First Presbyterian Church, Cottonwood Falls, KS

Into the Wilderness:  Luke 4:1-13

First Sunday in Lent, Feb. 21, 2010

Rev. Pat Ireland, Pastor

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ²where 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.  ³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”  ⁴Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”  ⁵Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  ⁶And 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. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  ⁸Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”  ⁹Then 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, ¹⁰for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ ¹¹and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”  ¹²Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

¹³When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The temptation of Jesus is traditional for the first Sunday in lent.    But, “don’t bother looking for Lent in your Bible dictionary. There was no such thing in biblical times.  There is some evidence that early Christians fasted 40 hours between Good Friday and Easter, but the custom of spending 40 days in prayer and self-denial did not arise until later, when the initial rush of Christian adrenaline was over and believers had gotten very ho-hum about their faith.

“When the world did not end as Jesus himself had said it would, his followers stopped expecting so much from God- or from themselves. They hung a wooden cross on the wall and settled back into their more or less comfortable routines, remembering their once passionate devotion to God the way they remembered the other enthusiasms of their youth.

“Little by little, Christians became devoted to their comforts instead: the soft couch, the flannel sheets, the leg of lamb roasted with rosemary.  These things made them feel safe and cared for -- if not by God, then by themselves.  They decided there was no contradiction between being comfortable and being Christian, and before long it was very hard to pick them out from the population at large.

“They no longer distinguished themselves by their bold love for one another.  They did not get arrested for championing the poor.  They blended in.  They avoided extremes.  They decided to be nice instead of holy,… and God moaned out loud.

Someone, hearing the moan, “suggested it was time to call Christians back to their senses, and the Bible offered some clues about how to do that.  Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness learning to trust the Lord.  Elijah spent 40 days there before hearing the still, small voice of God - on the same mountain where Moses spent 40 days listening to God give the law. There was also Luke’s story about Jesus’ own 40 days in the wilderness during which he was sorely tested by the devil.  It was hard. It was awful.  It was necessary, if only for the story. Those of us who believe it have proof that it is humanly possible to remain loyal to God.

“So the early church announced a season of Lent, from the old English word lenten, meaning "spring" – not only a reference to the season before Easter, but also an invitation to a springtime for the soul.  Forty days to cleanse the system and open the eyes to what remains when all comfort is gone.  Forty days to remember what it is like to live by the grace of God alone and not by what we can supply for ourselves.”*

Let us Pray: Holy God guide the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts that we might follow Jesus into and through life’s temptations into your eternal presence.  Amen

As Luke tells the story, Jesus had been baptized by John, heard the affirmation from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” and then was led out into the wilderness, by that same Spirit.  There, after a long time, hungry and exhausted, he faces a crisis.  What kind of a Messiah will he be?

It is the same question with which each of us must wrestle.  We have been called and marked as children of God.  Lent is a time to consider what that means.  The children’s catechism teaches:  It means that I belong to God and that God loves me.  Simple words - challenging way to live!

The repeated phrase of the tempter, is “if you are the Son of God” challenging the reality of his previous affirmation and if that doesn’t work the Greek also translates: “since you are the Son of God” how will you live.  The challenge is to both identity and activity.

Do you really believe that you’re a child of God?  Really?

OK, if you are a child of God, what are you going to do about it?  How are you going to show others your true identity?

For Jesus the temptation was to be a provider, a political leader or a miracle worker.

Overflowing with compassion at the suffering of the people that he had grown up with, Jesus wanted more than anything to see the hungry fed.  Nothing wins friends and allies like filling their belly!  Jesus could have been like Moses, the great liberator.  Manna in the wilderness – that’s how God did it in the good old days.

The second temptation is to work within the system, to use the powers of the world for God’s purposes.  We see this when we are urged to indulge our own desires because 2 or 5 or  maybe even 10% of a purchase might be given to charity.  We see it when we are told that we must wage war to make peace, or kill murderers to be safe.  How will we live as children of God?

