Year C Lent 1 2025 Word and Deed

 Year C Lent 1, 9 March 2025

St James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Word and Deed”

Collect: Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Romans 10:8b-13

"The word is near you,

on your lips and in your heart"

(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Luke 4:1-13

After his baptism, 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. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written,

'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 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. 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.'"

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.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Jesus has come down from the mountaintop where he was glorified in his Transfiguration. And in the descent he “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” [Luke 9:51] We tend to accomplish those things that we “set our face” to do. We are resolved. We are bound and determined. We have made up our mind. 

But it took quite a time for Jesus to get to this point. We do not know when all was revealed to him. The Transfiguration earlier in the chapter, Luke 9? At his baptism? Had he known his whole life that this is what his mission and ministry would lead to? We just don’t know. We can’t.

Maybe it came to him in today’s reading from Luke, when we see the temptations he faced in the wilderness. This was the first thing he did after his baptism.

We see the three temptations yearly. And each of the temptations are things many of us still are tempted by today. The temptation to take care of his bodily needs, eating after 40 days of strict fasting, was the first. But it was not just his stomach that the Tempter was playing with, he assaults Jesus’ ego.

“If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

So, Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes, if you are who your deluded mind thinks you are, make this stone bread! There is no difference between this challenge and all the tests of the scribes and Pharisees. Repeatedly, this idea of Jesus being the Messiah is challenged for it is a threatening thing. For Satan, it is his inevitable downfall. For the religious leaders, it is the same in the loss of their power.

But Jesus does not succumb in body or spirit, he keeps the fast and stays resolved in this revelation of his calling, of his true self.

But the tempting did not stop there, Jesus is shown all the kingdoms of the world in an instant, and he is promised power. One simple kneel and it can all be yours, power and glory. Imagine that, Carpenter!

But Jesus sees the ruse, and that it breaks the first commandment. He responds:

“Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

Bodily Needs and Ego, Worldly Power, and now we come to the most important of the Temptations. Jesus came to have a human experience to show his love for us. He knows what it is like to be one of us. As the hymn that opens John reminds us…

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. [v. 14]

And here is where the Tempter plays with dynamite. Jesus, show your Spiritual Authority! Let everyone see how the angels will protect you, the Beloved! Let everyone see who you are! Nothing wrong with that! Believers will throng to you! And he responds that he does not need to show anything to anybody. He knows who he is and more importantly whose he is…

“Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

While not done, the Devil does slink off, waiting for a more “opportune time.”

Jesus had a choice, because if there was no free will, even for Jesus, then there were no temptations. Like when you had to write an essay, if you plagiarized, it was easier and faster, but it was taking a shortcut that was insincere. Also, nothing was gained, earned, or learned.  Jesus had to fight these temptations by what he said, and just as importantly, by what he did. Jesus had to fight, in Word and Deed.

And we do, too.

St Paul directs us to do this. 

"The word is near you,

on your lips and in your heart"

(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

Saying it is not enough. Not stating it when given an opportunity is not enough. We testify with our mouths and with our lives. It is both/and. 

Putting it all out there and holding nothing back is a statement of faith.

When we are tempted, and we will be, know this. See it for what it is, not what you wish it would be.

It is a temptation. Name it. See it. And then, let it go.

Our friends in 12 Steps have a great way of recognizing temptations, and the many forms they come in. Naming that they are powerless to their addictions, the acknowledge that they are there. They don’t just ignore them. That seems to give temptations even more power.

I have said this before, but I find it to be helpful. 12 Step groups say, Never make a decision when you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. H.A.L.T. Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. HALT when you are less than your full and best self. 

Temptations still seek that “opportune time” as it says in our Gospel, and we need to see and acknowledge that. Opportune Times are when we are not at our best, usually Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and/or Tired.

Temptations tend to play in the shallow end of the pool. They are surface level band-aids, not getting to the real issue. Eating silly junk food mindlessly? Maybe you just needed some water, or to get up and get your body moving for 5 minutes.

Avoiding the temptation, and working on the real want or need in the deeper end of the pool can respond in healthy, better ways. Instead of streaming mindlessly on my social media app, maybe I actually call and really interact with an old friend. Replace the temptation with a positive and affirming good choice.

The other way to avoid temptation is to keep our eye on the bigger picture. Jesus did that. He did not get bogged down in the daily troubles. He dealt with them or delegated them, but he repeatedly came back to doing what he came to do. He “set his face to Jerusalem.” There is something to be said for the end prize staying in our sights.

One time I was on a sailing adventure in the Florida Keys. We had been snorkeling off of Islamorada all day. It had been wonderful, but we stayed out beyond when we should. It was getting dark, and we had never been to where we were mooring for the night. All of us on the boat were exhausted, and we had a few hours of sailing to get to shore. It was winter, so the sun went down sooner even though the weather was fine and the water was warm. So we started to head in, knowing we would get in long after dark..  

Now when you are sailing, there are no roads, and there are no street signs. You have to know where you are going, and you have to know where you are. You also have to know what stands between you and where you want to be. There are coral reefs all over the place in this part of the Keys, so we had to be very careful. You do not want your boat to scrape. We had our depth gauge and our GPS, and a wing and a prayer, trying to get into the John Pennekamp State Park where we were mooring.  

When we got a few miles away, we were able to distinguish lights on the shore. Now there are different ways of lining yourself up to get into shore. At the park where we were headed, they had cleared a channel to get into the park through the reefs. There were two lights, with one that had a flashing signal to distinguish them, and you had to line them up. Once they were lined up, you had to keep straight to make sure you had a clear path to get in safe and sound. The seas were a bit choppy, so going in a straight line required constant attention and responding to the wind and the waves. 

I was at the helm, and so for hours I had to keep my eyes on the light. I would watch the light, and stay focused on the light, and if I did I would find my way home.

It may have been a temptation to stop or rest, but I knew we needed to get in and get fed and then to go to bed. There was no resting allowed. And the only way to get there was to keep those lights lined up and follow them in. The prize was in sight, and as long as I kept it that way, we would get in safely, and finally we did.

Friends, you may be wandering in the dark, looking for a light to lead you home. You may have given up on your Lenten fasting already because of temptations. Just start again, by the way. You may be struggling with something bigger than any of us could imagine. We come together not because of are better than anyone. We come together because we are sinners in need of grace, the flawed and bungled and botched looking for some moments of clarity and sanity in a hurting world. We come together to know we are not alone, and that there are fellow travellers winding their own way down the road with us.

You will be tempted, but as you respond in word and deed, you can overcome. Together we can and will make it. Amen