Sunday,February 10, 2008 - Temptation?

The First Sunday in Lent is about temptation. (Matthew 4: 1-11)

It is a real temptation for us to reduce Lent to something manageable, something trivial that would not do too much harm -- such as giving up something that really does not bother us that much -- whether it is chocolate, sugar, caffeine, or certain hobbies.

Or, we can follow a list of what to give up such as this:

Give up complaining - focus on gratitude.
Give up pessimism - become an optimist.
Give up sin - turn to virtue.
Give up worry - trust Divine Providence.
Give up discouragement - be full of hope.
Give up bitterness - turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred - return good for evil.
Give up negativism - be positive.
Give up anger - be more patient.
Give up pettiness - become mature.
Give up gloom - enjoy the beauty that is all around you.
Give up jealousy - pray for trust.
Give up gossiping - control your tongue.
Give up harsh judgments - think kindly thoughts.

Yes, we can actively do more generous works of love and charity and be more fervent in prayer, instead of giving up something negatively. However, these can become small, morality games that trivialize the real temptation.

All temptations have to do with lies. In the Garden of Eden, the first temptation has to do with the lie that said, “You will not die!” The serpent tempted Adam and Eve by challenging them on the consequence of their action. “It is not as bad as you think it is going to be!” The lie has to do with “Maybe you can get away with it!” “Try it; it won’t do you any harm!” We all have heard those tempting words before, in one form or another.

As it turns out, surprise, surprise, the lie is not true. Ironically, they did have to die as a result of eating the forbidden fruit. We learn the hard ways that we do have to suffer the consequences, when we cannot get away with it.

At issue here is not whether they have done something bad, but it is one of disobedience. In knowing the difference between good and evil, the first humans have become like God, independent of God, and rebelled against God.

For us, temptation comes in different ways and entices us to be like God! As individuals and as a faith community, there is a real temptation for us to take the place of God. We say to ourselves that we can take control of our own destiny! We will try this, we will do this, and we will make it happen! We really don’t need God in all of this, especially when we are young and strong! We want the power and the control! However, when all else fail, we can always turn to God and ask for help. Unfortunately, God has been relegated to be a Plan B, a back up plan for us. When things are not going well, we can always pray to God!

However, temptation is a testimony to strength. The greater the strength, the greater the temptation will be. All three temptations attack Jesus’ strength, rather than his weaknesses. In the first one, the test was, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Secondly, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the Temple.” In both cases, the temptation attacks the identity and the assumption of Jesus as the Son of God. What kind of a son of God is he really? Is he the one who can use his divine power not only for his own advantage, but also use it to alleviate human hunger and need, thereby harnessing enormous political power?

Jesus’ responses rejected the temptation to become a “superman” type of messiah. He chose to remain human, yet obedient to the word of God. “Not by bread alone shall the human live...” In our faith journey and prayer life, we too want Jesus to be a superman who can come solve all our problems and take away all our troubles and pains. We get upset, when we find such a human messiah. We want a messiah who is totally divine. Our kind of messiah would come down from the cross and save others. He would not need to do a far-fetched thing like rising from the dead, for he would be smarter not to die in the first place.

The second temptation employs the word of God, since Jesus chose to follow the word of God. To perform a super stunt in front of the faithful crowd from the top of the temple in Jerusalem would have confirmed such an expectation of the messiah. Such a sign will undoubtedly coerce faith and confirm the popular messianic hope. But Jesus chose not to test God by twisting God’s words and manipulating God into doing something spectacular for him. We can also turn the promises of God around to try and manipulate God for our own gain. We do so by questioning God’s faithfulness to us. Just like in a marriage, as soon as one partner starts wondering or asking, “If you really love me, you will do this...” then one is no longer living by the marriage promises and trust, but trying to manipulate the other. When we start looking for miracles and signs to prove God’s presence, we are not living by God’s word and we have already stopped trusting God.

The third temptation takes place on a high mountain, the same description used for the Transfiguration last week. It is significant, because there Jesus’ true identity would be revealed and confirmed. There, the Son of God in his glory would be talking with Moses and Elijah. It leaves us no doubt as to who Jesus really is. He belongs to God, and he is committed to what God has called him to do.

Jesus is now tempted to turn away from God, in order to obtain the power and authority over the kingdoms of the world. Some would interpret that the world is under demonic control, and the devil has the power to give that control to Jesus. However, we who claim that we believe only in one God should not fall into the trap of making room for one good God and one bad god in our theology. After all, we were told that Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. God is involved in this testing. At issue here is one of sovereignty. To whom does the world belong? To God or to someone else? Who do we acknowledge to be the one who is in charge of the world, our church, and our personal and daily lives? In reality, who truly has the power and the authority in our life?

Do we worship only God, or do we actually worship something or someone else other than God? It could be customs, tradition, our own rules and liking. As a Church, are we willing to sell our souls in order to remain comfortable? to become attractive and successful? Or, how can we stay faithful to our calling? What does it mean for us to serve only the Lord our God and not anything else? We should stop and ask ourselves what is truly the business we are in and what are our priorities here at St John the Divine? We’ll do that later in our Annual Vestry meeting.

On the other hand, there is also a real temptation for some to leave everything to God. In reality, we don’t want to do anything; we just give up in despair. We can hide behind pietistic talk and prayers, but we will not put in our own effort. When things are not working right, we can always blame the devil. “The devil made me do it!” we may say. We do so by escaping and abdicating our personal responsibility.

We need to find a balance between surrendering our will to God and not surrendering our responsibility to act. We need to resist the temptation to become like God and take over things. On the other hand, we also need to act on answering God’s call for us to do his work of ministry. Is this talk of being “co-creators” with God too close to falling into the trap of the first temptation? Or can we co-operate with God realistically in such a partnership?

Perhaps the answer is found somewhere in the Lord’s Prayer. As long as we acknowledge and understand that God is indeed our Father, as Jesus taught us -- that is the nature of our true relationship with God. When we pray today, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…” what do we say after that? That should give us a clue as to who is in charge of this world and the world to come...

“For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory… for ever and ever.” Amen.

Fr Victor +
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