Matthew 4:1-11 “Choices”
When
I was back in seminary some years ago, I had a class, Systematic Theology,
where the
professor always gave multiple choice tests.
This
was a bit unusual for seminary;
essay
tests were more common, and I like essay tests.
But
when I started this Systematic Theology class, I remember thinking,
“Multiple choice! That’ll be easy.”
That
was before I actually took one of his tests,
which I
can only describe as unforgettable.
Somehow,
he could make up a test where every single question
seemed to
have 4 correct answers. I don’t know how he did it.
That
was the only class I got a B in and I was grateful for that.
Today,
just for fun, all of you have an opportunity to take a multiple choice test on
Lent. Today is the first Sunday of Lent,
and I thought
we would
just check out how much we know about this season.
Don’t
worry, no one’s getting graded.
(Go
through quiz) (That was easy, wasn’t it?)
Now
this isn’t on your test,
but the
story we just heard is the one we hear every year
for the
first Sunday of Lent,
although
it does come from a different gospel each year.
Just
as Jesus is about to begin his ministry, he is led into the desert for his
first big test.
But
this is a different kind of testing than a multiple choice quiz.
Jesus
gets the answers right, because he stays true
to the
purpose his Father has given him.
This scripture serves to remind us as we
begin the season of Lent,
that our
journeys also will include some times of testing.
And part of this testing means we must make
some choices
that keep us
true to our identity and purpose as followers of Jesus.
This
scripture takes some work to understand.
We
are told that Jesus is led by God’s spirit into the wilderness to be tested by
the devil.
This
verse alone can raise questions for some.
But
we need to make an important distinction here.
The
spirit that has anointed Jesus’ ministry isn’t some cruel cause
of his
struggles in the wilderness,
This
is the Spirit of God, which strengthens
Jesus through his struggles.
To
fully understand the power of this spirit,
we need
to go back to the previous chapter, just before the wilderness story.
In
the last verses of chapter 3 we read the story of Jesus’ baptism by John.
Here
is the moment in Matthew’s gospel that Jesus claims his baptismal
identity.
Here
he begins his ministry, blessed by the Spirit of God and anointed by the words
“This
is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
With
the Spirit to guide and empower him, Jesus has choices to make.
But
he stays focused on his calling through the testing he experiences in the
wilderness.
He
lives out his identity and mission as the Son of God, strengthened by God’s
spirit.
At
first glance, the temptations Jesus struggles with seem harmless enough.
After
all Jesus is the Son of God. Why not use
that power to really make a difference? Why not turn stones into bread - enough
to feed hundreds of hungry people?
Why
not show God’s power with a stunt that would amaze the masses?
In
fact, why not take over all the kingdoms
and
straighten out the whole sorry world once and for all?
What
Jesus is facing in the wilderness is what Fred Craddock,
Disciple
preacher would call “Real temptation.”
“Real
temptation is not an incentive to fall, but to rise,” he says.
Just
as he is beginning to live out his mission,
the
testing Jesus faced was not to fall, but to rise to a place
that put
his ego above his God-given identity.
But
all of answers Jesus gave were the right answers.
Because
they showed that he was soaked in the word of God,
and by
extension, the will of God.
In
every challenge given to him by the devil,
Jesus
responds by quoting straight from the Hebrew scriptures.
At
the very beginning of his ministry, just after his baptism,
after a
purifying fast of 40 days, and filled with the Holy Spirit,
Jesus
is faced with choices about what his ministry is to be about.
Will
his mission be about meeting human needs with compassion or magic tricks?
Will
he live out his calling by testing God or trusting God?
Will
his ministry be about leading the kingdoms of this world or the
he
understood what it was going to mean to live out God’s mission.
And if Jesus couldn’t trust God in this
first test,
how would he
have been able to trust that God
was guiding his
mission all the way to the cross?
At
this moment Jesus trusts God’s power in his life to guide his mission and
purpose.
Even
if the purpose is the suffering, loving, reaching out, healing, teaching work
of the
messiah who looks more like a servant than a king.
As
we begin the season of Lent, this is a good time to reflect on the temptations
that keep us from the purpose and mission to which God calls each of us.
Sometimes
it’s the small things that keep us apart from God.
We
fail to spend time in prayer or reading the Bible –
things
that give us the strength to face the bigger tests.
You
have to notice here that Jesus faced Satan with only the power of quoting
scripture.
There
IS power in the word.
Fred
Craddock tells another story of growing up in the church and being forced to
memorize scripture verses by his teacher.
He writes this:
“Miss
Emma Sloan was an elderly woman, single.
She taught me in the primary department, and since there was nobody to
teach us juniors, she went right on with us, and taught us for years. She gave me a Bible. She wrote in the front: “May this be a light
to your feet, a lamp for your path. Emma Sloan.” She taught us to memorize the Bible; she
never tired to interpret it. I don’t
remember her ever explaining anything.
