Luke 4:1-13 is the lectionary Gospel text for Lent I on next Sunday, March 6.
It all starts with temptation, doesn’t it? The temptation to put pleasure or comfort above what is right, the temptation to give up one’s principles for wealth, power and status and the temptation to manipulate God into special favor, just to see if God really cares about us are still the temptations we have away from a faithful life with God and neighbor.
Jesus went through our temptation. He was tempted. It doesn’t say that the devil tried to tempt Him. He was tempted by the devil. After being physically deprived, hungry and weak, He was tempted to give in and provide for Himself that which would satisfy his belly. Jesus chose to complete His spiritual discipline instead.
Jesus was tempted to declare all to be His in the world. The wealth, power and status were all laid out before Him. Nothing would have been out of His reach. He would be set. He could have absolute power to rule over others, even to do good if He chose to do so. He could have infinite wealth and do with it as He pleased. He could have had fame, everyone’s ear and heart, and be lauded for being #1 in all things worldly. Jesus chose to stay in humble form, struggle to feed Himself and His disciples and address abusive power instead.
Jesus was tempted to test God’s love for Him. If God really loved Him, God would intervene on His behalf. God would want Jesus to get rich quick, have control over others in the world and be lifted up as a celebrity, unquestionably loved. If God really loved Jesus, God would not send Him on this mission to the Cross, but rather just supernaturally appear and declare all things fulfilled. The Temple in Jerusalem was the Holy place. Certainly, God would act there to usher in the Kingdom through Jesus and for once and all time bring about utopia for all of God’s people. Jesus chose to stay the course prescribed for Him, even to abandonment on the Cross.
The tempter came with it. It must have been sorely tempting to do away with all the nonsense and just take what Jesus could take for Himself. It would be the easy way. He had all power, all knowledge and all presence at His disposal. Why not?
Because of what the devil said twice to Jesus, He did not. “If you are the Son of God,” stuck in Jesus’ mind. It was a dare, to be sure, to prove that He is God’s Son. Many are tempted to prove that they are children of God by speaking in tongues, quoting scripture, having the right social or political views and believing what the preachers say in complete submission to them. Many are tempted to believe that their being children of God gives them some entitlement to a comfortable life, worldly pleasures, wealth and power, and even status above others who are not the proven faithful. Many are tempted to test God to see if God will bless them more and favor them more highly. But it is not about that at all, and Jesus was spiritually strengthened in His wilderness time of fasting and prayer. Jesus valued the Will of God and the Kingdom Way that God sent Jesus to teach and model for all humanity.
The Kingdom is not about worldly values. Jesus came to teach, command and model Agape Love and Grace for one another, shared power in community, shared resources in the world, and equal status and value among all people. That takes giving up some comfort and pleasure. It takes valuing the Ways of the Kingdom above the ways of the world. It takes trusting God’s presence and power in love for ALL people, including oneself, equally.
Jesus was tempted. He was tempted to give in to the ways and values of the world, as prescribed by the devil. We are tempted with the same things, daily. Under Empire, the evil worldly values of Greed, lust for Power and desire for Status drive people apart, hold people down and destroy lives. God’s Kingdom values in Agape Love and Grace draw people together, lift people up and sustain life, life abundant and life forever.
We are in the wilderness of Lent. We are being tempted to give in to Empire’s values and ways. Lent is not about giving up chocolate or desserts, meat or anything else. It is about a deeper walk with God in the living of Kingdom values here and now, living the Agape Love and Grace of Jesus and the spiritual discipline of doing so until it becomes a way of life for those who follow Jesus, even to the Cross. We have 40 days, a long time to devote ourselves to the Way of Kingdom, the Will of God anew, even as we follow the one who showed us how to not give into the temptations of the world around us, but instead remain faithful to God. We have 40 days to repent – change our thinking so that our direction in how we live our lives will change. We have 40 days to put our spiritual selves above our physical selves, and resist the temptations of the world. We have 40 days, on our way to the Cross, where the ultimate act of self-less, unconditional Agape Love was made for us.
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