1 Lent - 4 March 2001

According to some accounts John knew who the man was standing in front of him. Some eye witnesses say they spoke with each other. All of the witnesses agree that at some point John baptized this Jesus of Nazareth. And all the witnesses agree that a voice came from heaven, though they disagree who heard what. For his part Luke tells us that "a voice came from heaven, `You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'" (Lk 3:22) Today, Luke tells us what happened next: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." (Lk 4:1-2)

Isn't it a marvel that in this account of the life and work of Jesus, there is nothing by which to know Jesus at this point in the story. Yes, we have a voice from heaven, we have a large hint about who this man is, but he himself has said and done nothing. From the waters of the Jordan into the wilderness of the desert. From affirmation to temptation. Who is this man? We are about to find out a lot about Jesus by what he renounces, what he turns down and how he does it. If he is our model, if we are his disciples, longing to follow the way he has led, we need to pay attention. If his own life is truly the light and the way of our lives, we need to pay close attention to what he does as he is tempted by the devil in the wilderness.

If you attended the Bible Study this morning, an on-going study using the lectionary and led by Stan Hirsch, you will have discovered that all of Jesus' responses are from the Book of Deuteronomy. And you will have discovered, too, that each of the responses illuminates a portion of the daily prayer of the devout Jew: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord is your God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." (Dt 6:4-5)

As a child, as a teen, as a young adult, Jesus clearly studied the Word of God (what we call the Old Testament) and "read, marked, and inwardly digested" that Word. It was really part of him. Daily prayer was clearly a part of his growing up. In the moment of temptation this foundation of study and prayer and the grace of the Holy Spirit were the weapons he wielded. Is it any wonder that we are constantly inviting you to continuing study and prayer? Is it any wonder that we insist this education begin with our children in the nursery?

As a congregation dedicated to knowing Christ and making him known, we can draw an immediate conclusion from this story: we cannot start too early, we cannot skimp on resources to help each other teach our children to know, love and serve the Lord. We need to lead the way in study, in prayer, in inviting the Holy Spirit to guide what we say and do. We need to support parents and grandparents in the religious education of the children in their care. We need to help each other be the kind of teachers that when the moment of temptation comes, as it did for Jesus, our children will have the resources to just say no, as did Jesus who learned as a child and won the victory as an adult.

There is one God. You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart. . . . There is one God. You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart. . . .

How often in the wilderness, in the darkness, in the heat, in the cold, with the wild beasts and terror and in the quiet of being utterly alone, how often in the forty days and nights did Jesus recite this prayer? When the devil came—not to attack, or terrorize, or assault or abuse Jesus, but rather to tempt Jesus by offering gifts, fine gifts, delightful gifts, our Lord was ready; his responses came from the knowledge and the prayer within him.

Turn these stones into bread. Feed yourself, you're hungry. Feed others by repeating this miracle. Feed the whole world. No more plowing and weeding and tending and harvesting; no more fretting over the lack of water, turn these stones into bread. Be filled with the good things this world has to offer. Be rich, be well liked, be the center of attention by giving people the food their bodies need.

Jesus' response? "No one shall live on bread alone." (Dt 8:3) Underneath this spoken word, with each heart beat, was the prayer: "There is one God. You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart. . . ." Jesus' vocation was to be savior and redeemer of the world, not farmer, not food broker. He stayed true to that calling. His love, his whole hearted love, was to follow the call of Abba. In this moment his whole hearted love held fast to his covenant to do the will of Abba. May our children be so blessed to know God's will and have the courage to do it. May we be so blessed.

The devil offers another gift. A wonderful gift. A gift many of us struggle with still, the gift of power. Worship me, the devil says, and I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world. I'll put you in charge of everything, if you will only worship me. What have we been willing to do or sacrifice for only a fraction of such power. How often are we tempted, or do we manipulate things, to gain just a little more power (to do good of course). And here is Jesus being offered the gift of world wide power, if only he will worship the devil.

Jesus' response? "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him alone shall you serve!" (Dt 6:13) And again, as regular as his heart beat goes the prayer of his youth: "There is one God. You shall love the Lord your God with . . . all your might. . . ." Love with all your might (power), worship only the Lord your God, serve only the Lord your God. Do not substitute a lesser power, a lesser light, a lesser truth for this. Again, may our children be blessed to know the greatest power, and greatest light and the greatest truth in all the universe. May they be blessed to never settle for lesser powers, no matter how appealing, nor for lesser lights no matter how attractive, nor for lesser truths no matter how wonderful they may seem. And may we be equally blessed to resist again and again this temptation to lesser power.

Finally, perhaps the most insidious offer of all. Look, Jesus, I know you are God's beloved. Ask anything, you will get it. Demonstrate this close connection and I guarantee you will have crowds of adoring believers day and night. You will be able to do so much good when people see your Abba send his angels to keep you from harm. Go ahead, beloved, Abba will catch you and the people will flock to you.

Jesus' response? "You shall not test the Lord your God." (Dt 6:16) And with the beating of his heart, and with each breath: "There is one God. You shall love the Lord your God with . . . all your soul." With your whole being trust God as each moment unfolds. There is no need to manipulate God, no need to manipulate the moment so that God will be revealed as trustworthy and loving. Simply trust in that love with your whole being.

I believe those in 12 Step programs have captured the essential core of Jesus' response to this temptation: "Let go and let God." Jesus let go of that need to have God's love proved to him (by something as dramatic as a leap from a building and being caught by angels before touching the ground). Jesus trusted his teachers, Jesus trusted the testimony of the scriptures he read, Jesus trusted that the love of Abba was always his. May our children be blessed with the knowledge of the love of God now come to us in Jesus. May our children be blessed with the heart and mind and soul to trust that love. May our children be comforted and guided by that love all the way back to their heavenly home. May we be equally blessed.

May we be blessed to know and grow in the knowledge of the one true God. May we be blessed to serve the one true God with our every breath. May we be blessed to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our might.

May we be the first and best teachers of our children in these ways. And may our children and their children be blessed with joy in the knowledge and the love of our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Rev. Daniel Rondeau
drondeau@stmargarets.org
4 March 2001