1st Sunday of Lent

February 10, 2008


The Common Denominators of All Temptation


In the scriptures for this first Sunday in Lent we find ourselves confronted with two seemingly opposite places.

On one hand we have the Garden of Eden - the luscious utopia of God - the place where God made every tree and plant that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.

In the garden we find the beginnings of a humanity created in the image of God, and we find God walking in the cool of the day.

God blesses Adam and Eve, tells them to be fruitful and to multiply, and then literally gives them the garden of Eden

On the other hand, our gospel tells of a barren wilderness - a place where the Spirit of God literally drove his Son immediately following his baptism.

It was certainly a place where there was no lush trees or vegetation, for we read that Jesus had nothing to eat for 40 days.

So, here in the wilderness we find God in Christ, and we find humanity in Christ.

Two things then, that might be common to both the garden and in the wilderness.

But, in the garden and in the wilderness we find another common denominator - the presence of temptation by the presence of the devil.

In Eden, God had told Adam and Eve that they must not eat of the forbidden fruit.

Here comes the hissing serpent, the devil, who presents them with subtle suggestions about the forbidden fruit.

“Did God say you shall not eat from any tree in the garden.”

Please note how harmless this seems, but please note the misquotation of God.

Rather than calling the devil’s number and ending the conversation, Eve lets herself be drawn into a spiritual quicksand, which gets dicier by the moment and finally he subtly suggests that one bite of the fruit will make them like God. Bingo.

Sure enough - they eat - and they find out very quickly that they are anything but God.

In fact, they wind up hiding from God when he walked in the cool of the day.

In the Judean wilderness, here comes the same tempter to confront Jesus.

The same tempter tries to get Jesus to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.

Interestingly enough there is a grammatical quirk in the Greek Bible and it goes like this:

“If you are the Son of God, and I know that you are, command this stone to become bread.

If you are the Son of God, and I know that you are, throw yourself down from here.

The devil isn’t trying to get Jesus to prove who he was: he is trying to make him into something he isn’t.

In Eden he tempted Adam and Eve to become like God - to become something for which they were not created.

In the wilderness, he tempted Jesus to become simply a sinner like the rest of us - which would have caused him to not be the Son of God.

The temptations of Jesus were temptations to take a bite of the forbidden fruit that would forfeit his true identity stated at his baptism: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

Turning a stone into bread would have caused God to selfishly neglect the hungry of the world.

A leap from the temple would have been a spectacular event that no doubt would have acclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, but, it would have avoided the cross.

Satan final temptation of all the kingdoms of the world would have cancelled the possibility of the resurrection.

Incidentally, the kingdoms of the world weren’t the devils to give - for the world belongs to God.

So, in the long run, Jesus was tempted to be like us - concerned with our own hunger - wanting to be the limelight of attention, and wanting to have all the glamour the world has to offer.

Henri Nouwen tells us: “In the wilderness Jesus was tempted with the three compulsions of the world: to be relevant (turn stones into loaves) to be spectacular (throw yourself down) and to be powerful (I will give you all these kingdoms.) (Nouwen, Henri: The Way of the Heart, page 16)

To be relevant - to be spectacular - to be powerful: Those are the common denominators of every temptation whether it is the temptation of Eden, of Christ in the wilderness, or of you or me.

St. John’s first epistle defines those denominators as: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life.

I see it so I have to have it - it will bring satisfaction to me - it will put me at the top of the heap.

Sounds uncomfortably familiar, doesn’t it.

Let’s face the fact that every human being, from Adam to Christ to us, undergoes a barrage of temptation in order to keep us from being who we were created to be.

Is temptation a sin? Absolutely not.

It only becomes sin when we take a bite out of the forbidden fruit that is constantly offered to us by the evil in this world.

And, if you think about it, temptation usually beings with just a little nibble.

How many times have we heard whispered in our souls: “o come on, its not a big deal, it won’t hurt anything, for once have it your way.”

Lent is time in which we are challenged by the church to see how much the forbidden fruit of being relevant, spectacular, or powerful we have taken.

Lent is a time when we rediscover who we are - the beloved children of God.

It is a time in which God calls us as he did in the garden: “Adam, where are you.”

It is a time in which we need to not be afraid, a time in which we come forth from the sins behind which we hide, and like the prodigal son, receive the loving embrace and welcome home by an incredibly loving God.

Are we going to be tempted? Sure, no doubt about it.

Are we going to give in to some of those temptations? Afraid so.

That, perhaps, is the bad news.

But the good news is even better!

Christ was baptized and went into the wilderness.

We are baptized, and are sent into the wilderness of a scary a violent world.

But, in baptism, Christ joins us in our wilderness.

Our baptism, Martin Luther tells us, “effects forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and grants eternal salvation to all who believe as the words and promise of God.”

St. James tells us: “Blessed is anyone who endures temptation.

Such a one who has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

So, dear hearts, let’s have a look into the depths of our souls, let’s throw out our hidden stash of forbidden fruit, and on March 23rd truly celebrate the resurrection of the Christ who, because of his temptations, understands ours, and because of his death and resurrection has given eternal life to the beloved children of God.

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