Sermon 2/29/04
The Devil Made Me Do It - Luke 4:1-13
(view lectionary notes for this text)
"The devil made me do it!" Perhaps you have uttered this phrase yourself at some point in your life, or perhaps you have just been on the receiving end of this smooth scapegoating, hearing these words from a friend who has wronged you or a child who has disobeyed you. We usually don't toss out or respond to this claim of blame very seriously though - we assume that it's just an excuse to relieve ourselves or others of our guilt from wrongdoing. But today, we find a story from the gospel where Jesus, we read, is being tempted by the devil. Though Jesus doesn't cave to the devils' demands, we might think, surely if Jesus is tempted by Satan's demands, we can be too, and are more likely to fail than Christ was. Can't we blame the devil for our troubles, our failures, our sins? On the other hand, while popular culture often depicts the devil as a man with a pointy mustache, horns, a long tail, and a pitch fork, just as frequently as God is depicted as an old man with a long beard sitting on a big chair in the sky, I hope we come to recognize that God is much more than a man with Superman-esque powers, and evil is more compelling a problem than a tempting man with a pitchfork. Scholars will argue for hours over whether or not Satan exists in the same way we believe God exists and never come to any satisfying conclusion. But I think can tell you one thing for sure: if Satan exists, and you blame all your sins on him, he's probably doing a satisfied dance with pitchfork in hand right now. Like it or not, God has gifted us with an amazing free will that enables to make wise and terrible decisions with our lives. The question is: how do we, how should we make these decisions?
So, today, we find Jesus tempted by the devil in the wilderness. You'll remember that we've already seen what comes just after this: after his time in the desert, we next find Jesus preaching in the synagogue, a passage that we read a few weeks ago. This time in the wilderness, then, is the last event, the last thing that Jesus goes through before beginning his public ministry of teaching and healing. Alone in the desert, freshly baptized, and still full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is led into the wilderness, where the devil puts him through a battery of tests, trying to trip him up. Jesus, we're not surprised, easily sees through the devil's cons, as we would expect. What, then, does it mean for us that Jesus was tempted in this way? What does it mean for us that Jesus rejected all the offers put to him? We're supposed to find comfort in the fact that Jesus was tempted, as we are tempted, but are we tempted by the same things? The devil has not yet offered me rule over Oneida if I would just worship him. And I can't think I'd be even remotely interested in throwing myself from a tall building just to see if God would catch me on the way down. What comfort can we find in Jesus' temptations?
Perhaps, the trouble is that we're not meant to be comforted by Jesus' trials! A preacher's proverb encourages us to see Jesus as "comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable." Jesus means to challenge us, to challenge us to continue with him all the way to the cross. Certainly, we are tempted left and right in our lives. How are we tempted? The answer to this question for each of us will be as different as we are. But I think the responses might have some similar themes even in their uniqueness. Essentially, I think we actually are tempted in ways that are not so different from those that Christ faced here in the desert. I think we're tempted, most often, to take the easy way out, to shortchange ourselves of the rich possibilities for our relationship with God, not waiting for the deep, rewarding relationship that comes with discipline and discipleship. When we look at how the devil tempted Jesus, we see Satan kept trying to get Jesus to do what was easy, instead of what was right. He asked Jesus to just do a magic trick, and make bread out of stones. Instead, Jesus pointed out that there was more to worry about than his personal hunger. The devil asked Jesus to just worship him, and get all the power in the world. Instead Jesus pointed out that no power exists outside of God. Satan asked Jesus to just test God, and see if God would really pull through or not. Instead, Jesus revealed that true faith doesn't require tests.
We're tempted, too, to take the easy way. We might wish for a way to solve the world's problems, to actually turn stones into bread, to cure problems like hunger and disease. Instead, God calls us to work to feed our neighbor, clothe the naked, visit the sick: not by magic powers, but with our own two hands, our own time, our own resources. We might wish that we could control the nations of this world, so that everything could be done our way, even a good way. Instead, God call us to work for peace, to build relationships, to go through long and difficult dialogues across racial, ethnic, and global boundaries, to see our neighbors near and far. We might wish that God would give us a sign, proof of existence, proof of care for us, a map of our future blessings. Instead, God reminds us evidence of God's existence is all around us - it is our discipleship that needs to be tested more often than not!
The truth is that the early Christians could relate to Jesus' wilderness experience more clearly than we can today. They didn't expect following Christ to be easy or comfortable. They faced real threats, real persecution for their beliefs. Their faith was not translated into some government endorsement like "in God we Trust", nor did their community leaders makes decisions based on a sense of "Judeo-Christian heritage." They had to live their discipleship in very real ways, in real decision making, with real consequences. Perhaps in a sense we have it harder by the very fact of how easy and comfortable it is to call one's self a Christian today. Maybe it's harder for us to see how we're supposed to stand up, what temptations there are that we're called to resist. Perhaps our biggest temptation is being tempted to think that we don't have to work at our faith. We're tempted to think its ok that our faith isn't deep enough to change our lives. We're tempted to think its ok that we don't help others, as long as we're basically 'good people.' We're tempted to think its ok not to work to break down racism or sexism or classism, as long as we try not to participate in such acts ourselves. We're tempted to think its ok to believe that problems are too big for us to handle or impact, instead of doing whatever we can, to change whatever we can.
At our youth retreat earlier this month, Ted Anderson, the youth leader of our sister conference in Western New York, shared this quote from Nelson Mandela: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not in just some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Jesus calls us to resist the temptation to underestimate ourselves, to think that we can't make change without taking the easy path offered by Satan. The forty days of Lent we take as a journey with Jesus in the wilderness. God has blessed us so greatly that when we journey with Jesus we can do amazing things. We can change the world. We can change lives. We can bring joy. We can end pain. We can share God. We can challenge the status quo. We can tear down walls of oppression. We can change ourselves. That's a lot of power that God has given into such faulty creatures. So much potential to do what is wrong, what is evil, what is easy, what is tempting. So much potential to do what is challenging, what is difficult, what is right, what is good, what is demanded and required of us by our Creator.
So, these forty days, be tempted more than you've ever found yourself tempted before. But be tempted to boldness in Christ. Be tempted to speak up when no one else will. Be tempted to work for justice when the odds seem impossible. Be tempted to be a disciple, and to plunge into the wilderness for a journey with Christ. Amen. Benediction: May God lead us boldly into the wilderness, where we will search our souls, our hearts, and our lives in this season of Lent. And may we walk the journey boldly, knowing that the God who leads us to the desert, brings us safely to the promised land. Amen.