Sermon 3-4-01
From the Desert to the Garden - Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Luke 4:1-13
(view lectionary notes for this text)
This past summer, CBS introduced a television series that quickly moved to the top slots, winning high ratings and making much money. This series, one of several in the bursting "reality TV genre" is called "Survivor." Survivor I tracked a group of contestants in their struggles to make do on a remote island for several weeks. The players had to perform demanding physical tasks, learn to function as a team, while watching their backs for betrayal and scheming, eat cuisine that was less than desirable, and survive without most of their favorite possessions and comforts. The prize for the best "survivor" - one million dollars. Due to the success of the series, now Survivor II is in process, set in the Australian Outback. Other editions are in the works, with talks of even having a series work up to a trip into space as the first prize. In the first series, players battled over the issues of how one should play the game - do you play to be fair? Do you play to win? Do you look out for one another, or seek to overtake one another? In the end, Richard, thought to be the most cunning, conniving contestant, walked away a millionaire. The message: apparently the ends had justified the means, and the reward was great wealth. Richard had gone to the remote island seeking to win at all costs, and his efforts rewarded as he walked away with the prize.
Our gospel lesson today brings us quite a different account of survival. Jesus heads into the desert just after being baptized by John at the Jordan. He has just heard the voice of God affirming that he is God's beloved, and that God is pleased with him. Through the form of a descending dove, the Holy Spirit descended, and now, we read, Jesus is filled with this Holy Spirit as he travels out into the wilderness. In fact, he is "led" by the Holy Spirit, driven into the desert. We are told that Jesus was in the desert for 40 days, eating no food, and being tempted by the devil. The number forty in scriptural symbolism does not usually indicate a specific amount of time. Rather, it reflects something that happened for *a very long time*. For example, the flood was said to have lasted for forty days, which meant that it rained for an extraordinarily long time. So, we are told that Jesus was in the desert for a very long time, and that he was without material comforts for a very long time, and that he was dealing with confrontation from the devil for a very long time.
Jesus' desert experience was so radically different than the "survival" experience we see portrayed on television today. Jesus went not because he chose to go, but because he was driven by something even greater than himself - the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and internal voice that told him he had to face the demons before he could begin his ministry. Jesus was about to embark on a new phase in his life - an active doing of God's will, an entry into the public arena. He was about to begin his preaching and teaching. He had just been baptized. Yet first, poised to take his first steps into the world, Jesus, under the power of the Spirit, retreats to the desert. Jesus had some self-examination to do, some cleansing, focusing, centering that needed to occur before he could reach out to others.
Once he got to the wilderness he was confronted with three trials. The first was to command stones to be turned into food to ease his hunger. Jesus responded that one does not live by bread alone but by every word from God's mouth. What is Jesus saying here? Is he saying that it is wrong for him to satisfy his physical hunger? What does it mean to live by God's words? When Jesus is tempted to turn stone into bread, he is not merely being asked to satiate his hunger, but he is being asked to rely on the material world over the spiritual world. God knows that we need physical comforts of food, clothing, and shelter, but God has always promised to protect us in these matters. But God has asked us to prioritize - to care more for the spiritual than for the material. Romans 12:2 urges us "not to conform to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds." When Jesus speaks of living through all of God's words, he is referring to just such renewal. The words of God are not simply the books of the scriptures, the written word of God, but the word of God is also revealed to us in other ways - through Christ's continued meaning in our lives, through the work of the Holy Spirit, through God's presence in our neighbors, and through God's calling in each of our lives.
The second trial occurs when the devil shows the world to Jesus, and says that it is his to give to Jesus, if only Jesus would worship him. To this, Jesus responds that only God is to be worshiped. According to theologian John Macquarrie, the command against idolatry, the command to worship only God, strikes not simply at worshiping physical idols - golden calves. Idolatry is in fact anything that is placed in higher priority than God. The right order places God first, everything else is subordinate. Idolatry happens when the order is skewed, and something - money, power, possessions - become more important to a person than God. Jesus refuses to place anything above his commitment to carry out God's will. The devil's fundamental error in his offering all the world to Jesus is that these things are not even his to begin with. The world, and all creation within it belong to God, and to God Jesus is obedient. Likewise, we need to search our lives for signs of idolatry. What do we deem more valuable and worthy of worship than God? Statistics show that by age 70, the average person will have spent 20 years sleeping, 16 years working, 7 years playing, 6 years eating, 5 years dressing, 3 years waiting for someone, and 1 year on the telephone. This accounts for 58 years of life, leaving just 12 unaccounted for years. Out of these remaining 12 years, how many do we spend in the desert, battling our demons? How many do we spend in worship and praise? How many are spent in prayer and fasting? Repentance and forgiveness?
