Lent 1, Year C
The first Sunday in Lent always includes the story of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. This is at the very beginning of his ministry, right after he has been baptized by John and heard the voice declaring that he is God’s beloved and chosen one. That must have been an immensely affirming and overwhelming experience, an inauguration that he could immediately build on with the crowds who had gathered at the Jordan. A way to bring in the Kingdom.
Instead, the Spirit of God drives him out, away from all human contact, without food or shelter for the proverbial 40 days and nights, in other words, a very long time. He is weakened by hunger, alone in a dangerous place. Instead of bringing the promised Kingdom of God into immediate reality, he faces opposition so much worse than any human foe. He encounters the embodiment of evil, the master of lies, the great deceiver, the devil.
Three times the devil works on Jesus offering what he might most need or want. The equation is fairly simple. Instead of trusting God, who seems to be absent and probably got you into this in the first place, trust me and I will not only provide for you but help you achieve the success and acclamation you deserve.
For Jesus’s hunger, the devil offers bread. There’s nothing wrong with bread. It’s not an evil substance and God has been in the practice of providing it for the people. The bread offered by the devil is an instant remedy to the intense hunger that Jesus was experiencing. But there’s a catch. Jesus would have to use his power for a selfish purpose, rather than living by the code and values he received from his relationship to the Holy One.
The second offer is terrifying. The devil promises to give over his own power and dominance to Jesus. With complete authority, Jesus would be able to exert his will over every living thing. No one would be able to stand against him. Free choice would no longer matter. There would be no check on his power. And his intimate relationship with God would be destroyed. Jesus would only need to abandon his worship of God in order to remake the world, fix all the problems and create his own Kingdom. All Jesus would need to do is to switch his allegiance from God to the devil and worship him.
Finally the devil offers Jesus the ultimate in self-glorification. Jesus will be untouchable. He can even go to the most important city in the country, Jerusalem, to the busy cultural center at the Temple and there do something absolutely horrifying, by throwing himself off the highest point. While everyone has their eyes on him, the devil promises that he will experience no consequences. He won’t suffer in any way. He will be protected by angels and everyone will see his glory and recognize him as their King and ruler.
These are the temptations Jesus faces: instant gratification, dominance and self-glorification. And, because this is Jesus and the Devil, the consequences are terminal. If Jesus accepts, the natural world will be upended, the world’s inhabitants will become utterly enthralled, under complete and tyrannical authority and Jesus will become the object of absolute adulation.
If Jesus rejects the devil’s offers, the results will likewise be terminal. He will be subject to punishment, suffering and will ultimately die. His Kingdom will never come by force and will always be subject to the free will of his followers and will require the sacrifice of his love for them. Instead of being viewed from the pinnacle of the Temple, he will be scorned upon the cross. It’s a choice for Jesus.
Bob Dylan articulated this dilemma in a song:
You’re going to have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re going to have to serve somebody
Who will your ultimate authority be? Will you hold onto your core values in the face of overwhelming pressure and potentially negative consequences? Will you place your relationship with God and others above expediency, meeting your own needs, domination or personal acclamation?
Jesus holds steadfast in the face of ultimate pressure. He leans into the teaching and values he internalized from Scripture, “One does not live by bread alone. Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him. Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” He chooses his relationship with the Holy One and his love for those entrusted to him. The devil requires worship that would insist upon the full prostration and surrender of Jesus and all humanity to his domination. Jesus instead chooses surrender to God and glorification upon the cross. Ultimately this is the only way to perfect freedom.
The Kingdom of God that Jesus promises and brings into being is an upside down kingdom, completely different from the kingdoms of this world. It is directly opposite to the kingdom promised by the devil and reverses the image of what it means to be in authority.
It may take something as dramatic as the temptation in the wilderness to demonstrate how high the stakes are and how important it is to be clear about what really matters. You may have seen a photo of a huge American flag upside hung upside down from one of the high places in Yosemite. The upside down flag is a sign of distress, a dramatic symbol that all is not right.
I was thinking of that as we prayed together the Great Litany at the beginning of this service. The Great Litany is a distress signal. It proclaims that all is not right in our personal lives, the community and the world. As Richard Rohr writes,
“We are overwhelmed by the apparent kingdoms of business, money, the media, etc. We ‘worship’ their influence and thus give them even more. We’re so overwhelmed by the sense of evil, so overwhelmed by the kingdom of this world, it is difficult to look beyond it and see the presence of God and the power of the Spirit.”
We pray to be delivered from the “deceits of the world, the flesh and the devil.” We recognize that we are surrounded both within and without by “evil and mischief, pride, vanity, hypocrisy, envy, hatred and malice.” The Great Litany doesn’t hold back. For over 15 centuries it has enumerated the ways we go astray and the suffering human frailty and evil intent have caused. It is a collective distress signal, common to people from every age and nation under God. It puts us in a wilderness place, facing not only our fears and failures but also our worst enemy.
It also contains within it our deliverance and salvation. It is by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that we are able to resist evil and to live in faith, hope and love. Through the obedience of Jesus and the ongoing relationship with love between the Father, Son and Spirit, we too share in his triumph over sin, evil and death itself. “By the mystery of your holy incarnation; by your birth, childhood and obedience; by your baptism, fasting and temptation, By your agony and trial; by your cross and passion; by your precious death and burial, By your mighty resurrection; by your glorious ascension; and by your sending of the Holy Spirit,” you have delivered us. You have raised us to new life and a living hope.
Finally, the Great Litany places us in the position where we can share the life-giving ministry of Jesus. Our prayers for all in any kind of need, inspire us to work for the well-being of all who are in harm’s way. We pray to be filled with love and truth so that we may be healers in the world. We pray for the grace to forgive our enemies and to be steadfast in righteousness. We even pray for our imperfect and flawed human leaders, knowing that they do not possess ultimate power or authority.
The Great Litany helps us recognize our own limitations and puts us in direct relationship with the only One who can withstand the snares of the evil one. Yes, Lent is about reflection, repentance, fasting, prayer and acts of mercy. But ultimately, Lent is about recognizing our need for a savior and our dependence upon our relationship with God. In this way we will receive the love, truth and courage to resist evil and to worship and serve God alone. Amen.
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