Wellesley Village Church Traditional Worship February 17, 2013 Rev. Jocelyn B. Gardner Spencer Luke 4:1-13 Words to Live By

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1 Wellesley Village Church Traditional Worship February 17, 2013 Rev. Jocelyn B. Gardner Spencer Luke 4:1-13 Words to Live By Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread. Jesus answered him, It is written, One does not live by bread alone. Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered him, It is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him. Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you, and On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, It is said, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. If you managed to dig out from under two-plus feet of snow last weekend, and navigate the slush on Route 16, and find a place to park your car, and trek across sidewalks that weren t yet clear, to make it to church on Sunday, then you got to witness one of my favorite things we do each year. (I have many favorite things we do here, truth be told but this is one of them.) Last Sunday we presented Fourth Grade Bibles to about 20 nine- and ten-year-olds. They stood up here in the chancel, two smiling rows of them. Michaela read their names, and Martin shook their hands, and Barbara Stock and I handed them their brand-new Bibles, with shiny black covers and crisp white pages and their name inscribed on a bookplate. This is one of my favorite things we do each year, not just because I love the way this congregation cares for its young people not just because the kids are so proud and so excited to stand up in front of all of you not just because it s fun to watch them stump Martin with their tough theological questions This is one of my favorite things we do each year because 1

2 when we place those brand new Bibles in their hands, we are giving them a resource that can be utterly transformative. When they open those shiny black covers to look inside, they will find not just life lessons but a life jacket that will keep them afloat when the clouds gather and the seas get stormy. When they turn those crisp white pages, they will find not just instruction but inspiration, not just ideas but identity, not just stories but salvation itself, echoing down through the centuries and into their ears. To see just how life-saving our scriptures can be, we need look no further than today s reading, the story of the temptation of Jesus. Jesus had scarcely emerged from his baptism in the waters of the Jordan River when the Spirit led him off to the wilderness. His robes were still damp, his hair was still dripping down his back, when that wind from God blew him out into the desert, off by himself, to sort out what to make of the baptismal affirmation he had received: You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. He stayed there for forty days and forty nights, fasting and praying and wrestling with his demons, figuring out who he was meant to be and how he was meant to live. If you ve ever seen an image of this story a painting by Fra Angelico or Botticelli, Titian or Tintoretto, Rembrandt or Blake or any number of other artists you ve probably seen the devil portrayed as Satan himself, a human figure, perhaps part angel, perhaps part demon, with flashing eyes and swirling robes and devious intentions. But for me it s more helpful to imagine not evil incarnate tempting Jesus from the outside, but a soft voice inside Jesus own head pointing out how much easier things could be, how quickly he could escape from the hardship that confronted him just by making the smallest of compromises. After all, he was way out in the wilderness, far from listening ears and prying eyes, and no one would know if just this once he let himself off the hook You know how that is, don t you, when an idea comes to you that you know isn t right, but it seems so easy, so convenient, so tempting. You didn t mean to think of it, but there it is, and boy, is it hard to ignore. The temptation Jesus experienced was very real, but he had a resource to rely on. Jesus knew his scriptures. He knew the story of the Exodus, when the Israelites wandered for forty years in the desert, trying to find their way to the promised land. He knew what happened when they made those little tiny compromises, how quickly they could turn into major catastrophes. He could see his wilderness journey as an echo of that long-ago sojourn, and he knew he could rely on what Moses and the Israelites learned to carry him through. When that wheedling voice whispered in his ear, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread, Jesus must have been really, truly, sorely tempted. He was famished, the story tells us, utterly starving, and here was an idea that would give him something to fill his aching belly. Surely it would be acceptable before God to make food for a hungry person. In fact, Jesus did just this later in his ministry when he fed 5,000 people from five loaves and two fishes. How bad could it possibly be? 2

