Daily Temptations (First Sunday in Lent)

Sermon Reflections

Sermons on YouTube…

Sometimes, when people study ethics or morality, they ask themselves – or others – questions like:

  • Would you be willing to act unethically if someone offered you a million dollars?; or
  • What would you really do if you had unlimited power? ; or perhaps
  • What would you be tempted to do if you knew you’d never be caught or punished?

Those questions cause us to examine our hearts and our own sense of what’s right and wrong.  They help us to understand our own weaknesses and perhaps identify with the weaknesses of others.  And they confront us with the reality that all of us can be tempted, even if we’re sure we’d resist.

But honestly, most of those questions are simply academic for pretty much all of us.  I’ve never been offered a million dollars to something unethical, and probably you haven’t either. 

But as we read the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil, it looks like a story of Jesus resisting the kinds of temptations that we’d never face.  Jesus won’t turn stones into bread (which after all none of us can do); Jesus won’t throw himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple (which if you’re afraid of heights you wouldn’t even consider!); and Jesus won’t bow down and worship the devil to be given authority over all the kingdoms of the world (which, actually is impossible to have even if you’re the world’s worst despot.)

In fact, Jesus does resist the temptations.  But more importantly, Jesus sees these temptations for what they are.  And they’re not really the big, un-attainable things we usually think they are.  In fact, on one level, they’re the subtle, normal temptations each of us face every day, whether we’re aware of them or not.

For example, the temptation story begins with the most innocuous thing of all.  Jesus is hungry, because he’s been fasting for 40 days.  And so the devil suggests that Jesus turn a stone into a loaf of bread.  If this weren’t the devil suggesting it, this would sound like a pretty good suggestion.  After all, Jesus clearly has the power to do it.  And he wouldn’t be taking bread away from anybody else in the process.

But what it would do is to begin the miracles of Jesus with a self-centered act.  Take care of myself first.  Use my power first and foremost for me. And that’s an attitude that’s not only acceptable in our society – it’s often encouraged.  You’re number one.  Look out for yourself first.

And of course, there are moments when this is necessary, like when they tell you on an airplane to put your oxygen mask on first and then assist others.  But because of situations like that, the subtle temptation to take care of yourself first – and to think of yourself first – and to use your money and time and energy for yourself first – can end up being the most important thing in your life.

The temptation really isn’t about bread.  It’s about focus.  And it’s about allowing yourself to think about yourself and your needs so much that you can forget about the needs of others and use up your energy on yourself.  Jesus nips the temptation in the bud, but the point of the story is to remind us that the temptation to focus on ourselves and our needs first and foremost can be the beginning of a bigger problem.

And then, there’s the temptation to “throw yourself down” so that the angels will catch you, as it says in the Psalm (reminding us that just because someone can quote scripture to you doesn’t mean they’re not the devil!). Would the angels really catch Jesus?  Maybe, but that wasn’t the temptation.  The “pinnacle of the temple” was actually the corner of the wall of the Temple Mount that faced the city where the regular people entered the temple.  If you made a spectacle there, everyone would see you, and you’d be famous!

At this point, Jesus is pretty much unknown.  But this would give Jesus great PR!  It would give him some respect and admiration.  And that’s the temptation.  Jesus’ work did eventually get him some good PR, but it also made him a lot of enemies.  And in the end, he was subject to abuse, scorn and abandonment by his friends.  He surely knew that was coming.  It would have been nice to get a little applause.  Jesus nips this temptation in the bud also, but the point of the story is that the temptation to want applause and appreciation often gets in the way of things we know God wants us to do.  After all, if we’ve done good for others, can’t we get a little thanks and maybe a nice article about us in MoCo Show?!  And this is the kind of temptation we need to resist every day.

And then finally, there’s the temptation to worship the devil so that “all the kingdoms of the world” will be his.  Honestly, this temptation seems the most absurd.  After all, worshipping the devil never turns out well. And Jesus is already the Son of God and God is already going to make Jesus king of all creation.

But the way Jesus gets to be king of all creation is through suffering, death and resurrection.  The temptation the devil is offering is the idea that there just might be a short-cut to avoid all that.  And the temptation to find a short cut through stuff we don’t want to deal with is perhaps one of the most alluring and common temptations each of us face as well. Jesus nips this temptation in the bud also, because he realizes what this temptation is really all about.

And the point of the story is not just that we obviously shouldn’t worship demonic beings, but that we should be aware of and resist the temptation to take the kinds of short cuts which ultimately short change us, our neighbors and our world.  Short cuts can get us in trouble.  Recently, AI has been helping many people to do research in minutes that would have taken months.  But you still gotta check the data that AI gives you, or you end up like those lawyers that used AI to present a brief to the court that cited cases that didn’t actually exist! You’d think they’d know better, but like all of us, sometimes you just get tempted to think you’ve found a short-cut.

So really, the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil is not a story where we’re supposed to stand in awe of Jesus being able to resist unimaginable temptations that we’ll never face.

Instead, this story is reminder that Jesus faced and resisted the kinds of temptations we face every day – the temptation to focus on ourselves above all else; the temptation to insist on applause and appreciation; and the temptation take short cuts in doing what God calls us to do.

But this story is also a reminder that Jesus understands what we face each day, and walks with us in our temptations.  This story is also a reminder of Jesus’ promise to forgive us and help us to try again when we’ve given into temptations.  And most of all, this story is the promise that our hope is finally not in ourselves or our ability to resist temptation, but in Jesus who can and does overcome all the things that we can’t – not just temptations, but even death.

Amen.