Lent 1 – Temptation of Jesus Luke 4:1-13
What do you think of when you hear the word Lent? Is it a time to give up the chocolate and biscuits for a few weeks? Do you think of eating pancakes and Ash Wednesday? Do you take up a new practice of prayer or fasting?
In church, we strip away the flowers, the Gloria, and the H word (Halleluia) from our worship. This stripping back helps us to focus on the essentials of our faith and prepare for the Easter season to come.
The 40 days of Lent mirror the 40 days Jesus spent in the Wilderness where he was tested by the devil. The Gospel tells us that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. Often in the scriptures the wilderness is a time of encounter with God for people – the Israelites had their greatest experience of the presence of God with them as they were led out of Egypt and into the wilderness. As modern people we are quite averse to trials and suffering. We spend significant effort trying to avoid pain and suffering.
So what is happening in this wilderness period? And how on earth can there be anything redemptive about Jesus being tempted?
In the gospel reading we hear that the devil tries to tempt Jesus three times –
First he says – If you are the Son of God command this stone to become a loaf of bread. We don’t know how many days Jesus was into his 40 days of fasting but the hunger he felt was very real. Luke tells us he was famished.
When the devil says “if you are the Son of God” it is not because he doubts who Jesus is. Both Jesus and the devil know who he is. The bigger question could be – since you are the Son of God, how will you carry out your calling? Will you do it in a way that is self-serving or in the service of others? Jesus responds to the first temptation by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 – “One does not live by bread alone” acknowledging that our lives require more than physical food to keep us alive. We need the guidance and direction of God to lead us. As the reading from Romans assures us, the Word of God is near to us. It is on our lips and in our hearts. We can know God’s ways because God has made them known to us through scripture.
In the second temptation the devil offers Jesus power and authority over the kingdoms of the world in return for his worship. Who is this devil and how does he have the authority over these kingdoms? We should move away from cartoon images of a red man with horns and a pitchfork. One commentator suggested the devil’s greatest work was to convince you that he doesn’t exist. Thomas Merton on the other hand suggested that Christians attribute all manner of things to the Satan and what he wants most is attention. Jesus refuses to choose power and influence. His unwavering worship is for God only. It is amazing how quickly we can be swayed by the thought of influence and importance. But the kingdom of God is not about finding seats at the tables of power.
The final temptation the devil throws at Jesus is self-protection. Again, he says “if you are the Son of God…” let God protect you. In fact, it is a call for God to protect Jesus. But Jesus confronts the devil’s use of scripture (Ps 91:11-12) with scripture (Deut 6:6). God should not be put to the test.
As we consider these temptations we see that Jesus succeeds where we so often fail. Jesus knows who he is and what he is called to do. But he also knows who God is and trusts that despite the appearances to the contrary, God’s ways are the best.
Have you ever lived through a house renovation? It can be a long and protracted process. As a teenager, I lived through several months of our house being semi gutted and then put back together. The kitchen was ripped out and moved to the other side of the house. Walls were stripped back to the beams to expose pipes and wiring. Dust was everywhere and it didn’t look very pretty! In the same way, when we enter the wilderness with God and allow him to search our lives, it can feel like important parts of who we are have been ripped out and exposed. However, the Lenten journey of introspection and renovation is not for the purpose of self-flagellation and inducing shame.
I moved into a new flat when I started my curacy. The kitchen is bright and sunny with a full-length glass door opening into the kitchen. To protect the fridge from the direct sunlight, I brought some window tinting film and tried my hand at sticking it onto the door. I was almost level at the top but the problem became clear the further down the door I went. What was a slight misalignment at the top of the door slowly became a large gap on one side of the door.
In the same way the journey of interior renovation is one of allowing the Spirit to search our hearts and shine the light of God on those areas where we need to be realigned. What initially looks like a small misalignment can be nudged back towards the life-giving ways of God before we get too far along and find ourselves way off track. God knows our weaknesses and is not surprised by them. Our choices that serve self over neighbour, our misguided pursuit and worship of power and influence, and our desire for self-preservation are often responses to the frailty of being human.
Lent is an opportunity to look our frailty squarely in the face and accept it. If you are anything like me, you might be sitting there thinking I could do without another “wilderness journey” thank you very much. No one wants to spend time in the wilderness, and yet these difficult times in our lives are not to be avoided. They are an invitation to lean more closely on God and discover the living-giving promises of God to those who repent.
As we journey through Lent we do so knowing the end of the story. Jesus will conquer sin and death once and for all. Our journey through these 40 days invites us to look inside afresh so that as we approach the cross and resurrection we will truly experience the Good News to be found at Easter.
Sarah Murphy