SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2025 | LENT - First Sunday in Lent (C)

Impressions

Deuteronomy:

Offering of thankfulness - affirming that it all hinges on God

Romans:

We are equal and yet distinct!

Luke 4:1–13 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where 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. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And 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. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ” Then 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, for it is written,‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The Devil is not really trying hard enough

He is offering to Jesus what he already has

Even the Devil knows the Scripture, it is about its interpretation!

Good morning,

It is good to be here with you this morning! The season of Lent is an excellent time for reflection and discernment.

And I think that is what is happening here in our Luke text - shortly before Jesus begins his ministry, he spends time in the desert for 40 days and is tempted by the devil. Now, I think that the Devil’s “heart” is not really in it as the temptation does not seem that big, at least not for the Son of God! Tempting with bread, the authority over all the kingdoms, and then testing his pride to see if he wants to prove that he is the Son of God? I am not sure how I would fare, let’s be honest, but with what we know about Jesus, it seems rather weak!

Firstly, we know that Jesus is firmly in control of his body - hunger and thirst doesn’t phase him (expand?). Secondly, the Devil is offering him what Jesus already has - there is no contest between good and evil, God ALWAYS has the upper hand over the Devil. Thirdly, can you imagine JESUS needing to prove anything to anyone, ESPECIALLY to the Devil? Inconceivable! But that is the reality of the matter- the devil, unlike God, is not almighty and all knowing and is clearly at an disadvantage. And ultimately, the devil only seems to be a pawn in a larger game.

Jesus, once more, serves us as the pinnacle of a living faith that we ought to imitate. So let’s look at that some more!

There is a clear link between Adam and Jesus - both were extraordinary men and they were both tempted by the Devil - one by the way of succesfully tempted Eve and the other one directly by the Devil. At first glance, you would think Adam would have it easier as he did not deal directly with the Devil, but unlike Jesus, he was not filled with the Holy Spirit and even though he is referred to as a man, I would think he was more akin to a toddler with very limited knowledge and decision making capabilities. Jesus, on the other hand is a grown man with life experience and education and yes, is also literally God.

However, temptation narratives can be found throughout the Bible - beginning with what is considered the oldest book of the Bible - Job, where the eponymous protagonist goes through a series of trials to tempt him to curse God and abandon his faith. And then we have others - the temptation of Joseph in Genesis, 39th chapter, where he is tempted by the wife of his slave master, who wants to sleep with him, the temptation of David, (2Sam 11) who is tempted by a married woman Bathsheba minding her business, sleeps with her (probably with some power-related coercion) and then arranges for her husband to be killed in battle; and then perhaps the temptation of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) that wish to become early members of the budding church, but they failed to disclose that they haven’t handed over all their money to the apostles and thus were struck down.

Generally speaking, the track record of humans resisting temptation is not very good in the Bible - Joseph resists and Job displays a valiant restraint (chooses to argue with God, rather than outright renounce his faith), but the rest of them? Nope, they failed and we could pile more of them on top, such as Samson from Judges or Achan from Joshua. It’s very realistic, I think! Temptations are hard and our flesh is weak.

However, I do not think the point is to make us feel bad that save for some exceptions like Joseph or Job, humans are inferior in resisting temptations in comparison with Jesus - the comparisons would then never end and it would be very discouraging and depressing. Yes, it is true, but not the focus. The real concern is, I believe, where we seek strength to overcome temptations. If it is in our own capabilities and wits, we end up like Samson, King David, or Ananias and Sapphira. And the more we double down on it, the worse it might actually get! Hubris is a great obstacle in overcoming temptation. However, if we lean on God and God’s power to overcome temptations, I firmly believe that we have much more of a shot at being like Joseph or Job and do the right thing according to God’s will.

Observe what Jesus does in response to the Devil - he expands the context and looks beyond the horizon of the immediate wants and needs to the dismay of the devil, no doubt. The evil feeds on selfishness and small minded scarcity mindset.

And I think it is safe to say that the public discourse is dominated by a small minded scarcity mindset - one that tries to tell us that there cannot be a world where everyone has enough according to their needs and thus somebody has to have less or even nothing. We may find ourselves tempted by that as on the surface level it may make sense: you take from someone and give it to someone else. However, in the economy of Kingdom of God that is not workable - we are all made in God’s image and deserving of fulfillment of our needs thanks to the abundant and never ending love of God. To think anything less than would be forfeiting the ideals of our faith and giving in to the broken world. The word of the Lord is clear - take care of the foreigner, the widow, the orphan, and the otherwise poor and needy BECAUSE the Lord has taken care of you and protected you. That is the God ordained mindset of abundance - take what you have and distribute it, even if it looks like it is not enough, perhaps a few loaves and a piece of fish.

From this standpoint, taking away rights from trans people, holding immigrants at Guantanamo Bay, firing federal employees without notice or cutting life saving aid to refugees is an affront to the triune God of Christianity that we confess week after week in church and beyond. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the assurance of our salvation apart from works through grace, we can resist the temptation and once more, through words and actions, affirm that EVERYONE is deserving of fulfilment of their needs and nobody should be vilified and excluded from abundance. We are saved and sustained not through our merit, but through the grace of loving God in three persons and it would be wrong to withold it from others. Let us imitate Jesus and resist selfish temptations and think BIG. This Lenten season, perhaps we can consider giving up the societal scarcity mindset and instead live into God’s abundance for all people. Amen.