The First Sunday in Lent every year begins with the retelling of the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness... lest we take Lent too lightly. This gives us a morning, maybe even a whole week, to pause again and consider “the devil.”
Does anyone even believe in Satan anymore? In many ways, the devil’s been reduced to a Halloween costume. I marvel each year in October when suddenly we see images, adults and even little children dressed up like the devil: Red pitchforks, and pointy tails and horns. It’s as if Halloween is the only time the devil comes out, and it’s all just pretend and trying to be funny (or sexy) at that. Either this, or we’ve assigned all evil in the world to certain people like the Adolf Hitlers or Osama bin Ladens. (I remember some assigning Barrack Obama with these descriptions only a few years ago...and I’ve certainly heard Trump called the devil). It’s as if we’re trying to compartmentalize the devil and control Satan by assigning the label “evil” to specific individuals or a group or class or even race of people.
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But the devil really comes out during Lent, when we head like Jesus “into the wilds.” This season of Lent is a time for weeding. And when you weed, as any gardener knows, you can’t just pick off the prickly leaves and vines that you see on the surface and call it good. You can’t just point to a person who’s committed war crimes or violated ethical codes or humanitarian laws, destroy that person...and then go back to sleep. We’ve got to dig deep into the soil of our own hearts, where the roots of evil have a strong hold. We’ve got a lot of work to do in the garden, we’ve got a lot of work to do in the wilderness. Be assured, friends in Christ, that the devil is real.
Temptation is all around. But we’ve got a strong Word to contend against the devil.
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How interesting that these temptation stories today are not temptations to murder, or any other big obvious sins. Neither Jesus, nor Eve and Adam were handed a sword or a get-away-car. (Do you know what I’m sayin’?) If that were the case, we’d probably be much more able to resist temptation. But the tempter is far more subtle...what’s wrong with a little piece of fruit? It’s healthy, right?
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Let me break these three temptations in Matthew’s Gospel down for us (as scholars have done for me): Jesus was tempted by wealth, security, and power. And we are tempted by wealth, security, and power.
The first temptation is wealth -- bread. See there’s nothing wrong with bread, there’s nothing wrong with wealth if we’re careful. But how easily wealth/money can become the center of our worlds. Our treasure. Which is where Jesus said, “There will your heart be also.” Too much bread is the sin. Too much wealth is the sin. Turn these stones into bread, the devil said. But Jesus: “One does not live by wealth alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.” Let us too cling fast to the strong Word of God this Lenten season. Let’s keep going for more insight into that strong Word.
The second temptation is security. Nothing wrong with security. Who doesn’t want to have a roof over their head, clothes to keep them warm, shelter for their family and their communities. But when we become so obsessed with security...we loose sight of what is most important. Like a weed, those roots run deep and can take over, and always at first, subtly.
[story: Bethel Lutheran adopting “Risk Taking” as a biblically-based congregational value.] There’s nothing in scripture that lifts up the virtues of being secure. Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Mary, Jesus, Paul...where? And yet it’s our first priority so much of the time.
How we are tempted to dump ourselves and our resources down to the angels of security below. Safety nets! “Do not test God,” Jesus says. “Do not let your lust for perfect, peaceful security and comfort come between you and God who is out there among the poor and the neglected, and calling us to leave our nets, to take risks and follow Jesus!
“Use your head,” Jesus says. “Be shrewd, but leave your nets.” God doesn’t minister to us. We serve God and minister our gifts — our time, talents and treasures — in compassionate ways, by sharing our bread, reaching out to the poor. Lent is the season to pull up the weeds that grip our hearts, that hold us from the inside. Oh, the devil is real. [Wish I had a James Earl Jones voice ;) ]
Finally, the third temptation is power. So subtle. So tricky. Nothing wrong with being in control, right? Having people under you? Having people do what you say. We’ve got a number of managers and bosses in this congregation. Someone’s gotta call the shots, right? But again this can be abused. Power for power’s sake. I used to love House of Cards on Netflix (Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright) — a whole show about power for power’s sake. Kevin Spacey turns hauntingly to the camera all the time and whispers, truly devilishly, that it’s not about money for him — it’s all about power. And that speaks to a deep desire for us as humans. And it’s not just overt shows of power. How we can try to manipulate things behind the scenes, especially if access is power is not granted or assumed immediately or by the culture.
When we make ourselves god, when we put ourselves at the center, we turn away from God. This is what the tree in the Garden of Eden was all about: Shall we trust in God, or not? Shall we trust ourselves? That was the temptation. It’s still the temptation.
Welcome to Lent, friends in Christ. Do the hard work of introspection these 40 days. Do the hard work of weeding in the garden of your hearts. Work the steps, commit to the journey. In this walk is life. And Jesus meets us in our struggle, in our stumbling and getting back up, in our time with the devil, our time of honest reckoning. This is a hard time — coming face-to-face with God and the powers of temptation, but it is good. And Christ will bring us through.
Will you pray with me?
God give us the power to resist the allures, the subtleties of Satan, in this wilderness journey of Lent. Give us the courage to trust in you. Weed out our sinfulness, cleanse our hearts, and walk with us now. Keep us always steadfast in your Word. And continue to love us...as you always have. AMEN.
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