Power, this week it s all about power which is very appropriate since in Lent we have to come to terms with our lack of power, our lack of power over ourselves, our lack of power over the forces of sin in the world around us, and even our lack of power to earn God s grace. Only Jesus will understand that true power comes from giving it all away and the paradox is that in giving it all away in obedience to God he will be given all authority on heaven and earth. But it is a very hard lesson to learn. We all want power. We may try to deceive ourselves that our need for power is merely a desire for freedom, or autonomy, or control, but it really is about power. Our history as human beings speaks to our lack of power even though from the very beginning we have been tempted to try to grasp it and there are consequences when we do as we will see in our reading from Genesis. God created humankind to serve and care for God s garden. The Lord gave freedom to these creatures except for one thing, they were forbidden to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent tempts Eve and she bites, literally, the fruit of which she was not supposed to eat. Nor is Adam blameless in this - he went along with her decision. Adam and Eve short-circuit the purpose for which they were designed by grasping for a quick knowledge of good and evil. When their eyes are opened they focus only on themselves, in this case their nakedness and so they try to hide from the source of all that is good. They try to hide from God their creator. The knowledge of good an evil does not necessarily lead to good decisions. We were created with the freedom to choose whether or not to obey God. That is power but it is limited power and its misuse is dangerous. When Adam and Eve reach for power they get themselves tossed out of the garden for their hubris. In his letter to the Romans Paul describes Jesus as the new Adam, or rather as Adam as God originally intended, and his coming will set the world to right. Elisabeth Tunney 1
Immediately after Jesus was baptized he is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested. Perhaps we can find this reassuring in that God is always testing us including Jesus, his only son. Now that we know good and evil we are constantly forced to choose between the two, and sometimes the right choice goes against all our instincts for self-preservation. Jesus temptations in the wilderness look forwards and backwards in time. In each of the temptations he will respond appropriately to the temptation weaving wholeness back into the order of creation. Jesus began his testing by fasting for 40 days. These 40 days in the wilderness echo Israel s 40 years of wandering in the wilderness when the Israelites were tested and failed, falling prey to other gods and doubts about their role in God s plan. Jesus remains faithful in prayer. While wandering in the desert Israel had to be bribed with manna in order to return to trust in the Lord whereas Jesus endures his hunger. The messiah was supposed to be able to produce manna, but Jesus declines to do so. However hungry he was, however tempted he might have been, Jesus did not turn the stones into bread. It s not that he couldn t do so; he will eventually perform many miracles including turning 5 loaves and two fishes into enough food to feed 5,000. Moreover no matter how hungry he was, Jesus didn t need to turn more stones into bread than he could use, he didn t use this power to bribe people with food. He would use his miracles to the glory of God, and the glory of God alone. Instead Jesus rejects the devil saying that there is more to life than bread. Although most of us do not have the power to turn bread into stone, we have power that can do things in other ways, through money, or position, or birthright think of the unconscious power of white privilege? Most of us do not have to worry about being watched when Elisabeth Tunney 2
we enter a store or being reported to the police for walking in the wrong neighborhood. We are to understand that we are not to use power for our own benefit. In the next temptation Jesus refuses to put God to the test, foreshadowing his willingness to go to his death even on the cross. Jesus refuses to act as the king so desired by Israel. Jesus will challenge the Empire but on his own terms, not by raising a rebellion, but by introducing a worm, the virus of faith that will eventually change the empire from within. Standing atop the pinnacle of the temple the devil tells Jesus to throw himself off. As God s chosen one, Jesus could have is displayed his power by leaping into the air in expectation that the angels would rescue him because of who he was. But he does not. When Jesus refuses to put God to the test we learn not to abuse the gifts we have been given or to take them for granted. There s a famous scene in Jurassic Park when the protagonist is talking about the dinosaurs that have been brought to life and you know the consequences of that are ugly. Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn t stop to think if they should. And if you don t find an example from fiction particularly compelling, think about the consequences of developing the atom bomb. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the Manhattan project said I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. The doomsday clock, that timepiece which has tracked how close we are to total disaster since 1947, that clock is now set at 2.5 minutes to midnight, the lowest it has been since 1953. Just because you can doesn t mean you should. Finally the devil leads Jesus to a mountain top where he promises him all the kingdoms of the world. At the top of that mountain the world was his for the asking. All he had to do was to fall down and worship the devil. This is the ultimate test. Jesus was being offered power in the moment. Elisabeth Tunney 3
For power to be tempting it doesn t have to be for evil purposes. Perhaps Jesus could envision himself healing all those who came to him for healing, for feeding all those who came to him for food, for righting every wrong, or perhaps he could see himself as the messiah for whom the Jews longed, the one who would drive the Romans out of their homeland, establishing a reign of justice and mercy. That power would be his all in the moment, all he had to do was to accept the devil s offer, to reject everything he had come to do the hard way. But no. Jesus did not succumb to the temptation to bypass the fate that was in store. He rejected kingship, knowing that when he rode into Jerusalem in triumph he would be going to his death, disappointing those who believed in him. There is no easy way out. Worship the Lord your God and serve only him. That is the lesson for us, especially when we are confronted with the need to make decisions that fly in the face of social norms and sometimes even the law. Power comes only in obedience to God. While we are not Jesus we are about to start our time of testing in the wilderness called Lent. Each of us faces different kinds of wilderness. Some are dealing with health issues that will never reverse themselves, others are approaching retirement and wondering what comes next, others are watching children grow out of total dependency and are wondering what to do with their sense of loss, still others have challenges around work and career, and others are wondering how to mend broken relationships. Whatever your wilderness this Lent, the first step is always prayer. The answer to temptation is always prayer. Temptation comes to us when we are vulnerable and when we are at the top of our game. May our time in the wilderness be fruitful, our repentance healing, our obedience sincere, and our acceptance of God s forgiveness complete. Elisabeth Tunney 4
Amen. Elisabeth Tunney 5