Facing Temptations Head-On
Luke 4:1-13 & Romans 10:8-13 (Lent 1C)
Rev. Beth Garrod-Logsdon
Wilmore Presbyterian Church
Well, here we are again – the first Sunday of Lent. The day when the mood and emotions of worship seem to take a downhill slide – the hymns become more melancholy, the readings from scripture become more penitent, and there are no “alleluias!” in our liturgy. Lent… the season of “Woe is me” and “I’m not worthy.”
The joy of Christmas and Epiphany are past. The excitement and elation of Easter are soon to come. And we’re stuck in the middle talking about sacrifice and fasting. Temptations and a call to repentance take center stage as we begin our solemn journey to the cross of Christ our Savior. Even nature (especially this year) seems to mimic our solemn mood - a perpetual state of gray with only glimpses of blue skies and sunshine that remind us of the hope of verdant blossoms lying dormant under the frozen earth.
That pretty much sums up Lent, doesn’t it? Over these coming six weeks we hope to catch glimpses of grace and mercy and the hope and promise of our salvation, as we wade through the muck of our lives. Just as we know spring will come, we know that Easter is on the horizon. But for now, we’re not there yet. For now, we are in the midst of the gray and shadows. And in truth, it is this journey through our frailty, mortality and sinfulness that makes the glory of Easter more profound and joyous.
As the Christian world once again marches collectively toward Calvary, our lives are called to be different than those who are not born of the faith. Since Wednesday facebook statuses have been a litany of what people are giving up for Lent. Conversations have turned to Lenten practices and discipline. And once again many of us are asking “why do we do what we do?”
We know how these six weeks are going to end. We know that just like every other year Christ will enter triumphantly into Jerusalem. We know that Judas will betray him. We know that Peter will deny him. We know that he will be beaten and crucified. We know that in his last breath he will ask for our forgiveness. We know that he will die, be sealed in a tomb. And yet on the third day he will be resurrected.
The story doesn’t change. The truth of the story doesn’t change. The grace and love of the story doesn’t change.
And so I ask you – why do we do this thing called Lent? Why do we put ourselves through this season of examination and introspection? Well, let me ask you this:
Christians since the first century have had the blessing of knowing the whole story of Christ’s life on earth and his resurrection and ascension into heaven. We have the gift of knowing - in the words of Paul Harvey - “the rest of the story.” So, when we enter into the scriptures, when we meet Jesus in the wilderness, when we see him preaching and teaching in Jerusalem, we know the gruesome death that awaits him – and we know the glory of the resurrection. But has this knowledge really change how we live our daily lives? It’s easy for us to “tsk-tsk” the Disciples and their inability to understand what was happening as it happened. But I wonder, do WE really understand the fullness of what Jesus is teaching us?
Barbara Brown Taylor suggests: "When the world did not end as Jesus himself had said it would, his followers stopped expecting so much from God or from themselves. They hung a wooden cross on the wall and settled back into their more or less comfortable routines, remembering their once passionate devotion to God the way they remembered the other enthusiasms of their youth. And for this reason, the early church announced a season of Lent, from the old English word lenten, meaning "spring" -- not only a reference to the season before Easter, but also an invitation to a springtime for the soul. Forty days to cleanse the system and open the eyes to what remains when all comfort is gone. Forty days to remember what it is like to live by the grace of God alone and not by what we can supply for ourselves." (Taylor, Barbara Brown. Settling for Less (Luke 4:1-13). http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=643)
Wow! What a novel idea that turns our contemporary ideas of Lent onto their heads. To think that Lent is not just a season of denying ourselves. But rather Lent is a set of forty days designed for us to remember what it is like to live by the grace of God alone.
So often our idea of Lent is wrapped up in “giving things up,” denying our comforts and reciting litanies of what we CAN’T do, that we forget that what this season is really about is emptying ourselves so that we can be more filled by the Spirit of God and the power of God’s grace.
As winter (with all its gray and snow) provides a much needed rest for animals and plants so that come spring time they may once again be in their glorious splendor. Lent provides our souls with a season of being removed from the worldliness of life, so that we can focus on God. So that we can be filled by God, recognizing our need for God’s grace and preparing us to be a showcase of God’s glory to the world around us.
