9 March 2014 1st Sunday of Lent.
Temptations of Jesus. What sort of person do we want to be?
Genesis 2:15-17 & 3:1-7.
Romans 5:12-19.
Matthew 4:1-11.
At the Junior Youth Club we run on a Friday night there is one rule: respect; respect for the building, respect for the equipment, respect for the leaders and respect for each other. Everyone signs a form to say they agree to try and keep the rule. You would think that might be an end of it but it is surprising how often we have to talk about what respect looks like in practice. Dropping sweet wrappers is not showing respect, being rude to others is not showing respect and only last week I was exhibiting a badminton racket that had been bent and broken. However, when we challenge them over their behaviour one of the most frequent answers we get is ‘It’s not my fault; he/she made me do it’.
And that is exactly the excuse Adam gives to God, later in the reading we have just heard, when he has been caught basically disrespecting who God is by behaving in ways he has been asked not to. ‘She made me do it’. Not my fault God, but someone else’s. And Eve does the same: ‘Not my fault, God, the serpent made me do it!’ The trouble is that on the whole, we humans like to be in control, and if there is a boundary then we want to cross it. Rules are made to be broken etc. We want to be top dog (notice dog is God spelt backwards) and don’t like anything that puts us down. But God’s rules, just like the youth club rules, are there for good reasons and we must respect them.
We often ask our youth club kids, what sort of person do you want to be? We say to them; if YOUR kids did what you have been doing what would you say? We want them to take responsibility for themselves. Today, WE are challenged in the readings to think about what sort of people we want to be and what sort of God we believe in and respect.
In our Gospel reading we hear the familiar account of Jesus’ time in the desert when he was tempted by the devil. 40 days is a metaphor for a long time, the wilderness / desert is a metaphor for a place away from everyday life, free of distractions, where we are confronted with the reality both of God and of ourselves. Fasting heightens that experience. When the props of our life are taken away, (which is why people give things up for lent) what is left? Who are we? Who is God?
Whether you believe in a literal devil or not, the battles we face when confronted with the reality of ourselves and God, are big spiritual battles. And it is no different with Jesus. In the first temptation Jesus, who would have been tired, hungry and vulnerable, with his defences right down, was challenged to put his own personal comfort and survival first. To use God’s power to firstly help himself feel better and then to help other people materially. People will follow you Jesus if you meet their needs. Jesus says no. He will not give people material things so that they follow him. He wants people to know that, we depend on God for life, not just on food and God is not a meal ticket. We Christians would be very popular if we could sort out the material problems of the world but that is not why we are called to follow God. Do we compromise the Gospel and who God is in order to gain popularity?
In the second temptation Jesus is tempted to be a stuntman, to do magic, and wonders. People will look then! Jesus will be a celebrity and people will pay attention and will want to know God. It is true that many people are attracted to the spectacular, whether those spectacular things are religious or secular but Jesus says no, God is not here to make US look big and clever. We follow Him not He us. I don’t think many of you use Twitter but some really odd things happen. You follow people. Simon Cowell is one of the people I follow. He doesn’t post often but every time he does, immediately about 50 people post back to him saying ‘follow me.‘ WHY they want him to follow them I really don’t know. I can only assume they think his following them would validate their lives in some way. Friends in high places? Is that what WE want? Cos it is not what following God is about. It isn’t about dramatics and showing off but about quietly and faithfully following our God.
Thirdly the devil works on the hypothesis that everyone has a price so he offers Jesus the world. If Jesus focuses on worldly things he can have the lot but to do so he would have to turn his back on God. This is a temptation we all face. In today’s world we can be seduced by the desire to have more and more and to find our security and worth in material things. And then we will be happy. This is a lie. We don’t snap our fingers and God gives us things. We are not better people if we own more and God does not jump through hoops. Our only security is in God and it is seeking God we must put first not the world. And in any case, who does the world belong to? Was it the devil’s world to give or God’s?
Jesus is challenged to think about his priorities, about what sort of person he is going to be, where is he going to put his trust, and in what kind of God. Who is Jesus in relation to that God? Is he going to compromise himself or God or is he going to be true to the God who is calling him?
Our Roman’s reading, which sounds very complicated and full of strange language, really sets out for us the theory of how sin works and what Jesus has done about it. And that’s great. God gets the last word, not sin, not the stupidity of humankind, but it is not an excuse to behave how we want to. Rather it is a challenge. We have to respect who God is, what he is like and what he is about. We cannot compromise on that. We can’t water him down, or sell him as someone he is not or market him in a way simply to appeal to others and get them into church under false pretences. And in respecting him, we find our true selves and we cannot compromise on that either.
Lent is an opportunity to think about where our priorities lie. To think about whom God is for us, both as individuals and as a church. Lent is a chance to rediscover who we each really are in the light of that and to refocus on our calling both individually and corporately. Who is God and who are we and where are we going? Together, may we find out.
Susie Walker
Youth Worker.