Thoughts going in, Sunday March 9th

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " 7 Jesus answered him, "It is also 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 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' " 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

            The first Sunday of Lent is always a very thematic Sunday. We begin the same way we do every year--using one of the three accounts of Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. This year we're using Matthew's account. The general story is the same, although some of the wording is a bit different from one gospel to the next. For us, the matter is two-fold... wring as much detail out of the specific narrative as possible, and then see what it has to do with us, especially now, as a Lenten passage.

            Textually, a few interesting thing pop right up from the beginning. Vs 1 Jesus was "led" (anago, Gk). This is a nautical term, as in, the navigator of the vessel plotting a course. Matthew's version of the story isn't quite as dramatic as Mark, who says Jesus was "driven" by the Spirit out into the wilderness. Here, it's more like in following the Spirit's plotted course, that's where he ends up. Regardless, we as believers might be scratching our heads. WHY would the Spirit do such a thing? Does the Spirit knowingly/intentionally navigate our path into the way of temptation? For that matter, how does Jesus' experience comport with the line in his prayer: and lead us NOT into temptation? I think it's important to remember the root meaning of the word 'temp.' It's to be 'tested.' Many careers have what's called a 'practicum.' After the book-learning, one is thrust into the position of having to DO THE TASK. It can be frightening, especially the first time, but it's necessary in order to move to the next level. If one views such temptation/testing in that light, it's easy to see how from our perspective we'd just as soon avoid it, but how from God's perspective it is necessary from time to time in order to advance our faith life.

            Vs 1 finishes up with the words in order to be tempted by the devil (diablos, Gk). Both words "devil" and "satan" appear in this story. "Devil/diablos" is the narrator's word. It means slanderer. And in that sense it is a well-chosen word, as the very first thing he says is a slander: **IF you are the son of God. Grammarians explain to us that the way the phrase is worded, it's an implied negative. In other words, it would be just as correct to translate it: since I really don't think you are the son of God... As more intelligent persons than myself have often pointed out, there's something very real about this diabolical slander happening on the heals of baptism. Christ heard the Father declare him to be his son at his baptism, and here, not long after, the diablos shows up & says no you're not. The same is often true in the life of faith for all believers. We know that we've attained new identity in our baptism as children of God, yet the diablos slanders us and would have us doubt it. In our case it's most often due to sin. The diablos would say, "Sooooo you call yourself a Christian. But would a Christian really have done x, y, or z? In Christ's case he cannot cite a sin, but he can **TEMPT.

            And then the specific temptations come next. A temptation to fulfill his physical needs; a temptation to test God's love for him; and a temptation to reach his goals through invalid means.

            The climax of the story is in vs 10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! (satan = adversary). In these words Jesus loudly proclaims what we would call the first renunciation in our baptismal vows: Do you renounce the Devil and all the forces that defy God? As we begin our Lenten journey, we do so reminding ourselves of the story of our Savior and his encounter with the diabolical adversary. His renunciation empowers our renunciation. His renunciation made the Cross of Calvary the most powerful event in the world. For, by that cross and its power, his renunciation of the Devil becomes OURS, even at those times when we've failed our practicum. His renunciation means that even in our failures, God looks at his victory as ours.

Cheers,

T.M.