The practice and discipline of Lent is about enabling our lives to be mirrors of God’s power and glory and grace. In all honesty, God is not concerned whether you eat chocolate for the next forty days or not. God is not concerned whether you spend time on the computer or not. God is not concerned with whether you will exercise more often during this season. But God is more with our spiritual well-being. God wants us to spend these forty days of Lent preparing our souls to once again be strong in the faith of the resurrection.
So, unless your faith really strengthened by not eating chocolate; and unless your faith is really strengthened by limiting your time on the computer; and unless your faith is really strengthened by extra workouts – I want to propose a different challenge to you this year.
I want to challenge each of us during this Lenten season to recognize the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives - to claim and utilize the power that we have been given to meet temptations head-on and then overcome them. For this is the example set for us by Christ in the wilderness:
After his baptism, Jesus “being filled by the Holy Spirit… was lead by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days by the Devil.”
Filled by the Spirit and led by the Spirit into the place where Jesus would meet temptations head-on. The Spirit did not lead Jesus away from the wilderness and the temptations that awaited him there. But rather the Spirit led him to the wilderness so that Jesus would and could be tempted. Being filled by the Spirit did not keep Jesus from being tempted. Being filled by the Spirit did not allow Jesus the opportunity to by-pass temptations. And yet, it was only by being filled by the Spirit that Jesus in the face of temptations was able to step out of the way and let God’s grace prevail.
In our lives, many of us try to avoid temptation. We give up chocolate for Lent (and so we remove all chocolate from our house). We give up soda (and so we go out of our way to NOT walk by a soda machine). We give up smoking (and so we throw away the cigarettes, lighters and ash trays). In our minds, we overcome the temptations in our lives simply by avoiding them. And then we feel pretty good about ourselves.
But that’s not the Biblical witness. Jesus did not AVOID temptation. He did not run from the Devil. He stood there: filled by the Spirit of God and faced every temptation, yet falling victim to none. He was filled by the Spirit and through the power of the Spirit he prevailed over the power of evil.
Hiding from temptation is not defeating temptation. Avoiding temptation is not conquering temptation. Temptation is only defeated when in faith and armed with the strength of the Lord we meet it head-on. Just as Christ did in the wilderness.
Christ did not avoid going into the wilderness – he allowed himself to be led there by the Spirit.
Christ did not run from the devil as he was being tempted – he stood strong in the faith and defeated temptation through the power of God’s words.
Christ did not fall victim to someone quoting scripture for the purpose of evil – Christ held fast to teachings of God in his heart. He denied worldly desires in order to lay treasures in heaven and give glory to God.
This is Christ’s example by which we are called to live.
Mark Twain said: “There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice.”
Any of us can resist temptation if we refuse to place ourselves in its path. But that’s NOT what today’s scriptures tell us to do. Scripture encourages us to put ourselves in the path of temptation – to meet temptation head-on – and to trust God to provide the strength and power for us to stand firm in faith.
This level of faithful living is the challenge I give you this day as we begin our journey of Lent. I challenge you to be filled by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the Spirit’s power to guide where you go and to give you the words and strength you need when you get there. I challenge you to not avoid temptation, but to be strong in the Lord trusting in God’s grace and power to uphold you as you faithfully face all the temptations of life.
Lent is not just a season of depravity, of living without to make ourselves feel more holy. Lent is not about giving up chocolate and caffeine and computer time. Lent is about seeking God’s words and wisdom for our lives. Lent is a time for learning to draw our strength in every situation from the ever-flowing fountain of God’s care. Lent is about denying the selfishness of our souls so that God may be central in our lives and prevail in all our thoughts, words and deeds.
This Lent I challenge us to bring God’s desires to the forefront of our lives that we may we seek to be agents of God’s mercy, love and grace – even while the world around us tempts us to be judgmental, egotistical and elitist.
May we recognize the power of God’s Spirit at work in our living, and may we use this power to stand strong and promote the truth of God’s message in a world that doesn’t always want to hear it.
May we seek to confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that the Lord is near and salvation is at hand. For this faith is our power and our strength today and forever more.
If you have given something up for Lent – great! Go for it!
But also accept the challenge to add some Lenten discipline and growing to your life. Work on deepening your relationship with Christ and strengthening your reliance upon God’s grace that we may seek to live as Christ lives. To love as Christ loves. And to worship God with our whole heart, and soul, and mind.
To God be the glory, now and forever more.
Amen.
