March 6 – Lent 1

LUKE 4:1-13

Is there is anyone here this morning who has never faced temptation, please raise your hands.   Just what I thought, there are no hands up!  If we are honest with ourselves, hardly a hour goes by that we are not tempted in some way.  Let’s face it, temptation is just plain seductive and it lures us into things that often make everything in our lives seem, as my mother would say, “hunky-dory” for at least a while.  Yet, we know that temptation is what draws us and lures us into sinful behavior, and in the end we lose.

Temptation is as old as God’s creation.  God had no sooner created and placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, when the serpent, the devil, began to temp them, and finally Eve could not withstand the temptation, and took and ate the fruit from the tree of which God had told her she could not eat.  We can imagine the serpent whispering to Eve and distorting God’s words and promises, until she broke down and satisfied herself, and we all know what happened to humankind after that.

It does not matter who you are, everyone is tempted to sin.  Let me tell you a story about 4 pastors.  Once four pastors were spending a couple of days at a cabin. In the evening they decided to tell each other their biggest temptation. The first pastor said, “Well, it’s kind of embarrassing, but my big temptation is bad pictures. Once I even bought a copy of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.”

“My temptation is worse,” said the second pastor, “It’s gambling. One Saturday instead of preparing my homily I went to the race track to bet on the ponies.”

“Mine is worse still,” said the third pastor. “I sometimes can’t control the urge to drink. One time I actually broke into the sacramental wine.”

The fourth pastor was quiet. “Brothers, I hate to say this,” he said, “but my temptation is worst of all. I love to gossip – and if you guys will excuse me, I’d like to make a few phone calls!”

The first Sunday in Lent is traditionally the day that we focus on the Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness.  Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and wondering in a wild place where there would have been little food and water, if any, and no people or sign of civilization.  It is a story that most of us know well.

Most of us are well aware that it was Satan’s attempt to derail Jesus’ mission of establishing God’s kingdom here on earth.  Perhaps we aren’t as aware that the temptations we face each day come from Satan’s attempt to derail us too, an attempt to separate us from God and from being part of God’s kingdom here on earth.  The devil’s whispers in our ears can be just as seductive as the words that he whispered in Eve’s ear so long ago.

In fact, the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness tells us a lot about Satan himself, and if we pay close attention it can help us understand the Devil’s mindset and methods.  It can help us be forewarned about the type of temptation that he will throw in our way to try and destroy us and our faith.

In the temptation of Jesus, Satan’s aim was to tempt Jesus into disobeying God, the Father, and ultimately destroying Jesus’ mission.  Since Jesus was both human and divine at the same time, Satan’s methods reflected that fact.  For example, it is highly unlikely that we as humans would be tempted to change a rock into bread if we were starving.  What Satan really wanted was for Jesus to act in a selfish way and use His powers to save himself, rather than trusting God the Father to take care of Him.

Satan continually seeks to make inroads into our lives too, tempting us to act in self-serving ways.  We live in a corrupt world where temptation is a part of everyday life, and our temptations are more direct coming most often through the flesh.   Greed, envy, riches, the desire to be on top of the heap, lurk around every corner, inviting us to think only of selves.

We are all good people here in this church this morning, disciples of Christ, loving and giving people, but in our humanness, we cannot help but sin.  Listen to this verse from Matthew 26:41. “Watch and pray that you many not enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  People are tempted every day to lie, cheat, steal, to be unfaithful, to do the unethical thing, to please any part of what the Bible calls, their flesh.  That is, the desires of their egos and their bodies.

About this time, you may be thinking, “Yes, Pastor Linda, I’m being tempted to just tune out the rest of this morning’s sermon.  Temptation is something that we hear about all the time, and since I am human and can not help but sin, there isn’t much I can do about it.  However, I ask that you resist until you have at least have heard what I am to say next.

Jesus came to the wilderness to do what we, the people of God could not do on our own.  Jesus was there to face the temptation we can’t bear up under on our own. And Jesus did this in order to give each one of us hope, and strength to recognize and resist temptation, and to bring redemption and forgiveness to those of us who have fallen to temptation.

We can take comfort in these words from 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

The season of Lent is the time that we mindfully face our own sins, our own shortcomings and ask for forgiveness for them.  It is the time when we also experience the hope and grace that God gives to each one of us.  A time when we really contemplate our human condition, and humbly realize the extent of what Jesus did for each of us on the cross. Let us not forget that Satan never slacks off, and despite how much we might try to resist temptation, despite how much we read the Scripture and pray, we will fall short.  Yet, Jesus offers us hope that we can recognize and resist temptations that pull us from the path of Christian behavior.

Not only are we tempted as individuals, but the church as a whole is challenged and tempted, especially in today’s world.  The church and its people are tempted to remain complacent, to resist change, to turn a deaf ear to God’s mission for that church.  Let us resolve, to step outside of our comfort zone, to build bridges to the community and to those outside our doors who are in need of Jesus’ love.

So, stay strong, beware of the temptations around you, and heed this old saying.  “When you flee temptation, don’t let a forwarding address.”    AMEN