this stuff, he should be able to throw himself off the Temple, and trust that God will save him. Of course we know this isn’t how things really work—but this is Jesus we’re talking about. We know that later on Jesus is able to narrowly escape groups of people who want to murder him because it wasn’t “the appointed time.” So, given the situation, Jesus should be able to count on God saving him; and at the same time wouldn’t it prove the Sonship of Jesus?  

I think in this case, the choice is pretty simple—whether it proved his Sonship or not, Jesus isn’t dumb enough to throw himself off the Temple. Besides, as Jesus points out, it’s not okay to tempt God.

Well, hopefully some of these explanations help to make sense of the reasons why these were considered temptations, and why Jesus resisted them. But, there remains the question of whether or not it would have really been all that difficult for the Son of God to resist temptation. But there are a few things to keep in mind, here. First, we read in Philippians that even though Jesus was in the very nature of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be exploited. In other words, Jesus wasn’t using his divinity to cheat at checkers—and he didn’t use it to give him a pass on difficult situations.

Secondly, we have to remember that Jesus’ identity as the Son of God was being tested as much as anything else. Effectively this Sonship was not validated by acts of power, control, or manipulation. Being the true Son of God meant submitting fully and faithfully to God—not using his divinity to easy ends.

Third, and finally, the point of Jesus coming to be part of humanity, and the reason for the Gospel narratives aren’t just so Jesus could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. We have all of these experiences and stories and teachings so that we can see in Jesus a different way of living. In him we see that while being faithful to God may not always make life easy for us, we do see that living a life of true faith does work to change the world for the better.

Now, if we were to try and simplify all of these temptations that Jesus experienced—I mean, really boiled them down to a common denominator…perhaps we could say that Jesus simply refused to choose the easiest path over the right one. In other words, Jesus didn’t make his decisions based on expediency, what was the way of least resistance, or based on what other people would think of him. Instead, Jesus made (perhaps in the short term) the harder choice, and he did it because it was the right decision. Again, this is looking at all of this in a very simple way.

But, I think in looking at all of this simply puts the temptation that Jesus experienced, and temptation that we face onto more equal footing. Because the thing is, sin and temptation are not easy things to define, or quantify really. Not swearing; not gambling; not having relations outside of marriage because it can lead to dancing—avoiding these things do not make you a holy person. If you think they do, then you haven’t read anything by Flannery O’Connor—and you probably haven’t paid attention to what Jesus taught whenever he went off on the Scribes and Pharisees.

Temptation and sin are matters of the heart—and, unfortunately, we’re all going to be tempted, and we’re all going to sin. What’s worse is that our sins and our temptations will be directly in proportion to who we are… Because for each of us, in the dark corner cabinet of our souls, there are those things that still have the power to get the best of us. Where for one of us it could be something like binge drinking, for another it could be collecting crystalline unicorns.

And while that might sound a little silly, the point is that there are things for each one of us that can get control of us. These are the things that can tempt us to do things that we wouldn’t otherwise act upon.

Unfortunately, no matter how often we go to confession, or pray the general confession—or any of the other things we do to make a new start; we still find that we’re faced with sin and temptation in our lives, mostly because giving in to these things seems easier than not. The same can be said for making any choice in life, really: the easiest may not always be the best. 

However, what we’re constantly told to remember. What is regularly affirmed in Scripture, and Jesus leads us to realize is that we are Children of God. And the reason that the temptation of Jesus matters isn’t simply because he somehow needed to have the experience to validate him as our Great High Priest—no. The temptation of Jesus matters because every one of us (Children of God that we are) are tempted. Our identity as Children of God is sorely, and constantly tested. However, Jesus (the fully human Son of God) who was tempted, shows us by example that we can survive it—even resist it. Because as I’ve already said, it wasn’t through his divinity that Jesus resisted temptation—but it was because he resisted it that his divinity; his Sonship was proven.

So, what about all of us, who are not Jesus, supposed to do? After all, our temptations are not always so overt as to have the devil show up and and start testing us. Well, for us there is still hope.

Personally, I believe Jesus when he says that God will take care of us—I just think we need practice learning to hear what God is saying to us. I think we need times like the Lenten season to help us re-focus, and recalibrate our consciences, because the truth is every time we make the easy choice rather than the right choice; or every time we fall into temptation—the next time is a little easier. What’s more, sometimes our bad choices give other people excuses for making the same bad choice—suddenly we find that our sin is no longer a private matter as Karl Rahner says.

But today, and throughout this Lenten season, I would invite all of us to take the opportunity seriously to re-focus. Take advantage of materials and resources to learn, and explore your faith. Most importantly, reconnect in your relationship with Jesus. Because while perfection is not the expectation, like Jesus we are called to bring light and healing into the world—that is, after all, what it means to be a son, a daughter, a Child of God.