Lent 2010 - First Sunday - Temptations

Sundays are not part of a Lenten fast, but are always feast days -- celebrations of the resurrection, for we know the tomb is empty. See more on this concept at:

http://lentendevotions.blogspot.com/2008/02/first-sunday-in-lent.html

and

http://lentendevotions.blogspot.com/2009/03/lent-2009-first-sunday.html

When these devotions were my Lenten practice, I marked this by doing something distinctly different on Sundays -- but this year, we won't have that distinction to enable more authors to share thoughts with you. Enjoy!

Luke 4:1-13 (NRSV)

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ²where 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. ³The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." ⁴Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'" ⁵Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶And 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. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."⁸Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" ⁹Then 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, ¹⁰for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' ¹¹and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" ¹²Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" ¹³When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

THOUGHTS:
Much has been written on these temptations of Jesus. I remember growing up thinking that they were special challenges for God's son -- things that were only meaningful temptations because Jesus had superhero abilities and divine connections. I mean, I can't turn stones into food. I'm not sure I can even process being given all of the kingdoms of the world. If I jumped off of a skyscraper, I would expect to meet the pavement rather than God's hand.
Over time, my views of these temptations has changed, and they really came home recently when reading some devotions written by Father Richard Rohr. He says that these are the temptations we *ALL* must face. He says that the temptation to turn stones in to food is about "our need to be immediately impressive and effective, successful, relevant, and make things happen right now. It is our natural desire to look good." Oh, I guess I can relate to that. I like to have my finger on the pulse of what is going on, and to quickly solve any problems I encounter. I always want my work to be top notch. I face this temptation all the time. Instead of filling the immediate need, maybe I need to be more patient, to trust in God and others more, and to dig deeper into the meaning of my daily actions.
The second temptation is the only place in the Bible where the devil quotes scripture. Father Richard points out that "Holy words can be used for evil purposes, it surely says. This second temptation is to think of yourself as saved, superior to others, the moral elite on the side of God and religion, and to quote arguable Scriptures for your own purpose—being against God in the name of God. Actually it is quite common. .... It is the common temptation of actually loving ourselves under the guise of loving God." I also face times when it is tempting to focus on the scriptures that support my view, while shying away from those that seem to contradict it. I've fallen into playing righteousness games where I feel like someone else is wrong, but that I know what God wants. Instead, keep in mind these world of Mother Teresa: "We were not created to be successful, but to be obedient." Maybe I need to focus on loving, and listening to, God more.
The third temptation, according to Father Richard, "is the need for control, importance, and power. The devil tells Jesus to bow down before the power systems of this world ...Make these into your actual belief and security system." Sometimes, it is so hard not to be in control. I like to rely upon myself with rugged american individualism. I want to know that we can spin the situation around. I want to ensure that I never need charity from anyone else. This isn't following Christ, who wandered without a home and relied on the generosity of others. This third temptation tells us that the cost of aligning our beliefs around worldly control is equivalent to bowing down and worshiping the devil. I indeed may need to reexamine my actions, to loosen my grip on controlling my life.
In your life, how do you face the temptations that Jesus faced?


PRAYER:
God of all holiness. Help us to overcome the power of these temptations, to trust in you with our hearts and lives, and to follow you with every step. In the name of your Son, Jesus the Christ, we pray, AMEN.
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Thoughts by Ben Buss, Lutheran Campus Minister at George Mason University (and inspiration from Father Richard Rohr)

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These devotions for young adults are provided by:
Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu/org/lutheran
Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lutheran/lsa/
DC Young Adults http://www.dcyoungadults.org/
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