Grace, peace, and
mercy are yours from the Triune God. Amen.
Not
long after his baptism, Jesus is sent out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit.
This wilderness is not just a physical location, but also a spiritual one. It
is here that Jesus will be tested three times by the tempter, the deceiver,
Satan. First, Jesus is tempted to satisfy his hunger by turning stones into
bread. The deceiver is misleading Jesus into using power for himself rather
than trust in God to provide. The recognition of being provided for,
particularly recalling God’s provision of manna in the wilderness, the
knowledge of God’s provision in the direst of times, in the most unexpected and
overwhelming circumstances, is what Jesus carries forward and does throughout
his ministry.
Next,
God’s protective grace is tested as Jesus is tempted to use power to secure
himself from injury and death. But Jesus refuses to misuse his power and he
knows that the tempter is using scripture out of context to try and convince
Jesus to test God’s protective grace. Finally, the tempter attempts to seduce
Jesus with domination and prestige by offering him control over all the world’s
kingdoms in exchange for his allegiance. Jesus has no interest in earthly empires.
Jesus is bringing God’s kingdom to earth.
Jesus’
temptations are our temptations still. Though none of us are tempted to turn
stone to bread, and hopefully none expect to survive jumping off a building, we
are still tempted to pursue other paths to wealth, influence, and power. We are
still tempted to seek short cuts, ignore God’s will, and pursue goals that
promise fulfillment, but only lead to emptiness.
Temptation
comes to us in moments when we look at others and feel insecure about not having
enough. Temptation comes in judgements we make about strangers or friends who
make choices we don’t understand. Temptation rules us, making us able to turn
away from those in need and to live our lives unaffected by poverty, hunger,
and disease.
The
temptations we all face, day by day and at critical moments of decision and
vocation in our lives, may be very different from those of Jesus, but they have
exactly the same points. They are trying to distract us, to turn us aside, from
the path of servanthood to which our baptism has commissioned us.
But
as Jesus has taught us, we need to trust that God will provide for us, to understand
that we don’t need to throw ourselves off a cliff to prove to everyone that God
will protect us, and to know that we move about in the world in the promise
that God’s kingdom has come near.
As
we head into our annual meeting, let’s remember how Jesus turned away the
tempter, keeping his faith and trust in God. When we are dealing with the business
of the church, especially considering the budget we will be discussing, it can
be easy to lose sight of God, to lose faith in the path that God has for us, or
to leave God out of the conversation completely. But Jesus has shown us that
even through our doubts and fears, God will be walking with us. If we keep our
hearts turned towards God, we can achieve anything and everything.
Immediately
after Jesus came out of the wilderness, he began his ministry. Whenever we
emerge from our wilderness experience, we are called to do the same. Finding
our way out of the wilderness means that we have accomplished our trial,
leaning on God. Jesus made it through to the other side of his wilderness
journey, and so will we. May it be so.
Amen.
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