Who will you listen to?

We journey together, toward Easter Sunday. Poet Malcom Guite reminds us, that though we also set out with Good Friday in our sights, we can do “so fruitfully only in the light of Easter, for Christ himself went to the cross motivated by radiant love and ‘for the joy that was set before.’” Our Sunday worship, therefore, is “a glimpse of heaven, a moment of transfiguration, something to renew our vision and keep us going.”

Sundays are a part of the celebration of Easter, a weekly touchpoint and reminder that God is faithful to us through the long, arduous journey of fasting, temptations, and the practice of purgation, letting go of all that would otherwise distract us or cause us to turn away.

Today, we look at a lesson from Jesus’ early days of ministry, a teaching on temptation, and what it means for God to accompany us in such times of trial. Jesus shows us what practical resistance to evil looks like, a standing firm in our convictions and commitment, even while being enticed to take the easy route or gather power in exchange for our souls.

Let us hear our Gospel reading, drawn from Matthew 4, where Jesus fasts and goes out into the wilderness to endure a trial of purification that prepares him for his active ministry.

Matthew 4:1–11 NRSV

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Prayer

This story begins our study of seeking through Lent. And so, as we begin, I wonder, what are you seeking? What wilderness journey are you on? Do you know?

Have you ever been out on a long journey, perhaps a hike into the wilderness or a road trip across the country, where you hit temptations along the way that entice you to stop or step off the path? Maybe if you just set down for a bit, you’ll keep on going with renewed energy?

This is quite normal, right?

The issue here is not about whether we need to pause or receive God’s care along the journey, which we’ll look at. But it really is about how we, like Christ, resist lesser temptations in seeking the true transformation that can occur through such a journey.

So, what wilderness are you in? What journey are you set out upon? Perhaps it is the care for a loved one, a long journey watching them struggle with health issues or mental decline. Perhaps it is a career wilderness, wondering what is next, wondering why you can’t just be happy where you are or find a role that fits you and your calling. Maybe its the wilderness of parenting — the long journey hoping that you’re doing the right things to raise up a child in love and care, while also needing to discipline them and encourage them to grow.

As you think about the journeys you are on, let’s look at the wilderness experience Jesus has, and how he works through the challenges from the evil one which seek to lead him away from the path.

The Three Temptations:

This passage is a classic example of trials and testing that we find along the heroes journey. We see this kind of transformation journey in so many pieces of literature and fiction. In his seminal work on myth, Joseph Campbell talked about how the hero must face trials in order to find their true self, their purpose, before they can truly set out on the adventure they are made for. So they face temptations. Jesus is no exception — in fact, Jesus is very much the baseline that so many of these kinds of stories draw their direction from.

Luke Skywalker must enter the cave during his Jedi training to face his father. Frodo Baggins faces immense trials as he journeys towards Mount Doom to destroy the ring of power. Moana fights the waves as she learns to sail out into the wide open seas, facing danger and destruction. Elsa must wrestle with her powers of ice and snow in order to truly manifest them for the good of the people of Errendell.

The heroes journey is a key for us here. Not because we need to think of ourselves in this way, not so much, but because these heroic journeys give us perspective to what it means to face adversity and rise to become more than we think we can be.

In the wilderness, Jesus faces three specific temptations from the evil one, in which he is challenge to purge the desires of self-preservation, power, and finally spiritual pride. In each of these, we see Jesus lean not on the wisdom of the desire, but on the truth of God’s providing hand through each of them. To act out of pride or preservation or seeking power, Jesus would benefit himself and gain more. To use the Lord of the Rings again, like the Lady Galadriel, tempted to take the ring of power and grow immensely more grand and monstrous than she ever could be…we see Jesus offered riches and status that would make his name great and his power so far reaching.

First, Jesus is tempted to feed himself by using his voice to turn stones into bread. You notice, I say his voice because it is important that we note here the temptation Jesus receives is to command, to use his voice, to make the rocks become bread.

We recognize this temptation. To use our words and our intellect, our commanding presence and voices, to get what we want. The devil tempts Jesus to use his voice to transform reality into what he needs.

We have an understanding that Jesus could have done this. We see him change meager loaves and fishes into an abundant feast later in his ministry. We have already seen him transfigured, utterly changed in a physical and spiritual sense, into the grandeur of the Christ. We hear the jeers of the Roman soldiers at the cross, taunting him to transform reality and get down off the cross, with simply his will or voice.

Do you know this temptation? To use your articulate voice to get what you want? If it’s within your reach, do you feel the draw to “just do it yourself?” I know I do.

But Jesus resists this temptation by turning it around and reminding the evil one that it is God’s voice alone that we live by. Not bread, not water, not loaves or fishes or resources or capital — God’s word alone provides what we need.

Now, this temptation is amplified by Jesus’ fasting. Of course he would be tempted to eat while fasting. The text says he was famished. So this is a great place for the evil one to start.

