Life is TOUGH Down Here!

 

Life is TOUGH Down Here!

 

Matthew 4:1-11
4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

4:2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.

4:3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."

4:4 But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,

4:6 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.'"

4:7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;

4:9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

4:11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

 

Well, Lent 2023 is off and running. Traditionally, Lent is a time for Christian people to re-examine themselves, buff up their relationship with God and others with whom they live and love, and repent of the things that do harm to any of these relationships. These are noble aims for Lent. It begins with the thought, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” Indeed, thanks TO the grace of God, I don’t GO there! 

 

I always felt that Lent was better used as a time for self-EXAMINATION, rather than some form of self-DENIAL, but the latter may be more your cup of Lenten tea? Ask yourself, though, what is the significance of what you choose to give up or deny to yourself? Is what you are exorcising from your life something that either will cleanse you of a residual, persistent sin? Or is it something costly that, by giving it up, you can now afford to give to an important cause? I could never see the spirituality of giving up chocolate or pizza for Lent, especially if you plan on taking them back up with abandon after the season is over. I suppose one could make a case that, by giving up some favorite activity or food during Lent, it would serve as a continual reminder of the season, and point the individual in God’s direction with a more intense focus. Frankly, though, the best testimonies I have heard coming out of meaningful Lenten observances are usually related to a discipline of self-examination, repentance, and spiritually-formative behavior modification. 

 

During my years of active ministry, I also felt Lent was a good time for the church to do a little examination, too. Rather than just “get busy” like we typically do during the high church seasons, the congregations I served often tried to study a book together or approach a difficult topic like dismantling racism, or some other area of social justice, in an effort to build more healthy relationships with our community and the world around us. I usually encouraged my parishioners to “take up something for Lent,” rather than engage in self-denial. That “something” could be joining a study group, developing a regular scripture reading plan or engaging in lectio divina Bible devotional practice. Maybe it could be taking up a new volunteer opportunity, or committing to increased financial stewardship. I found that the “taking up something for Lent” idea resonated with more folk than self-denial.

 

Now that we’ve introduced the “invitation to the disciplines of Lent,” I want to go a little different direction with this message. The text from Matthew is a familiar one, often labeled “the temptation of Jesus.” It, and last week’s text about the Transfiguration, point to the earthly challenges Jesus faced in his detour among the created order. The Transfiguration came at a time when Jesus was “spent,” and in need of ministry, himself. Moses and Elijah showed up, presumably to encourage him, and possibly to instruct him in the ways that what would happen soon—the trial and crucifixion—would be the culmination of God’s redemptive acts throughout history. Only in his case, it will be the capstone of a process leading to the restoration of all of humankind to a relationship with their creator. This time, the “salvation” will not be limited to Israel.

 

In today’s story, Jesus faces a “personal” temptation with Satan. The text reads almost like a parable or a fable, and whether this event actually “happened” could be open to debate, in that the storyteller—Matthew—most certainly did not witness it. We could guess that Matthew heard Peter, James or John tell of what they had witnessed, but of course, we have no record of this, and we DO know that Matthew, who was trying to convince Jews of the efficacy of Jesus, would regularly include stories or references in his narrative that harkened back to the Hebrew history, even when he got them wrong. Or, we could surmise that Jesus interpreted this event  to his disciples, and if so, it was probably reduced to a more parabolic form by him to make the points that 1) temptation is universal, as even the Son of God was tempted; and 2) resisting temptation is possible, if we use the defenses and “remedies” of our faith. 

 

For our brief examination of this text, I want to focus on the last verse: 

 

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

 

Let’s remember that the story is about JESUS—the Son of God—being tempted personally by the devil. While it might be a kind of moral lesson intended for Christ’s disciples, then and now, its hyperbolic pitting of GOD against SATAN is telling. In light of it, who are WE, that we believe we will escape temptation? And who are WE, that we believe we might triumph over its seductive clutches ALONE, when we do? Jesus needed the Word of God and his “mind of Christ” to beat old slew-foot, and then was restored to “health” by the “sudden” visitation by ANGELS FROM HEAVEN! Remember, this was JESUS! 

 

