This is a Test

 

Another week in the Disunited States of America. 

Or are we more united than we might be led to believe? I just can't tell anymore. 

What I do know is that as we enter this season of Lent, and we read the story of the temptation of Jesus after his baptism, I am looking longer and harder at how Jesus could withstand the mind games that he had to endure in that moment. How this Satan was attempting to pull him away from God and succumb to the baser instincts of his humanity. 

We are seeing on a large scale what happens to a person who gives in to the lure of money and power. And now, I am reading how some of the people who followed this pied piper are beginning to feel betrayed. Not all of them. Maybe it's less than five percent of them. But still...this early into a presidency, that says something. 

I mean, they wanted lower egg prices. Instead, they're getting thousands of fired park rangers, scientists, and hurricane hunter pilots. And their grocery bills haven't budged. In fact, there is now a surcharge added for eggs at places such as Waffle House. 

This is why Jesus shows us something important about the moment we're in: resistance is the righteous path to take. 

See what you think. 

Text: Luke 4:1-13

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We all know about taking tests.

In school…there were quizzes…multiple choice…essay exams.

Lots of professions…nurses…electricians…teachers… all require passing a test before getting a job.

We might not like them…but really the testing is all part of making sure that a person has the knowledge and the skills to do the work they’re setting out to do.

So while this Gospel story today is often talked about as Jesus getting “tempted by the devil”…we can also consider it Jesus getting tested.

This time in the wilderness is preparing him for the major work that still lies ahead.

A mission to get people back to living their lives deeply grounded and centered on Love.

I know Luke speaks of “the devil.”

And that tends to get us thinking of that character…the red being with horns and a tail and pitchfork.

Maybe it’s easier for us to imagine a physical being like that which we can call “the devil.”

But really “the devil” isn’t some physical being…or demi-God…or deity of any kind.

I tend to follow the line of thinking of a Swiss theologian named Karl Barth.

Barth was one of the contemporaries of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and part of what was called “The Confessing Church.”

They were the religious leaders in Germany who opposed the Nazi takeover of religion.

Barth was a firm believer in the goodness of God and God’s creation.

He believed that only God can create anything…and the very thing that opposed God was actually this shapeless…tasteless…“evil”  that was “nothingness.”

Evil exists…but it’s almost like carbon monoxide.

It tries to sneak in unnoticed and disrupt and destroy the creatures of God…such as you and me…and in this case Jesus.

In my own interpretation…this “nothingness” is always looking for a way to become something.

And I see this nothingness trying to test Jesus in the wilderness.

Will Jesus succumb to nothingness…to the evil and greedy ways of having power over things…or will he stick to the path of God…and remain faithful to building a world of power with the people?

Can Jesus…in this wilderness moment…hold on to the memory of his baptism when the Holy Spirit came to him and he heard the voice saying: “You are my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”  

Jesus has been fasting for forty days.

He’s in this land of uncertainty…the lonely and isolated place of wilderness.

He’s famished.

What better time for him to have the devil of nothingness put into his head…

“You’re God’s Son, remember? Turn this stone into bread.”

We know what it’s like to be hungry.

Our stomach is gurgling.

We feel our blood sugar plummeting and we’re getting shaky.

Think of those moments and realize that Jesus is feeling all of that.

And while we’re at it…think of another story where food becomes so tempting.

In the Book of Genesis…that nothingness comes in the form of the crafty serpent who spoke to Eve in the Garden of Eden:

“Did God say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”

And Eve tells the serpent they may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden… except that one in the middle…the Tree of Knowledge. If they eat that fruit…they will die.

“Ahhhh”….says the serpent…”you aren’t gonna die. You’ll just know good and evil. You’d like to know good and evil…right?”

And that fruit was so beautiful….so tempting.

And Eve ate the apple…and shared it with an unquestioning Adam.

Jesus knows this story all too well.

As a good Jew…he knows that this is the story his people tell to explain how humans came to be separated from God.

And so despite whatever hunger pangs he may be feeling his answer to this first test question is:

“No, I will not make this stone into bread.

I know what you’re trying to do here, devil.

And I remember that when my people ate the manna in the wilderness…they were warned not to rely on bread alone.”

So… Jesus has passed this test.

But the examination isn’t over.

The weakened-by-hunger Jesus gets to see all the kingdoms of the world. These could all be his…everything of the world…if he will follow this voice beckoning to him to surrender to the human-driven desire to have power over others.

Many of us wrestle with this one in our lives regularly.

Whenever we’re in a position of authority…either at our jobs…or in our families… we must consider how far do we exercise our authority.

And there’s always the temptation to use the power we’re given in ways that puff up ourselves by tearing someone else down.

Think of the memes on social media that get moved around at lightening speed…collecting “likes” and “hearts” and “ha-ha” emojis….without asking:

 Is this information true?

Is it necessary to share?

Is it kind?

When I was a reporter covering Florida politics…one of the most depressing things that I witnessed was seeing the way power corrupted newly elected legislators.

These were people who would arrive into these elected positions with such high hopes that they would be able to do good work and serve the people.

And within about three weeks…I could see the shine wearing off.

The lure of power over others made them turn on some of the constituent groups that had helped get them into office in the first place.

Like Adam and Eve…they had taken a bite of the apple of power…and it had turned their hearts to stone.

Jesus answers the second question of this test with a “No thanks. I know what it says in Deuteronomy. I’m worshipping the real God…and I’m not in this for the false God of Dominance and Empire.”

Still…this nothingness is determined…and tries a third time…another test question.

The devil basically says, “If you’re the Son of God: prove it.  Let’s see if God will catch you when you fall?”

This is truly an evil thought to put in the head of someone who is famished.

It’s also an attempt to get Jesus to invoke his divinity…and by doing that…separate himself from us…by using his divine power and cancelling his humanity.

Jesus…once more…is able to summon up his strength to quote from Deuteronomy:

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

The exam is finished.

Jesus scores a perfect A… three out of three.

He passes with flying colors.

But there is this last phrase…that devil departs from him “until an opportune time.”

Jesus will be tested again and again.

Because nothingness will keep looking for ways to get him to stumble and fall and turn away from his mission of spreading love.

We are also tested again and again.

There are so many forces…those unseen and hidden ways…that evil keeps looking for that crack…that opening…in which to infiltrate our hearts and minds…and elevate that part of us that harbors hurt…and jealousy…and rage.

It wants to draw us into that place where we stop seeing each other as the beloved and beautifully made children of God…and turn us against one another.

There are those with the megaphones of media who want to spread fear of anyone seen as different…and convince us that empathy is of the devil.

The natural temptation when hit with so much negativity is to withdraw and pull away…hide under the covers.

But Jesus has shown us that even when we are feeling at our weakest…the right answer to the test questions is not to despair or give in but to resist the evil that wants to infect us.

It’s not easy to do…and we will not always do it well.

That’s the most beautiful part of our Baptismal Covenant.

When we promise to “persevere in resisting evil” it quickly follows that we whenever we don’t do it…”we will repent and return to the Lord” (BCP 304).

It’s not an “if.”

It’s a “when.”

And it’s OK to admit that…to acknowledge that we will not always get it right.

There is a lot of resisting that has to happen in the world today…and a lot of repenting and returning to God in that process.

Together…we can help each other through this wilderness during Lent.

And with God’s help…we will arrive at Easter…having passed the tests presented to us in this time.

In the Name of Our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.