She said, “Just put it in your heart, just put
it in your heart.”
She
used the alphabet, and we’d go around the room saying verses, A - A soft answer
turns away wrath. B- Be ye kind, one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, as God also in Christ has
forgiven you. C -Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden. D - Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you. E - Every good and perfect
gift . . . F - For God so loved the world . . you get the idea.
Fred
Craddock says he still remembers all that.
And the verses have been there for him throughout his life, sitting in a
hospital room. Waiting
in an airport. Teaching
students in a seminary. Always there for him, to guide his purpose.
There
are other temptations that keep us from God’s purpose.
We worship
the idols of making money, acquiring more stuff,
and
climbing the ladders of achievement, popularity, and success.
Sometimes
our own lack of trust in God keeps us from God’s purposes.
We
trust God, but only to a point. Real
surrender to God’s will seems too radical.
As a
church, we too are faced with choices that also could keep us from our
mission.
Last
weekend 12 of us spent 24 hours together
focused
on clarifying our purpose as a church.
We
talked about our core values,
the
challenges that have kept us from living out God’s mission,
and our
vision for the future.
If
you’re interested you can see a timeline of our work posted in the office.
The
3 questions that guided our work were:
Who
are we?
Who
is our neighbor?
What
shall we do?
We
came up with some answers.
We
are a caring community, one that accepts differences among us.
Learning
is important to us and so is communion.
Reaching
out with the love of Christ is a priority.
We
agreed that our caring should not only be for ourselves,
but for
our neighbors outside the doors of the church.
Over
the weekend we came up with some goals for the year; some areas of
emphasis.
These
include:
expanding
our prayer group;
strengthening our work with youth and children;
starting
more small groups to reach out to hurting people,
including
one for those struggling through divorce;
offering
more fellowship opportunities.
Many
of these goals will reach out to our neighbors outside the church doors.
These
are goals that you can work on with us.
We
who say we follow Jesus must live into our identity as Christians
both as
individuals and as a church.
When
we say that we are Christians, it needs to show up in how we live.
Lent
gives us a time to do just that - to take an honest look at ourselves and
recommit to practices of our faith that form us into followers of Jesus.
We
all have choices and living out our Christian faith is a choice.
One
of the questions for us this Lenten season is “How do I live out my
faith?”
Your
Lenten quiz had a question about some of the ways
Christians
have done this over the centuries.
The
traditional spiritual disciplines of Lent have been prayer, fasting, and alms
giving.
Lent
has been a time to pray as a way of
becoming more connected with God.
A
focused time of prayer - even for a very short period every day -
can grow
your relationship with God in powerful ways.
One
of the reasons that you have all received a Lenten devotional in the mail
this past
week is because I believe in this so strongly.
Fasting can reveal to us just how much we are dependent on
something other than God. And fasting
doesn’t just refer to food.
I
have a friend who fasts once a week from all the screens in her life:
computer,
TV, blackberry, cell phone, ipod.
She
calls it a screen free day and she uses it to remind her
that her
ultimate connection is to God.
Almsgiving, which is just an old fashioned word for giving to the
poor
reminds
us that to be Christian is by definition to care for others.
The
simplest thing you can do this Lent to care for others
is to buy
a few extra cans or boxes of something every time you go to the grocery
store.
Then
bring it to church and drop it off in the NCM barrel in the narthex.
You
can also bring in supplies for the hygiene kits we are collecting.
And
next week and the week after, you can give to the Disciples disaster relief
fund through our Week of Compassion special offering.
One
of the places your
gift will bring relief to is in the Southern states struck by tornadoes just
this past week.
We
all have choices to make, but it’s the many little choices we make each day
that keep us true to our identity and purpose as followers of Jesus.
There
is a reading I came across some years ago called True Lenten Fasting,
which
reminds us of just how frequently we make these choices.
Fast
from judging others;
Feast
on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from fear of illness;
Feast
on the healing power of God.
Fast
from words that pollute;
Feast
on speech that purifies.
Fast
from discontent;
Feast
on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast
on patience.
Fast
from pessimism.
Feast
on optimism.
Fast
from negatives;
Feast
on affirmatives.
Fast
from bitterness;
Feast
on forgiveness.
Fast
from self-concern;
Feast
on compassion.
Fast
from suspicion;
Feast
on truth.
Fast
from gossip;
Feast
on purposeful silence.
Fast
from problems that overwhelm;
Feast
on prayer that sustains.
Fast
from worry;
Feast
on faith.
These
choices, added up day after day, practiced faithfully week after week, will
keep us growing as disciples of Jesus Christ.