But Jesus resists this with acknowledging it is not his own voice, his own will, which gives him strength, but in purging his will, in letting go of his desires for food and drink, he can yield to God and how God provides for him.

When we fast, from food or from a temptation, we feel the draw to just give in and have a little morsel. It’s not that big a deal, right? The temptation hear is to trust our own will, our own voice, to take care of ourselves. But at the ground of it all, do we really think we can? It is God alone who can provide, God’s word and God’s voice.

2.Secondly, Jesus is tempted then by the evil one, to test God. Here, we find a test of spiritual pride. Do we believe God is good? Then let’s test it — God, who is good, will certainly save you, right?

It’s important that the devil takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple in this temptation. I hope you get the sense of how this vision of temptation is so much more than a physical struggle, but something of spiritual significance, something deeper and wider than our experienced reality. We’ve seen Jesus resist changing reality, now we see him resist challenging the order of God’s providence.

There are echoes in this temptation of the story of Job from the wisdom of the Old Testament. Job had great power and wealth and this was all taken away in a divine wager between God and the evil one. He blames God, rails against God, for taking all he had and destroying it. And in a beautiful exchange, we hear him question God, and God answer.

Job questions God — where are you, will you not help me?

Jesus can challenge God as well, by giving into this temptation — ok, God, show your stuff.

In Job 38, we hear God’s response to such challenges:

Job 38 NRSV

1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? 8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?— 9 when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, 11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped’? 12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, 13 so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? 14 It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed like a garment. 15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their uplifted arm is broken. 16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. 19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, 20 that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? 21 Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! 22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? 24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? 25 “Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt, 26 to bring rain on a land where no one lives, on the desert, which is empty of human life, 27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth grass? 28 “Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? 29 From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven? 30 The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? 32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? 33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth? 34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you? 35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? 36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind? 37 Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, 38 when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cling together? 39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 40 when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert? 41 Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?

God is not to be tested. Now, we wonder, why is God so bothered by our temptation to test?

The question that we seek to answer here is: what do we do with our pride that comes up along the road of our journey? As we seek to know Christ’s suffering and temptations, we will also be tempted to ask to be relieved of these burdens. As we fast and journey, we will be tempted to feel puffed up about our progress — pride. Jesus’ resistance and God’s response to Job remind us that this pride is actually blinded to the greater things that God has at work in the world. Do we know the plans God has, the ways God is acting in us? Not always. Perhaps this teaching reminds us to be humble before God, knowing that God is at work even when we do not see it. God will provide what we need, as we will see.

3. Finally, there is the temptation to gather power and control. If we’re going to journey these 40 days and this lifetime of faith in God, we will find ourselves tempted to take control of the situation and shape it to our liking.

Do you wish to hold the power of the kingdoms of the world? Maybe not. But do you feel the draw to step off the path and go your own direction sometimes? To diverge because you know better?

I’m thinking about another long journey, a wilderness campaign, that starts this weekend. Major League Soccer kicks off this week in the United States. It is a months long campaign of 90 minute matches, where there will be ups and downs, struggles and victories in the journey.

My club, the Seattle Sounders, play today against the Colorado Rapids. Now, in a soccer match, there are many opportunities to seize power and go our own way. We see a line through defenders, and so we take the ball ourselves. We unleash the long-range shot on goal, hoping it will not deflect and that through our power we will save the day.

But soccer is a team sport and players that take power for themselves often hurt the team in the process.

In Jesus’ campaign in the wilderness, he could take up his own power and gain the world. All he needs to do is turn away from the God of the universe and worship the evil one. He can take personal glory, if only he gives up a little bit of his allegiance. Take the ball up the sideline yourself, turn your back on your team.

But again, we see Jesus resist temptation. Worship God alone. Not ourselves, not our power, not even the promise of gaining more that comes from our seeking control. God alone is the Creator, God alone is the sustainer.

Finally, we see that as Jesus faces these temptations, resisting the lesser, evil path, he is met by God. Where was God all through his temptations? There…ready…watching…accompanying.

God commands the angels to care for Jesus in the end. Jesus was able to withstand these temptation and receives God’s grace in response.

So how does this all connect with us?

Friends, as we journey into Lent, we will be tempted to step off the path, to go our own way. We will want to give up our disciplines or let go of our fasts. This text reminds us that God walks with us through these temptations, not to let us falter or diverge, but to sustain us through them. We must face temptation — that is how the hero becomes who they are. That is how we are formed as people who love and follow God.

So as you go into the wilderness, know that you do not go alone. You go with the Creator of the universe alongside, the Spirit to guide you, the Christ within you, who has faced temptation as well.

The evil one cannot sustain this journey. God alone does, and God alone empowers you to.

May we, as God’s people, walk this road to the cross and resurrection together, championing each other along, support each other when we fall, and being made more whole in the process of our transformation. Who will you listen to along the journey? May we hear the still voice of God’s sustaining presence, inviting us along, providing for our needs, drawing us deeper into life.

Amen.