1 Lent 1C 2019 Sermon Well here we are today in the first Sunday of Lent..that season where we focus on selfreflection, penitence and giving things up so that we can draw closer to God. And we are greeted in this first Sunday of Lent by a very familiar reading from Luke..the temptation in the wilderness. There are so many interesting things that happen in this reading, that sometimes, it s really hard to know what to focus on. What struck me this time around is that this reading is really typical of a human life. Not that we are driven into the wilderness and tempted by the devil where all of our words and actions are written down for people to read, but it is typical in that temptations are a part of our lives. Jesus has just been baptized. This is an amazing time in his life. The Holy Spirit descended upon him and he was told by his heavenly Father that he is Beloved and that his Father is well pleased with him. What a moment. He must have felt invigorated, excited, adored, loved and very ready to tackle the ministry that he was called to perform. Life appeared to be good, but then, bam!..he is driven into the wilderness to do battle with the devil. This is why I believe this reading is typical of a human life. There are times when things are going well for us. We too feel invigorated, adored, loved and are excited to live life to the fullest. Only just when we feel this way our old friend temptation comes for a visit..this friend who is really never too far away..this friend who is really not a friend at all. There are times when we can resist temptation and we show this visitor the door. But it isn t very long before we hear the knock on the door again. We know what temptation is don t we? We may read Jesus battle with the devil in the wilderness and say, that was awesome! Jesus really showed the devil what he can do with his temptations didn t he? Jesus sure won that battle. The good news is that he did win that battle with the devil and he resisted the
2 temptations that were offered him. He resists the devils bread when he is hungry. Next he resists the glory and power of all the world s leaders. He then resists the power of rescue which was joined with the suggestion that God is not sufficient to keep Jesus safe. In these three specific ways Jesus was tempted by the devil and each time he resisted them. But let s not get caught up in the specific kinds of temptations here. I believe that the point of this reading is more about how temptation works in general. Temptation, in all of its many forms, is seen as a luring toward something. This is how we most often see it..that we come to want something that we really shouldn t have so we go to battle in our efforts to resist it. Sometimes we win that battle and sometimes we lose. A typical human life..no temptations for a while, then yet another battle. But there is more when it comes to temptation. The devil wasn t trying to get Jesus to fall towards any of the three temptations..not really, what the devil was really trying to do was to lure Jesus away from something. Too often Christians have focused on all the things we shouldn t do, instead of focusing on our identity as children of God. And the devil knows this. Notice how in each of the temptations the devil try s to undercut Jesus confidence in his relationship with God. The devil try s to break Jesus confidence that he is enough, that he is secure, that he is worthy of his Father s love. And in the face of these temptations, Jesus quotes the sacred story of Israel in order to show that he is a part of that story and therefore reaffirm his identity as a child of God. Rooted in the Scriptures Jesus is reminded not only that he has enough and is enough but that he is of infinite worth in the eyes of God. He holds unto what he heard at his baptism..that he is a beloved child of God. And the devil tries the same thing with you and I. He tries to make us doubt..he tries to
3 make us doubt who we are as Christians..he tries to move us away from God towards some other substitute that promises to give us what we desire. This is the attempt behind advertising. If you buy our product you will feel safe, secure and important. You will have all you ever needed. Do you feel insecure, lonely or somehow insufficient? Well worry no longer because our product will give you all of these things and more! Advertising seeks to draw you away from being secure..it attempts to pull you away from being confident in your identity. I remember when I first left home for the University of Manitoba. Here was a small town country farm boy heading off to the big city to learn and to become a man. I clearly remember driving away from home that day. My 1976 Pontiac Acadian was packed with stuff. I never showed it as I said my goodbyes to my dad, but inside I was nervous and just plain scared. And over the course of the next few weeks those feelings didn t go away. In the hustle and bustle of Winnipeg, in the busyness of my full load of classes, in the face of many things new and strange and tempting..i felt unsure of myself. I doubted that I could do what I needed to. I felt like a drop of water in Lake Winnipeg. I felt stressed, scared, unsure of myself and unanchored. And in the face of all of this there were many things I could turn to..many things that promised to provide for me that for which I longed. I also clearly remember going home to the farm one weekend about a month later. When I pulled into the driveway I immediately felt completely different. With all of my burdens left behind, I felt safe..i felt secure..i felt like I belonged..i felt like I could be myself..i felt comforted..i felt like.home. And even though I m describing something from my past and perhaps something that is a different experience from your own, I am confident that you all know of which I speak. I am confident of this because we all know temptation. We all know what it is like to be drawn away
4 from something that gives us comfort and security. We all know what it feels like to be tempted by something that promises security, power and comfort. Maybe I should..maybe it will work, but then again, maybe I shouldn t. We all know that battle. My friends, this world is absolutely full of temptations that seek to pull us away from God. And in all of them the devil is at work seeking to win you over with his empty promises..wanting to tear you away from the God who created you and redeemed you. He wants you to put your trust in something else..anything else. Today, on this first day of Lent, at the beginning our Lenten journey, let me remind you of something. Please know that in the face of all of these temptations that God loves you. He loves you when you resist temptations and he loves you when you fall for them. He loves you enough that he sent his only begotten Son to suffer the same lot as we do..to feel rejected as we sometimes feel rejected..and to die as we will one day die. God raised that Son from the dead to show us that his love for you is more powerful than all of the stress, all of the temptation, all of the hate and all of the feelings of insecurity that possibly can be. This is why we gather here each week. In the face of many temptations that want us to lose our faith in God and to forget who we are as Christians, we gather here to have our identity as God s beloved children renewed and restored..to live in the confidence of God s abundant life..to find solace and comfort at the foot of the cross. At these early stages of Lent we are beginning our journey to the cross. Let us walk that journey once again with our Savior. As he draws ever closer to that cross day by day, let us walk with the one who loves you more than words can say. In him you can feel safe, you can feel secure, you can belong, you can be yourself and you can feel comforted. Walk with him, cling to him and hold his hand as you journey..for wherever the journey takes you..with him you are home. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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