3 But the trouble with that wheedling voice is that it was not only tempting him to feed himself. It was tempting him to act as though he did not need God s care and provision; as though he could take care of himself, thank you very much; as though the One who had called him Beloved was not actually loving or trustworthy. There in the wilderness, with that wheedling voice echoing in his heart, Jesus remembered the stories of his scriptures. He remembered the manna from heaven that God provided for the Israelites, just as much as they needed each day. And he remembered Moses words from the book of Deuteronomy, words he knew by heart: One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Jesus was reminded of who he was meant to be and how he was meant to live, and that wheedling voice retreated into silence. It came back, of course. That seductive voice tried again. It whispered in his ear, See all these kingdoms, all the power in the world? I will give you their glory and all this authority. If you will just worship me, it will all be yours. Well, that was tempting, too. Wouldn t it be better if Jesus were the one in authority, rather than the powers and principalities that ruled by fear, oppression, and military might? Wouldn t it be a good idea for Jesus to take the opportunity to seize power now? Mightn t that even save Jesus own life? But the trouble with that seductive voice is that it was tempting him to embrace power not for the good of the world, but for the good of himself. The kind of power Jesus was called to God s kind of power is not power snatched in moments of opportunity, not power exercised over others, but paradoxical power that comes through weakness, merciful power that exists to serve. There in the wilderness, with that seductive voice echoing in his heart, Jesus remembered the stories of his scriptures. He remembered the way that God had led the Israelites from slavery in the land of Egypt to freedom in the land of Canaan. He remembered all the gifts God had provided, gifts that the people had not earned, gifts given by pure grace. And he remembered the words of Moses from the book of Deuteronomy, words he knew by heart: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him. Jesus was reminded of who he was meant to be and how he was meant to live, and that seductive voice retreated into silence. It came back, of course. That daring voice tried again. It took him up to the highest of ledges and called out, taunting him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here and let God save you! Well, that was tempting, too. Indeed, that daring voice was quoting scripture this time, leaning on the promises of the psalms. Don t the scriptures call us to trust God s protection? Wouldn t it be nice to believe that the love of God protects us from earthly harm? But the trouble with that daring voice is that it was tempting him to risk his mortal life for glory alone, spurred on by doubt and fear, not guided by trust. To throw himself down from that pinnacle would look like an act of great reliance on God but it would, in fact, be an act 3

4 designed to test God s promises, which is to say that it would, in fact, be an act born out of a lack of trust. There in the wilderness, with that daring voice echoing in his heart, Jesus remembered the stories of his scriptures. He remembered all the covenants God had made with God s people, and he remembered the promises and the responsibilities they brought. He remembered the words that God had proclaimed at his baptism: You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. And he remembered the words of Moses from the book of Deuteronomy, words he knew by heart: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Jesus was reminded of who he was meant to be and how he was meant to live, and that daring voice retreated into silence. The story of Jesus temptation is dramatic, to be sure. But if you stop and think about it, haven t you experienced a wilderness moment like that at some point in your life? If you re anything like me, you re not immune to the wheedling doubt that causes us to question whether we really are the beloved children God says that we are. If you re anything like me, you can from time to time be drawn in by the seductive glitter of power and glory. If you re anything like me, you do not always find it easy to trust God completely and without hesitation. If you re anything like me, which is to say, if you re human, then chances are you do experience these wilderness moments from time to time. And, if they haven t already, chances are that those fourth graders who stood up here in the chancel last week will experience them, too. We all will have moments when we doubt who we are, when we don t know what to do. And that, I think, is when we need our scriptures most. That s when we need to be reminded that we are part of a long and still-unfolding story, the story of God and God s people. That s when we need to be reminded that others have faced these struggles before, and God has seen them through. That s when we need to be reminded that the One who brought us this far is not going to drop us now. That s when we need words to live by. Jesus had such words from his scriptures, words he knew by heart. Our fourth graders now have such words in their shiny new Bibles. And as we embark on this Lenten journey together, as we enter into this season of self-examination and repentance, we have such words for you all, too. When you go into Village Common after worship today, you will find twelve posters on the wall, each one bearing a brief scripture passage. We have selected these from Luke s gospel, the book we have been engaging in worship, preaching, and Bible Study throughout this year. We hope you will take time to look at these scriptures and choose one that resonates with you, one that might offer you words to live by this Lent. On the tables below the posters, you will find smaller versions of those texts, cards that you can carry in your pocket, or tuck in your wallet, or stick on your mirror. We hope that you will take these scriptures with you as companions for the Lenten journey. Try reading them first thing when you wake up and last thing when you go to bed. Try memorizing them. Try praying them when you re washing your hands, or waiting for the train, 4

5 or standing in the grocery line. Try referring to them when you need courage or challenge, solace or strength, instruction or inspiration. When you or someone you love receives bad news from the doctor, when that wheedling voice tells you that you ll never get better, perhaps you will find yourself with this reply: It is said, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace. When you feel small and insignificant, when that seductive voice tells you there s no way you can possibly make a difference in the systems of violence and oppression that are so powerful in our world, perhaps you will find yourself with this reply: It is said, No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. When someone cuts you off in rush hour traffic and that daring voice urges you to lay on the horn, perhaps you will find yourself with this reply: It is said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Like Jesus, we hope you will come to know these scriptures by heart so that they will be right on the tip of your tongue when you need them. We hope you will have them close at hand whenever you need courage or challenge, solace or strength, instruction or inspiration, ideas or identity, a life lesson or a life jacket or the story of salvation itself, echoing down through the centuries and into your ears for that is the story God is telling to us and through us, in this Lenten season and beyond. Amen. 5