Pastor's Message - March 2019 Newsletter

Dear Emanuel Members and Friends –

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.  Luke 4:1-13

Wednesday, March 6 marks Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, the 40 days of self-examination and repentance that lead up to Easter.  The 40 day duration (excluding the Sundays in Lent) reflects the 40 days in the wilderness during which Jesus was tempted by Satan. 

The temptation took place after Jesus had been baptized by John, and while he was discerning the direction of the ministry to which God was calling him.   At his baptism, Jesus had heard the words, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  But forty days had passed since that moment, during which Jesus had been fasting in the wilderness.  And during this time, Jesus was discerning the direction in which God was calling him.

The devil offered Jesus three temptations, each beginning with the phrase “If you are the Son of God……”  If.  Basically, the devil was daring Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, prove it!” 

Each of the devil’s temptations, on the surface, looked plausible, even reasonable. But each one would have limited Jesus’ ministry, distorted it, shrunk it.  Each of the devil’s offers was a temptation for Jesus to be less than what God had called him to be.  First, Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread for himself.  And it sounds so reasonable:  Jesus was famished, and we’re told Jesus had the power to do this.  But had Jesus embraced this temptation, that would have focused Jesus’ ministry on meeting his own needs.   In modern times, this would look like clergy who live in luxury while their parishioners go hungry and wear threadbare clothes.   Next, Jesus was tempted with an offer of all the kingdoms in the world – unlimited political power – in exchange for worshiping the devil.   We might compare this to clergy who ignore their consciences in order to cozy up to political candidates in order to achieve favored political goals, regardless of the candidate’s character flaws or the collateral damage caused by the candidate’s policies.  For example, in 1930’s Germany, many clergy, Protestant and Catholic alike, enthusiastically supported Hitler in hopes that he would silence the churches’ opponents and critics and restore Germany to greatness.  Finally, Jesus was tempted to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, so that God’s angels would catch him and prevent him from falling.  To us, this temptation frankly may not look at all tempting, but it could have made Jesus’ ministry all about spectacle and showmanship, about style without substance – and there are any number of clergy who fit that description.  Jesus resisted each temptation, and the devil departed from Jesus “until an opportune time” – namely, Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion.

For Jesus, the key to resisting temptation was to remember who God is, and who he was, to remember that heavenly voice at his baptism calling him “beloved son”.  Jesus prayed, maintaining his connection to God.  At every temptation, Jesus quoted the scriptures, because the scriptures point to God.  Of course, the devil can also quote scripture for his purposes, and so it is necessary to approach scripture in a spirit that is receptive to God’s guidance rather than driven by our own willfulness. 

Each of Jesus’ temptations was, ultimately, a temptation to take an easier, softer path, a temptation to avoid the cross.   The specifics of Jesus’ temptations may differ from the pattern of our own temptations.  But we, too, are tempted to forget who we are, to sacrifice our integrity for the sake of expediency. Lent reminds us who we are.  The imposition of ashes reminds us of our mortality, to “remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return.”  At the same time, we are reminded that we are beloved children of God.

Lord, who throughout these forty days for us did fast and pray/

Teach us each day to mourn our sins, and close by Thee to stay.

See you in church!

Pastor Dave