temptations

here’s another email from our pastor where he expands on the sermon he gave on sunday. i love it.

Dear GP family,

This past Sunday I titled my sermon, Lent: An Oppurtunity For Holiness. Our scripture text was Mark’s account of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness (Mark 1:9-15). For centuries the Christian Church has used this event from the life of Jesus as inspiration for our forty days of preparation prior to Easter.

In the sermon, I spent some time focusing on the specific temptations posed by the devil to Jesus, and how this sensational story might apply to our lives. What I didn’t mention but think is also helpful to remind ourselves of, is a very important truism regarding the nature of temptation in general. And that is that temptation generally comes by stealth and disguise; it is seldom obvious. I think we are misled when we see this encounter in the Judean wilderness in Hollywood form, with Jesus and a yellow-eyed, sulphurous breathed Satan in a cartoonish clash of the Titans.

It is highly more likely that this wrestling match was an invisible, yet no less real or devilish, struggle within Christ’s mind. Jesus was, for forty days, wrestling with the will of God, repeatedly facing three alternative paths which all seemed to lead to good destinations. There was immense room for rationalization, room for Jesus to convince Himself that these three options were justifiable, even desirable. And yet, In His deepest parts, He knew these avenues were not the Father’s plan. So, wrestle with evil He did, in the form of three apparently excellent offers.

When looked at this way, Christ’s forty day struggle in the desert is much more applicable to our lives. If evil came to us in the visible form of a ghoulish fiend we would all have the sense to run. But it doesn’t. Life’s most pivotal moments of decision come clandestine, so benign that they often slip past our defenses. Generally, temptation doesn’t involve abject immorality as it’s bait, rather it focuses on good results achieved in damaging ways. Christ’s most formidable temptation was to take shortcuts to good ends. Most of our temptations are the same.

Turn stones to bread. In a world filled with desperately hungry people, why not? Jump from the parapet of the temple and be caught by angels. In a world longing to believe in a caring God, why not display that care in a dramatic way? Immediately assume the rule of all the kingdoms of men. In a world full of genocide, oppression, slavery and war, WHY NOT? The answer(s) to those three ”why nots” required committed soul work. And that’s just what Jesus did.

Jesus temptations, though, did not end in the wilderness. Later his well-intentioned disciples would implore Him to ”avoid the cross.” And then there was Gethsemane where He wrestled with the reality that He possessed the ability to opt out of the Father’s plan at any time. And yet He knew the painful, human process was the only way. He refused to use the ”power of the Spirit,” choosing instead the path of service.

To arrive at that place, Jesus had to meet and faithfully process deep temptation on multiple occasions. To live successful, healthy lives we must follow His example, recognizing the subtle ways darkness presents itself, realizing, as did He, that the battle is within us. Justification, rationalization, slight compromises, hedging, white lies, convenient deafness – all of these are the temptor’s weapons.

Sometimes I think it would be a lot easier if the battle were more blatant, but the fact that it’s not is half the strategy. The battleground is in our minds. Don’t be fooled into looking for the gross and sensational. Instead be wary of the nuanced and subtle ways evil lures us. And finally, don’t be afraid… our hope of victory rests in Christ’s strength and example. I hope we will all spend this Lenten season opening our lives, possibly as never before, to that strength and to that example.

Peace,
Stan