Somewhere Between a Child and God

Luke 4:1-13

 

        One of the frightening realities of children’s sermons is if you ask questions, you might lose control of your message. I knew a minister who decided to create a scenario to help the children understand the temptations of Jesus. It began with a simple question, “Have you ever gone to the grocery store with your mommy or daddy?” All the children nodded their heads. The minister continued, “Have you ever found yourself in the aisle with all the candy?” Again the kids nodded. Brimming with confidence the minister asked, “What are your favorite candies on that aisle?” The kids eagerly responded with every candy known to humankind. The minister eagerly continued. “Imagine you are standing in that aisle, looking at the Baby Ruth’s and Snickers, and your mommy or daddy is still shopping for vegetables or fruits. Out of nowhere, a rather sinister looking character is standing beside you. Imagine that very creepy looking person picking up a bag of your favorite candy and handing it to you. What would you say?”

        A little boy loudly answered, “I would say thank you.”

        Therein lays the difficulty of the Temptation Story. We want to be like the little boy. I have incredible intentions but it is so easy for my eyes to lose sight of the prize. After we got back from Disney World I knew it was time to shed the pounds I had picked up over the holidays. Diets are so easy to start and they all begin the same way. I lay down the law to Deb concerning what I will or will not eat. I figure I can resist any temptation if it is not in the house. In other words, I lay the burden of my extra pounds on someone else, so if I fail to reach my goal it is not my fault. 13 hours after making my proclamation Deb and I were in Hampton for a funeral. As we prepared to leave the church, my father, sinister man that he is, handed me a box of homemade chocolates and said, “I’m sure you are not eating sweets but could you give these to Deb?”

What chance do we have? Temptation flies from all directions and the only sensible response is, “Thank you.”

Oh the box was delivered to Deb, of course it was two or three pieces lighter than when I had received it. And being the good person she is Deb’s immediate response was, “I’ll put these away and take them to the grandchildren.” But being the good grandfather that I am, I discovered the hiding place and before Deb took the box to Columbia I did my best to prevent my grandchildren from suffering from obesity.

I have started a diet 437 times and all have ended in failure yet Jesus, without food for 40 days, resisted the offer of a piece of bread. How did he do it? How did he resist the temptation to give in to the guy holding the bag of Butter Fingers? What has Jesus got that I lack? Perhaps the stakes for Jesus were a lot higher. Jesus was not interested in losing a few pounds. His very identity was being challenged.

Barbara Brown Taylor suggests that Jesus was undergoing the Son of God test. I find this to be a brilliant observation. In order to pass the Son of God test one does not live to eat. In order to pass the Son of God test one must serve and worship God alone. Finally, in order to pass the Son of God test one must not put God to the test. None of us could survive the temptations put before Jesus. Oh we might somehow survive the box of chocolates, but can we only be loyal to God? And even for a holy moment if we should deny conventional wisdom in favor of the Almighty wouldn’t we say, “OK God, I proved myself. How about making those forty days worth my time? How about giving me the keys to the kingdom?”

None of us are up to the Son of God test. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t tempted. Taylor says we get the Adam and Eve test. We are tempted by one apple, one opportunity to suppress our appetites and live in God’s paradise.  Of course we don’t do so well. Forget the apple; we head straight for the buffet table.

Temptation is a very real part of our everyday life. No one, not even God expects us to respond like Jesus. But must our response too often be, “Thank you.” Shouldn’t we at least be striving to find a place between the egocentric reply of a child and the moral perfection of God?

The seasons of the Christian year are set up to help us take this journey. We begin with Advent. If you truly want to grapple with the meaning of Christmas begin with this basic question, “Was Jesus God’s response to our transgressions?”  That should keep you busy for four weeks.

Christmas eventually morphs into Lent. It begins with time in the wilderness. Despite temptation, Jesus chose to live radically different from the status quo. In the season of Lent we are challenged to examine our lives in the light of Jesus. What would Jesus do? That is a good question usually followed with a difficult answer. It seems Jesus wasn’t all that interested in success, power or riches as defined by the world. His choices disappointed a lot of folks and led to his death. Our faith centers on what we believe God did next. After 50 days of trying to make sense of what the life and death of Jesus meant, we enter into what is known as the ordinary time, a period of prayer, bible study, revelations and frustrations that lead us right back to Christmas where we start the whole process all over again.

It reminds me of Groundhog Day. Each year we hear the same story. Each year we grapple with similar shadows that fall across our lives. Each year our actions establish if we are getting any closer to God’s dream.  It’s no wonder each Sunday we pray, “Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil.”

I think each of you will agree that if we dare to live then we must realize that life will be filled with tests, and temptations, and occasionally with events we can only define as evil. As glorious as life is, it is also hazardous. Sometimes we need help and we especially need help when we don’t know we need help. To paraphrase Shakespeare, “Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.”

Once a month I travel to Richmond to serve on a Presbytery ministry team called the Committee on Ministry. Each month I hear stories of situations where people going to church to worship God are seduced into the pleasure of playing God. Many of you have worked in business or government and I have heard your stories of people with enormous resources to do something good using those assets for their own power. Perhaps worst of all, I have witnessed marriages, an institution that empowers two people beyond what they could do individually, ruined because of one person’s manipulation and control. Evil takes root where goodness abounds because exploitation often begins with the best of intentions. We can’t be Christ, but we can carefully observe our circumstances and allow a Godly voice to keep us from temptation.

I was skiing Friday morning. I love to ski but I am not really all that good. When conditions are wonderful, as they were Friday, I ski with abandoned and wonder if there is an Olympics for folks over 65. On the far side of Wintergreen is a slope called Outer Limits.  Most of that slope is covered in moguls except for a thin groomed strip down the left side. As I was riding up the lift I turned to my skiing buddy and said, “I think I am going to ski Outer Limits.”

His response was, “Why, you can’t ski moguls.”

I replied, “I am not going to ski the moguls. I am going to ski the groomed section to the left.

Again he said, “Why, you can’t ski moguls.”

I snapped back, “I not going to ski the moguls!”

He ended our conversation with, “But you will end up in the moguls and I am not going to let you go over there.”

I fell silent until we reached the top of the mountain. As we turned away from Outer Limits and started toward Cliff Hanger I acknowledged he had rescued me from temptation.

Let this season of Lent be a time when you examine your life, examine your relationship with God, and examine the voices that claim to be godly. Choose carefully, and then take the road Jesus would have you travel.        Amen.