St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca, IL – 1st Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 ; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 ; Romans 10:8b-13 ; Luke 4:1-13
Gospel
1Jesus, 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.
NRSV
The Devil Knows Too
Newton’s third law of motion can provide some insight into the cosmic dispute for the soul of the Son of God in the gospel text that we just heard. This universal rule dictates that for every force, there is another of equal magnitude acting in the opposite direction. This is science at its best, helping us learn how God creates things, from the microcosmos to the big cosmos. We experience the effects of this law of physics everywhere we go, from getting out of bed, through walking, driving to work, riding in an elevator, typing in a keyboard or digital screen, plowing the field, pulling up straw up in the barn, to relaxing on a floater at the pool, everywhere.
For every force in the universe, there is another of equal magnitude, acting in the opposite direction. Therefore, for every act of God aimed at reconciling us with another and with God, there is an opposing one, of equal magnitude, trying to keep us separated from each other and from God. Those forces who oppose God are no joke. They are at work on us and among us as much as God is. They want us as much as God does. They insist on having us as much as God does. For the most part, humanity calls it evil. Theologically, these forces tend to be personified as we personify God. It received many names throughout the history of the Christian faith. As disciples of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, we will refer to those forces as he did, the adversary. It makes sense since adversary is another word for opponent.
Oh, hold on, pastor. Jesus never called evil his adversary. Oh, he did, by his greek name though, satan or satan in English.
So here in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has just been baptized, anointed as God’s beloved, with whom God is well pleased. He is vested in God’s armor, full of the Holy Spirit. But here is the thing about being an opposing force of the same magnitude. If God knows our actions, so does satan. He knows who Jesus is. He knows that he needs to expose any weakness to have a shot at this confrontation. After 40 days of jabbing, tempting, working his humanity, satan thinks he sees a crack in Jesus’ armor. He is famished, probably a little lightheaded, maybe not thinking straight. So he tries to gaslight the Son of God.
Yo, Jesus, hungry, eh? There, make this rock a fresh, still warm, sugar-glazed, cream-filled doughnut. Show your power! We can almost see Jesus answer with a grin on his face. “It is written, one does not live by bread alone.” It is true, that is Deuteronomy 8:3. Jesus leads, 1-0. Nice try, though.
Next, why are you working for this God who wants you to die in order to live? Here, I know, that you know, that the world is mine. Worship me, and it will be yours. This time we can hear Jesus chuckle before he draws words from Deuteronomy 28 and the first commandment. Jesus 2, satan null.
OK, were are quoting scripture, yes? Here, jump. What are you afraid of? Don’t you know this psalm? It says,
“For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”
That is Psalm 91:11-12, which we recited today.
Now Jesus looks at satan with piercing eyes. He moves to throw Deuteronomy 6:16 back at him, “do not put the Lord your God to the test!” Jesus 3, satan zip. Then satan ceases but does not desist.
Satan tried Jesus in almost every human vulnerability. He tried fear. It did not work. He tried our drive to power and control. It did not work either. Then he tried the ultimate gaslighting move, to use Jesus’ faith and courage against him. Shouldn’t you have no fear? You are a beloved child of God with whom he is well pleased! He will protect you, he will rescue you from danger, no?
How do we know the difference? How do we know when to be fearless and not to be reckless? Whose purpose are we serving? I don’t know. Haven’t we established that the forces who oppose God are no joke?
Here is what we know, Satan could not get Jesus to fold. He knows a lot, but not everything. He is a good study, though. And he has known for a while now that Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are one. He knows he can strike in the same magnitude but will not even make a dent. Therefore, now the adversary comes for us relentlessly. And he is like a great white shark who can sense a drop of blood, shed out of fear or misguided bravado an ocean away. And here is what he does: he comes full speed and creates chaos, judgment, anger, violence, resentment, and distrust to cause true bloodshed. Satan wants to see the world burn.
Whose agenda are we following?
We also know this, remember, it was written in our hearts. God is unselfish, kind, non-violent, peaceful, forgiving, enduring, and reconciling love. Because of the faith we received as a gift through water and Spirit, and the new covenant through the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all sins, no matter how sunken down we may be, we can sense it an ocean away. Swim away from fear and anger and return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding and steadfast love. Amen.
Bridging Faith 