**sermon art: The Temptations of Christ, 12th century mosaic at St Mark s Basilica, Venice
Caitlin Trussell with Augustana Lutheran Church on March 10, 2019
[sermon begins after the Bible reading]
Luke 4:1-13 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.’ ” 5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ” 9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11 and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
[sermon begins]
How do you know that you’re losing an argument? Perhaps you’re blood pressure goes up. Maybe you start to cry. Or yelling happens. Or you go quiet, seething on the inside. Or shut down and tune out. There’s a lot of reactions to arguing but it’s rare that one person says to the other, “You know you’re right…it’s so clear to me now!” If temptation could show up like an argument we wouldn’t have a problem with it. We could just say, “Sorry old chum, take your temptations and carry on.” Except. Except…temptation is like an argument. Someone or something else sets the terms of the temptation debate, whether explicitly set or not, and there are factors that affect the argument such as hunger, anger, loneliness, or fatigue.[1]
Jesus, for instance, was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit after his baptism at the Jordan River. He fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and was all by himself. We can guess that he was likely some combination of hungry, lonely, and tired. The questions being posed by the devil were about solving those very problems. Hungry? Turn stones to bread. Lonely? Have all the kingdoms of the world. Tired? Let the angels protect you. Three easy steps to solve all Jesus’ problems. All three of these solutions for the price of worshiping something other than God. The three temptations can be summed up as things, power, and safety. There may be a better summary but let’s go with those for now…Jesus was offered things, power, and safety. But Jesus, being Jesus of course, didn’t take the bait. Not only did he avoid the bait, he hardly entered the argument. His response would suggest that he rejected the argument outright and reset the terms of the debate. Being the Son of God and all might have helped just a tad.
Here’s what I’ve been wondering about. I’ve been wondering how it is that temptation presents itself to ordinary, non-Son-of-God humans. I’m not talking about sweet treats or extra pairs of shoes we say that we’re tempted by. I’m talking about honest to God temptation that draws us away from who God calls us to be into something else entirely. Make no mistake, we ARE free to be honest about those things. As I said on Ash Wednesday, those ashes remind us at the beginning of Lent that God loves us “so much that we are free to wonder about our motivations and our actions without worrying about the love freely given to us.”[2] No time like the first Sunday in Lent to take that promise out for test drive.
At the very least, we’re most susceptible to our temptations when we’re hungry, lonely, and tired. The more isolated we become, the more lost-in-the-wilderness we can feel. People who are recovered from the despair of addiction often describe their experience like, “I felt so lost and alone that I didn’t care who got hurt.” This could be said by people lost in all sorts of addiction – alcohol, drugs, sex, social media, and food, to name a few. Perhaps you’ve heard a friend or family member say this very thing. Perhaps it’s a confession you yourself have made or know that you need to make. Whatever your point of reference, the Anonymous groups are onto something essential for all of us.
Our recovered friends in the pews learn to reframe the debate using 12 steps that include looking beyond themselves to a higher power in addition to being in community with other people in recovery.[3] The road is not traveled alone. The isolation and loneliness that add fuel to the fire of temptation and addiction are thwarted by connection with God and other people.
In Adult Sunday School last week, I gave everyone a slip of paper and asked them to jot down responses to why they worship. Before people started writing, I let them know that the papers would be gathered and redistributed so that they could be read out loud and anonymity of the writers guaranteed. (Basically protecting the introverts who can occasionally get protective of their thoughts.) There were a variety of answers as well as multiple answers per piece of paper. What struck me at the time, and then again while reading them as I wrote this sermon, is that the majority of people in class listed being connected with a community of faith as one of their reasons for being in worship. This Lent there are extra opportunities to be together that are open to anyone who wants to come. One is the Lenten retreat led by the pastors here at Augustana this coming Saturday and the others are here on Wednesday evenings for soup supper and worship.[4]
Last Sunday Pastor Ann preached about how countercultural worship is “in a world that encourages us to worship things, power, money, and ourselves.” I would add that it’s one of the few places in our society where we voluntarily get together over time and across a variety of differences like age, income level, and gender, to be reminded of our primary identity that reframes the debate against temptation – baptized child of God.
It seems there are as many takes on the Holy Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness as there are biblical commentators. One that makes some sense connects Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness with his baptism.[5] The Gospel reading from Luke reads, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan [River] and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil.” The reading reminds us what just happened in the waters of the river Jordan when the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus while a voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, the Beloved.”[6] Good ole Martin Luther, when the temptation to despair overwhelmed him, used to yell at the darkness, “I am a child of God, I am baptized!”[7] It’s as if Luther had read this very part of the Gospel of Luke. Hmmm….
The point is that we are baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection. Besides being called a congregation, we are alternately called the Body of Christ, defined and formed by being “baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” In the waters of baptism, we are given the Holy Spirit as our strength and our guide through the temptation to get lost in the wilderness of a world that sets the terms of the debate as power, money, and things – isolating us in our own muddled minds. Over and against that temptation, the Holy Spirit gives us company as we work out who God is calling us to be. The company of Jesus, by way of our baptism, through our daily journey. And the company of each other as traveling companions on the road.
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[1] Dana Max, Psy.D., personal conversation. H.A.L.T. rule for pressing pause on an argument when you’re “Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, or Intoxicated” and setting a time to revisit the contentious topic.
[2] You can find that sermon (“Beginning at the End, Ash Wednesday”) in which I unpack this concept here: http://caitlintrussell.org/2019/03/06/beginning-at-the-end-ash-wednesday-matthew-61-6-16-21-2-corinthians-520b-610-isaiah-581-12/
[3] The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Service Material from the General Service Office. (Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, 1953, 1954, 1981).
[4] Lasting Hope, A Lenten Retreat, Saturday, March 16, 9:30am-1:30pm; and Wednesday in Lent, Soup 6-7pm and Worship 7-7:30pm. Both the Saturday retreat and Lenten worship take place at Augustana.
[5] Arland J. Hultgren, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Commentary on Luke 4:1-13 for February 21, 2010. https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=508
[6] Luke 3:2
[7] Wes Brendenhof, Pastor of the Free Reformed Church, Launceston, Tasmania. “Luther: Baptizatus sum (I am baptized)” on January 26, 2017. https://yinkahdinay.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/luther-baptizatus-sum-i-am-baptized/