The third temptation may be the most dangerous.  God if you really loved me you would… send some rain, get me that job, heal me … or my spouse.  God if you are real and powerful and full of compassion why are there earthquakes and tsunamis?  Prove you are powerful!  Let me see the miracle, let me be the miracle!

But, if I am really honest, painfully honest, I suspect that my problem not that I am tempted.  It is that I am not tempted enough I haven’t really got the guts to test God; and to be tempted, one must pause and be intentional about one’s living.   Most of the time I just keep on in my routines, well protected from temptation.  I decided long ago decided that I’m not really so bad.  Not perfect maybe, but certainly not so bad.

Let’s face it, few of us are tempted to rob a bank … and “saving” on taxes isn’t so bad.  We aren’t tempted to have multiple luxury homes (can’t afford it!)  … and leaving the lights on, the water running or keeping the thermostat comfortable isn’t unreasonable.  I’m not even tempted to purchase clothes or shoes made by children in third world sweat shops, I just do it without even thinking!

Maybe the first step to becoming the children God desires is being intentional and aware so that we are tempted.  It is a lot easier to resist temptation when you notice it!

One obvious implication of being a child of God is that we are dependent upon God.  When Jesus invites us to enter the Kingdom as a child he is saying we must acknowledge our own limitations.  We cannot enter into God’s kingdom as long as we think we are god!  A child knows its dependency and vulnerability.  God became vulnerable for our sake.  We have to own our limitations, in order to learn to trust God’s eternal goodness.  We cannot create our own security.

These are just some of the complex issues of spiritual formation, the purpose of Lent.  Session met Thursday evening and we would like to suggest two Lenten activities that we hope will help mature us as God’s children.

First we want to extend an invitation to prayer.  Last year we talked of praying for our congregation as we enter a time of transition.  One of our elders phrased our prayer so simply and elegantly that I want to commend it to you.  Our congregation has lots of concerns but we find they are all held in this simple prayer: God thank you for this congregation. Please guide us in what you want us to do.

This is simple but not simplistic.  It is always dangerous to ask God to guide, for we never know where God will lead.  Just ask the slaves freed from Egypt who were soon grumbling about the food in the wilderness.  Follow Jesus into the wilderness and later to Jerusalem.  This vulnerability is part of what I was talking about when speaking of coming as a child.  It is, however, the only way to enter into God’s influence, authority, and reign.

It is not that we have no control, it is that we choose to yield to God’s desires.  It is not that we have no choice; it is that we choose to follow Jesus.

God thank you for this congregation. Please guide us in what you want us to do.

It is a simple but daring prayer and session asks that you pray it regularly and intentionally that we might be open to God’s desires for our lives and our congregation.

The second request may or may not be easier; you can decide.  At the beginning of the year session committed to monthly fellowship times for the congregation.  In January we had a meal with our congregational meeting.  Today we are having a Lenten workshop and mission project following worship.  On Palm Sunday we’ll be serving breakfast before worship.

Session’s request of you is to invite someone to breakfast and worship on Palm Sunday.  Don’t just say something in passing.  Make a sincere invitation.  Offer to pick your guest up, to sit with them.   Our intention is not to solicit new members to support our congregation, but to invite others into the joy of resurrection life.  Palm Sunday is a wonderful opportunity, cause we’ll tell the story that is so important to our faith.

So, this is an invitation into Lent, an invitation to live intentionally.  It is forty days (not including Sundays) - just about a tithe of the year.  Following Jesus we understand that it will include some wilderness experience.  Following Jesus we understand that we won’t be encouraged to be superficial or do things the easy way, but to be open to God’s desires.  We understand that we will need to confront our own vulnerabilities.  But we also know that end of the story.  We know we are called into new life, resurrection life, eternal life with Jesus our Savior.  We are called to celebrate … and to invite others to the party!