First Sunday in Lent

Temptations come in sneaky ways!   The Gospel story this week tells us about Jesus’ wilderness experience when he was tempted.  I have wondered what his wilderness was like during those extraordinary 40 days and nights; what demons harassed him as he thought through what was being asked of him and how he would respond following his baptism. 

Jesus spent time thinking about his identity and his response to God’s invitation. 

The devil checked out how Jesus saw his power, his relationship with God and with all people, testing his commitment.  The devil’s repeated statement: If you are the Son of God, …’ (Matt. 4.3) is not asking whether this is the reality of his identity.  Rather, the devil is pushing Jesus to find out how Jesus will reveal his identity, how he will live it and embody it.  Will being God’s Son, pressure him to behave with imperial power, spectacular demonstrations and proofs so all will be amazed and in awe, and will it mean he takes what he needs from the world to be secure, safe and untouchable, in other words, will Jesus be entitled with all his privileging. 

I am convinced Jesus truly knew the impact of wilderness not only in his own life and ministry, but also in the lives of the people around him, the reality of our demons and the brokenness frequently overwhelming us.  His choices gave him profound, lifechanging insights into the choices facing all of us as his love and compassion continue to spill over, abundantly and without ceasing, for all who come into contact with him. 

The story of Jesus’ temptations is a powerful reminder of what its like to choose our identity, our character, our life’s path, often in very difficult, challenging and uncertain circumstances.  Identity preceded vocation for Jesus as he worked through who he was and how he would live as God’s Son.  We see in all our choices, both large and small, it can seem easy and we make our choices carelessly and sometimes, it feels like we have no choice.  The description of Jesus’ temptations, and his responses show us the way through, to choose God as we face our own temptations.  Jesus’ choices took him to his crucifixion and death and we learn, in the face of all that is contrary, actually we do have a choice, the choice to choose God whatever life and death we face. 

Out of the wilderness emerges a man, God’s Son who refuses to use the works of empire even when those apparently promise him quicker, more effective and efficient results, keeping him in the top job for life.  He might be able to increase bread production, it’s apparent abundance and distribution, but he chooses community sharing rather than on-demand shows, power driven labour and awe-inspiring results.  As I look at his quieter, joyful relational choices in community, rather than through military power, might and control, his authority arises like the morning star in our hearts, the dawn rising through the cross and resurrection rather than through the tempter’s short-cut to popularity and division.

So we ask ourselves:  Who are we?  What is my, our, identity?  How are we choosing to live as Christians?  We know Jesus was identified at his baptism by God in an epiphany.  He was called and he accepted his messianic vocation.  His baptism saw him anointed as a new kind of ruler, who showed God’s love to people and people to God through service, through relationships in community, and he accepted the suffering inflicted upon him because of his choices. 

As we listen to the story of his temptations, we too can consider the choices Jesus made.  Like John the Baptist, we can ask: is this the true Messiah or simply a pretender?  The identity Jesus chose and the revealing of his vocation and its true character, give us an opportunity to follow Jesus in the same Way.  

Matthew describes three temptations, among the many I am sure Jesus faced during his life and ministry, concerning his own prosperity, security and power.  These are the same choices we have today.  

We find ourselves frequently wanting to choose the security arising from prosperity and power determined in our favour, and perhaps we love God specifically for these reasons. If so, we are as far from God as we have ever been.   There is a very unsubtle difference between celebrating the good gifts of God and turning them into idols we choose to worship. Like us, Jesus was tempted to place God under his command, but he shows himself as the true Messiah by remaining always, at God’s command. 

Let us use this Lenten time to journey with Jesus, to understand and recognise the challenges and difficulties in our own lives as we learn about the relationships between God, Jesus, and the character of our own discipleship. The nature of our personal temptations and collectively as the body of Christ also highlights our parish vulnerabilities.

We remember temptations never go away, particularly the sneaky ones I mentioned at the start.  They are so familiar we no longer see them or worry about them, they simply ‘are’, undermining causing doubt and division.  As Jesus hung on the cross, we hear the words used by the tempter repeated by those who mocked Jesus as he hung dying: ‘If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ (Matt. 27:4)

Peter offered the same temptation to Jesus as he argued, Jesus as the Son of God, should not suffer death in such a manner, and Jesus fiercely rebukes him: ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ (Matt.16:23)  It seems as we discern the pattern of our choices and the repeated temptations, we can acknowledge our vulnerabilities and see where God’s love is strongest in helping us to cope.  The temptations of wealth, prosperity, its connection to ‘being blessed’ in our minds, the privilege and entitlement we feel in our yearning for divine favour, and the need for power to control our destinies are real, and experienced daily. 

I ask myself, does the Spirit lead us or drive us into the wilderness of discipleship to learn about temptation and to be clearer about our choices?  Jesus invites us to follow him as we choose discipleship in God’s kingdom, made possible with God’s love and grace, and we can follow in faith.

We will be tempted to doubt God in this time of Lent, to reach for power, prosperity and safety, rather than living as a child of God, serving God and our neighbours in community, even as our times seem hard. We re-learn our identity and vocation as Augustine reminds us about God: ‘You have made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in You.’   

The Lord be with you.