As a pastor, two things often mystified me, regarding “temptation” and some of the attempts to overcome it, by people I met. First of all, I met more than a few believing Christians who almost claimed a kind of “immunity” over temptation, simply because they “stayed too close to God” to let it happen. How close to God do you think Jesus was? And still, he was tempted. Temptation is a constant and widely-varied problem for the human being. Before we “activate” our redeeming relationship with Jesus Christ, temptations of all kinds keep us believing we can “conquer” anything, and tease us that we are “masters of our own domain.” It works until it doesn’t. And when things fall, WE fall hard, usually. But temptations continue, even as committed Christian people, because LIFE IS HARD, and the harder it gets, the more we can convince ourselves we “deserve” a little “devil” time to numb our senses. These temptations can take many forms: we justify using a little “chemical” (alcohol? Drugs?) medication to chill out, and WAY too many begin to rely on these, regularly. And that’s not even including those who find out too late that they may harbor a dangerously high “addictive” tendency. Temptation can be a “grass is greener” episode that leads to an adulterous relationship outside of marriage, or an unfaithfulness that destroys a courtship. Temptation may lead to poor career decisions based on a distorted assumption that “we are worth more than this,” or believing that our supervisors aren’t being fair to us. Temptation can even be giving in to psychological or mental deficiencies we KNOW we have, but foolishly choose to deny, or at least temporarily leave the safe harbor of our treatment for them. No matter how you slice it, the difficulties we face in life will often get us in MORE trouble if we yield to the temptations they often lead to, temptations that may be a siren song of an “easy way out” or a cheap solution to difficult challenges. 

 

And what of the devil tempting us, like he did Jesus? Most likely not, if you take the little we know about Satan from the Bible literally. You see, Satan, in this regard, was a “created” being who “fell” from grace, and as such, is limited in power, and finite in presence. Those of us crafted by the Almighty can only be in one place at a time, unlike the omnipresent God we serve. If YOU or I am being “tempted” by the devil, he’s leaving the rest of the world alone, so we might be engaging in an incredibly heroic act of self-sacrifice! No, Jesus gets the personal treatment from the devil; all we get are his “systems” of oppression and temptation.

 

OH, but that is bad enough! If there IS a literal Satan in the world, the one weapon he is left with on this side of Calvary is deception. Unfortunately, it is a nuclear weapon. Deception is the “mother” of all temptations. The systems of deception that are quite alive in the world are exceedingly dangerous and pernicious, whether they emanate from a “satanic” figure, or are a creation of the dark corners of the human mind. When we start believing lies, there is no end to their power. Lies are like opiates—they may lead to a feeling of power or “short cuts” to success, initially, but they are a trap, and their end is personal destruction. Unfortunately, if proliferated, they may harm or destroy our supportive communities, too. You don’t have to accept belief in a literal “devil” to see the devilish influence and power of deception all around us. It can take a genuinely difficult circumstance in life and turn it into a life-crippling disaster. Life IS hard, my friends, and it is these inevitable difficulties that can quickly lead to temptation and its slippery slope. I’m not usually a believer in the propaganda agent that is the “slippery slope,” but when it comes to temptation? Yeah, it is one, for sure.

 

Let’s not forget the angels. Even the Son of God needed a celestial supportive community to pick him up after the temptations offered him by Satan, and the “trials of the soul” they were for even HIM! Who are we to think that we can just cruise through the difficulties we face and the temptations they breed without reaching out to our supportive communities? Depending on what is tempting us to make foolish decisions and commit foolish acts, that community may be the medical community, or the psychological community, or even the legal community. It most certainly for the Christian believer is the community of faith and/or our covenant group or closest Christian friends. REACH OUT when you are being tempted to do things that you KNOW will probably lead to MORE trouble! If drug or alcohol addicts are counseled to call their sponsor when tempted to use, how much more should the people of God reach out to their supportive fellow Christian disciples?

 

One interesting note about this story. The Matthean text says that Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” where he was tempted by Satan. There WAS no audience. Usually, he took disciples or someone with him, but this happens in solitude. Why? Possibly for the reason I mentioned earlier—his temptation was NOT to be ones “common to humans,” and therefore it might be misunderstood by witnesses. Our temptations come from INSIDE ourselves, “planted” there by the deceptive “roots” of human experience, that which we often scapegoat as “original sin.” Jesus DID take Peter, James, and John along to witness the Transfiguration, as he knew that ALL of us would need ministry by OUR supportive communities, and healing after the stressful experiences of life, and THIS could be modeled, even if his supportive community include two of the greatest prophets of the Hebrew Bible! Likewise, this is why it is so important to see the last verse of today’s text—the devil “leaves us” when we apply the defenses God offers us, and THEN we rely on our supportive community to soothe, heal, and strengthen us so we’re ready for the next tempting encounter. It doesn’t matter “who” our supportive community is, and frankly, I’ll bet you have been “picked up” by friends who would certainly rival Moses, Elijah, or even Michael the Archangel himself, in terms of the “power” they offered to help you get back on your feet. I know I have people like that. I’d hold my loving Christian partner, Dara, up against any of those guys! When the going got REALLY tough during my ministry years, it was SO wonderful to just go HOME!

 

Let’s briefly review: when tempted, Jesus appealed to God, God’s Word, and his commitment as a servant of God to make the source of the temptation go away. Then, he accepted and submitted to the ministry of his supportive community to gain back his footing and his strength. If Jesus could be tempted, even more so will we be, and the defenses he used are the same ones we should practice. 

 

May we, during this Lenten season, focus afresh on what Jesus counseled:

 

Worship the Lord your God, and serve only God.

 

Amen.