May the words of
my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O
God, for you are our strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
You
don’t have to go very far to find the wilderness, most days we wake-up living in
that reality. Things in this world are not as they should be – no matter how hard
we try to look at the bright side or have a cheerful attitude. Despite living
in God’s beautiful creation, we know that there are all kinds of terrible
things that happen to us, as well.
Living
in the wilderness is a metaphor used throughout scripture to describe these
uncertain, unpredictable seasons. The wilderness can look different to each
person. What does the wilderness look like to you? Have you been diagnosed with
a terminal illness? Are you experiencing loneliness? Are there changes
happening in your life that are causing you fear or anxiety?
There
are a plenty of reasons why we would find ourselves living in the wilderness. The
good news is that we are never alone in these times of uncertainty, and we’re
not the only one to experience unpredictable seasons. Today’s text reminds us
that we are never alone during these terrible and beautiful days, that through
our relationship with God, the Holy Spirit will be with us each step of the
way.
Today’s
reading in Luke is the familiar story of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness. If
you remember back into Chapter 3, Jesus has just come from being baptized by John
in the River Jordan and being named and identified as the Son of God. And what’s
the first thing God does? Send him out into the wilderness.
Most
of the story takes place in the dialogue between Jesus and the devil. Underlying
the dialogue between the devil and Jesus are two competing storylines. The
devil offers a storyline of self-indulgence (make yourself bread from stones),
self-aggrandizement (all the nations of the world will belong to you if you
worship me), and self-serving religious identity (if you are the son of God
cast yourself from the top of the temple).
Meanwhile,
Jesus responds with quotations drawn from the Hebrew Scriptures that show
awareness of the true source of life and identity (he knows that life is more
than food), his reliance on God (the one worthy of true worship and service),
and his understanding of God’s character (not one to be tested). Jesus’
responses are rooted in an underlying narrative that he is dependent on God
rather than self for life, glory, and identity.
We
often think of wilderness as the times and places, the experiences in our lives
when God seemed absent. The times of illness or suffering, the times of
workplace strife or family conflict. The times of addiction and doubt, of grief
and depression. And yet, wilderness is where God meets God’s people, while all
these other things are simply part of the experiences of human life. They are
part of the baggage we carry everyday. While the wilderness was a place fraught
with danger, it was the place where God’s people met their God. God always
showed up in the wilderness, and God’s people were not left to suffer alone.
God
sent Abraham into the wilderness with the promise of land and descendants.
Moses and the Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years, while God
provided water from the gushing rock, and manna and quail to eat. Elijah was
sent out as young man to save the people of Israel, and along the way God
provided water at the stream and food delivered by wild ravens.
So,
perhaps Jesus being sent into the wilderness was less about being tested and
more about sitting with God, learning what it will mean to be the Son of God. Perhaps
after such amazing but heavy news, Jesus just needed some time to be with God in
prayer and contemplation.
We
can’t ignore, though, that there were some rather incredible temptations placed
in front of Jesus during that time in the wilderness. When you’re as famished
as Jesus would have been, it could have been easy to accept that loaf of bread.
Considering what’s happening in the world around us, wouldn’t be amazing to
have the power that Jesus is being offered, or the chance to simply walk away
from everything and care only for yourself? Would you have been able to turn
down such temptations?
Sometimes
we will have terrible days where we succumb to temptation. Sometimes we are driven
into the wilderness by our fear and doubt. We may try to find ways to cope,
find comfort, or we even try to take control. The terrible days are when we forget
that God is always by our side, that we can leave our temptations in God’s hands,
and that the Holy Spirit is there to guide us through and out of the
wilderness.
But
other times we will have beautiful days where we feel the Holy Spirit within us
and are able to keep temptations at bay. Jesus may have been physically alone
in the wilderness, but he was never truly alone. The Holy Spirit was always by
his side. God was by his side. The presence of the devil, or the tempter, doesn’t
mean the absence of the Holy Spirit, or of God. Jesus knew that and so he was
able to respond to the devil’s temptations with confidence in his dependence on
God.
Throughout
your life, there will be both terrible and beautiful days, and Jesus will be
there for all of them. We will never walk in the wilderness alone because we
are God’s beloved children, and we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Believe it!
Amen.