In the final temptation, the devil urges Jesus to jump from the high pinnacle of the temple, in a ‘test' to God, who can simply command angels to prevent harm from coming to Jesus. Jesus again refuses, saying that one should not put God to the test. Throughout Jesus' career, he rejects "showing off", so to speak, doing miracles just for the sake of proving himself. He acts in response to God's will. Even on the cross, onlookers urge Jesus to call on angels to rescue him from suffering, but Jesus knows and follows God's will, even when it means pain for himself. In our lives, we are often tempted to test God "If God really loved me, then this wouldn't be happening..." We are tempted to place our comfort and security before God's will. We challenge God's plan for us by testing God. "Is this really what you wanted me to do, God? Don't you have something else for me?" Jesus' example in the desert reminds us that though we can rest securely in God's love, this love must not be manipulated for our self-serving desires.
The season of Lent, 40 days of focused attention before Easter, reflects upon Jesus' temptation in the desert in some very direct ways. We have the opportunity, too, to enter into the desert, to reflect, listen to God without the distractions of the urgency of everyday life. In a musical called "Come to the Water", written by Drew's choir director Mark Miller, Jesus speaks of his journey into the desert, and what the time has meant to him. "Out here I expand, heart and head connecting, open to God's word, open to God's leading." Lent is just such a time for us. Traditionally people "give up" something for Lent. No candy for 40 days, or denial of some other pleasure. While the spirit of self-denial may help us relate to Jesus' suffering, perhaps we might better use the season of Lent. Jesus' time in the desert was a period of self-examination. He faced battles there that he would face again during his ministry. But, he had this time to focus on God's will, to set his priorities in line, and to place his spiritual existence before his worldly existence. We, during Lent, have a chance to do the same.
The Old Testament lesson today has such a different nature than that of the Gospel lesson. In the gospel lesson, we are in the midst of the desert. Barren, void, emptiness. Yet, in the Deuteronomy text, we find ourselves in the midst of a garden, gathering first fruits to offer to God, preparing for a harvest celebration, a joyous occasion. What a contrast of images and senses! But the contrast is appropriate, because it represent the journey - the journey which Jesus takes, and the one which we are invited to take also. Out of the barrenness of the ground in winter, when the land seems dull and empty, comes the rebirth, the growth of new life in the spring. From an empty field comes a garden full of fruits and vegetables. From the emptiness of the desert for Jesus comes the fulness of his ministry. From the suffering wilderness of the cross, comes the garden of rebirth in Easter, the resurrection, the fulfillment, the fruit of God's labor.
We are invited to come to the garden, but we must travel through the desert to arrive there. We must plant our seeds, tend to the weeds, water the land, before we can enjoy the fruit of the labors. The desert is a necessary step, a place we must go in order to harvest the fruits. A seminary professor pointed out during chapel one week that you cannot feed people who are already full. Our lives are full of so many things. Worries and cares, possessions and distractions, tension and anger. If we are so full of these things, how can we fit more? Where is there room for the Easter celebration that fast approaches? We cannot truly experience the fulness of Easter unless we first empty ourselves in the desert. Once we free ourselves in the wilderness, we can approach the garden, offer our fruits to God, and join in the celebration of the resurrection. Like Jesus, we are invited to make the journey, from the desert, to the garden.
Let us pray: O God, the desert seems barren and lonely. We are faced with temptations on every turn. Yet, we know that we must go into the desert to come out into the garden. Help us to free ourselves, so that we might not be full of worries and cares, but instead that we can fill ourselves with you. Keep our eyes fixed on the harvest, as we prepare ourselves to bear the fruit of the resurrection. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.