St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
March 5, 2017
Year A: The First
Sunday in Lent
Genesis 2:15-17;
3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
Temptations Made Just for Jesus and Just for Us
You
know, just like everybody, I guess, it’s easy for me to get wrapped up in my
own stuff – easy to spend too much time in the office, easy to not pay
attention as I make my way around the city, lost in my own thoughts and plans
and concerns, not really seeing what’s going on around me.
As
you’ve heard me say before, I really do try to be mindful, but all too often I
give into the temptation to look away and no longer see the world around me, no
longer see the people passing me on the street as beloved children of God.
But,
every once in a while, I’m forced to pay attention.
As
we have for the past few years, on Ash Wednesday we offered “Ashes to Go” over
at McGinley Square.
Thankfully,
this year it wasn’t too cold – and maybe that helped me really see the people
passing by – the many people trudging their way to work or school, and not
looking very happy about it, not one bit.
We
could see the people hitting the bottle (or maybe something stronger and even
more dangerous) first thing in the morning and well on their way to a daylong
stupor.
Lots
of people ignored us while some gave us a second look, looking at Rev. Gary,
Vanessa, and me – wondering what we were doing there or maybe dimly remembering
a long ago time when Ash Wednesday meant something.
And,
there were the people who were delighted – and in some cases quite surprised -
to see us, people who wanted that smudge of a cross on their foreheads, who
wanted the reminder that we are dust, and to dust we shall return – the
reminder that we depend on God for every breath.
Spending
a couple of hours at McGinley Square, I was struck by how rough it is – the
heavy traffic passing through that confusing intersection with drivers blaring
their horns and running the light, pedestrians crossing wherever they like, desperate
people begging for change, people drunk or high, and lots of litter, bottles
rolling and paper blowing in the wind.
It’s
not the desert or the forest, but like many parts of our city it is a kind of wilderness
– just like many parts of our city, it’s a wilderness filled with temptations,
temptations made just for us.
Last
Sunday we heard the story of the Transfiguration, that mountaintop experience
for Jesus and his friends, a foretaste of Easter, a preview of love defeating
hate, of life defeating death.
But,
today on the First Sunday in Lent, we back up to the beginning of Jesus’
ministry – or, actually, just before the beginning.
Jesus
has been just been baptized, heard the voice of God reveal who he is, and now
we’re told that the Spirit has led him to the wilderness for forty days of
fasting, a miniature Exodus, when a starving and exhausted Jesus will face
temptations, temptations made just for him.
You
know, Satan the tempter is quite skilled at coming up with temptations that hit
our vulnerabilities and since Satan is well aware of who Jesus is, he comes up
with temptations perfectly suited for the famished Son of God.
Come
on, just make bread and feed yourself!
Come
on, throw yourself from the Temple and show everybody that you really are the
Son of God!
Come
on, you can be a real king, ruler of all the earth!
But,
of course, unlike God’s people in the desert and unlike us all too often, Jesus
the Son of God is able to resist these temptations – and, I’m sure he faced and
resisted other temptations throughout his ministry, temptations to turn away
from his path, temptations to just live like everybody else and let someone
else proclaim God’s Kingdom and suffer the consequences.
But,
instead, Jesus chooses to offer bread to others, chooses life over death, and,
as St. Paul writes to the church in Rome, that makes all the difference for
Jesus and it makes all the difference for us.
Yet,
Evil is still very much at work in the world, well aware of who we are and able
to come up with temptations perfectly suited for us.
Come
on, forget about school or your dead end job and join those guys on the corner,
make easy money dealing poison in our neighborhood!
Come
on, life is hard, a couple of drinks in the morning won’t hurt, they’ll just
take the edge off!
Come
on, the people who disagree with you, who see things differently, they must be
evil or just plain stupid!
Come
on, you know there’s not enough for everybody, so grab as much as you can, look
out for number one, be a winner not a loser!
Come
on, you know that this person – or this type of person – is the source of all
our problems so just pick on them, just get rid of them, and then everything
will be just fine!
Come
on, don’t bother looking for beauty in this world, don’t waste your time
looking for God in the people walking past you on the sidewalk or sitting next
to you in traffic, or beside you on the bus; suffering and drudgery and
ugliness is all that there is!
Come
on, you know that you’re not worth much of anything, that you’re not smart enough
or good looking enough or lovable enough, so don’t bother hoping for anything
good in your life!
Come
on, you know that hate beats love and death defeats life, every time!
Yes,
Evil is on the loose, still hard at work.
But,
although Satan is skilled at coming up with temptations made just for us, the
truth is that when you peel away the particular details, it’s actually always
the same temptation: give into despair and just live like so many of the people
out there.
For
Jesus, the temptation really was to use his power for his own glory and benefit,
to be just like so many rulers of the world, past and present.
And
for us, the temptation is to live like the guys on the corners or the
unhappy-looking people trudging their way to work, or the addicted opening a
bottle first thing in the morning, or, so many people without hope and without
love.
Today
is the First Sunday in Lent. We began a journey on Ash Wednesday. We’ve
silenced the “a word,” we’ve covered up or put away the shiny stuff, we’ve shifted
our focus to confession and repentance.
It’s
Lent here in church – and, in a lot of ways, it feels like it’s been Lent out
in the world for a long time – but, we know that this journey is going
to lead us to the cross, where we see God’s love for us so clearly - and we know
that this journey will bring us to the empty tomb and new life of Easter.
We
know that we’ll face many temptations, temptations made just for us, temptations
at home, in our neighborhoods, at school or work, out in McGinley Square, on
the bus and in traffic.
We
may be ready give up in despair and live like so many others, but today we’re
reminded that Jesus has been in the wilderness. He’s been down this way before.
And,
Jesus continues to walk beside us, strengthening us to resist temptation, and,
yes, he is always quick to forgive when we slip up.
There are plenty of temptations made
just for us, but we know that, in the end, life defeats death and love conquers
hate.
Yes,
it may be Lent, but, actually, it’s already Easter.
Amen.
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