Year B Proper 20 WED 2018 Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Year B Proper 20 WEDNESDAY, 26 September 2018 

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA 

“Lead Us Not Into Temptation” 

Luke 4:1-13 

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” 5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,  ‘Worship the Lord your God,     and serve only him.’” 

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,  ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’  11 and  ‘On their hands they will bear you up,     so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. 

There are, according to tradition, Seven Deadly Sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. And if you look at the temptations this morning, you can see the areas that are very similar to those well known sins. 

When the devil tempts the fasting Jesus with bread, it is multiple temptations by way of the 7 Deadlies. Remember, Jesus was famished and he was also confronting Jesus identity. The Devil always comes at us in our weakness and our doubts. He sounds so reasonable. “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”  

Pride: prove yourself. 

Gluttony: anything in a prolonged fast is gluttonous. 

Sloth: do not work for your bread, say the magic word and voila! Bread. 

Now all those could be wrapped around the idea of Comfort. And that is a temptation. I deserve this. There is a phrase from a silly show, (from Parks and Rec) “Treat Yo Self!” Aldous Huxley in Brave New World reminded us of the slippery slope of going after Comfort and Happiness instead of Truth and Beauty. While Comfort and Happiness have their place tucked into the greater themes of Truth and Beauty, one cannot bypass the work and diligence required to get to the greater outcomes.  

Jesus did not succumb. He lifted above the temptation of his empty belly, and reached for the higher Truth and Beauty. Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” 

Notice also that they both were quoting Scripture. Knowing the Bible does not mean one follows the will of God. 

The next temptation, that of Pride, is also interesting. The devil… showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  He said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Think of it. How must it have felt to be the Infinite contained within the Finite? Or if he were not aware, how was it to be wrestling with these questions of the nature of being the Messiah? He has answered that by the time he begins to call the disciples, but here in the quietness of the his soul, in the solitude of the desert, Jesus asks what type of Messiah am I to be? He reframes it again. By matching power with power, an earthly kingdom is all that is possible. But by countering the one who has authority on this plane, his Tempter, he steps above and takes authority from him.  

The last temptation came to the temptation of Power. Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,  for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

Greed: He had the wonders of heaven and could claim them again, now. 

Lust: being hungry for something other than food, he wanted these abilities. 

Envy: the devil was taunting them in his face and why could he not snatch it? 

Wrath: Jesus knew who he was speaking with, and his proper place. By reclaiming them, he could potentially put him in his previous place. 

Comfort, Pride, Power, they were all rational. We could rationalize all of them. So could Jesus. I have heard it said that Jesus could not have succumb to these, but that is ridiculous. He could not have been tempted if he could not have said yes. It is only a temptation if one actually wants it. But for our sake, he gave us a model for those times when we are tempted.

 Stop. Ask yourself, what is it I really want? Do I want the immediate pleasure or reward or titillation, or do I want the greater good? Seek first the Kingdom of God, and God’s okaying of you, and ALL THESE THINGS shall be added to you. Amen.