Lent I - A February 10th, SD 2008

Meadowvale Lutheran Church, Mississauga

Pastor Peter Lisinski

 

“JESUS' RESISTANCE MOVEMENT”

(Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11)

 

 

The eccentric and controversial nineteenth century Irish writer, Oscar Wilde, boasted, "I can resist anything but temptation"!  He understood that to be human subjects us to daily and lifelong temptations to try and manipulate God, other people, and creation itself in our quest for personal security, status, and success --the very temptations that inspire the multi-billion dollar advertising industry that drives our --  quite literally -- all-consuming economy.

 

And the most irresistible temptations we face are not the ones that offer us a clear choice between good and evil -- like cheating on an exam or our spouse; robbing a convenience store or driving impaired.  Those are pretty easy for most people of con-science to resist.  The most powerful temptations we face, and the most difficult to resist, are the ones where the choice between good and evil are not as obvious.  After all, when Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden, the serpent did not ask them, "Would you like to be evil?"  No, the tempting question was1 "Wouldn't you like to be like God -- good, holy, and wise”?

 

Today's Gospel tells us that Jesus wrestled with the very same temptations we all face.  "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."  And why not?  He was hungry, and God's will is that the hungry are fed.  And wouldn't ending global hunger be a good thing?  So why not genetically modify food?  Why not clone cattle for human consumption?  Why not give multi-national corporations the legal right to patent seeds if they will more efficiently feed a hungry world?  But Jesus resisted the temptation to violate the long term sustainability of God's creation just to satisfy his short term personal needs.

 

"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple...” Go ahead, jump off the CN Tower.  The Bible says God will protect his children from harm.  Make God prove to our skeptical world that there really is a God, who really does love and care for us."  But Jesus resisted the temptation to win friends and influence people with publicity stunts, marketing gimmicks or manipulation techniques.

 

"I will give you the world," the tempter finally promises, "If you will fall down and worship me."  If all it takes to make the world recognize the sovereignty and submit to the authority of God is a little idol worship, why not?"  Go ahead, fly airplanes into buildings in the name of Allah; force Palestinians from their land and homes in the name of Yahweh; bomb innocent child­ren, or kidnap, deport and torture suspected terrorists in the name of the God who blesses our way of life!  But Jesus resisted the temptation to sell his soul by using God's name in a vain attempt to rule the world.

 

Our inability to resist the temptations of success, status and security -- as good and desirable as these may be -- have produced a western civilization enslaved by an economy controlled by corporate greed and supported by government and military ins­titutions that promise us wealth or threaten us with poverty. And yet, the success, status and security for which we strive --as individuals, but also as a society -- seems more fragile than ever -- as skyrocketing personal debts and bankruptcies suggest. As fewer and fewer people accumulate more and more wealth and power, more and more of God's children make do with less and less.

 

The Bible has names for such societies:  In the Jewish scriptures the names are 'Egypt' and 'Babylon'; in the Christian scriptures, the name is 'Rome'.  And, as scripture and history witness, all oppressive empires eventually collapse under the unbearable weight of idolatry exposed -- and the righteous judgment of God expressed -- in Jesus' resistance to temptation:

 

"One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

 

“Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him."

 

Jesus returned from the wilderness of his temptation to establish a movement dedicated to the resistance of evil.  In the sacra­ment of Holy Baptism you and I have been made partners in Jesus' resistance to "all the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises" (Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 123).  And in this season of Lent we are called to renew our partnership in Jesus' resistance movement, and sent into the wilderness of this world to invite others to join us.