Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we may believe and in believing we may obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lead us not into temptation…
Temptation is a great topic for today—great, in fact, for any day of the year, but especially now. How many of you have ever tried to give upsomething for Lent? Some examples might be – candy – t.v. – meat – alcohol – cigarettes.
When I was in high school, I spent a lot of time at my best friend’s house. They were a devout Roman Catholic family:
– taught by nuns in parochial school through the sixth grade,
– went to confession every Saturday night, and
– never missed worship on Sundays.
For them, it was an unwritten rule that they give up something for Lent.
The matriarch of the house, Mary Jean Wells, probably weighed 98 pounds soaking wet, but she was a bundle of energy—she needed it with 9 kids and a husband. She worked hard—and she smoked hard. That was her one vice. And every year, just before Ash Wednesday worship, Mary Jean would smoke her last cigarette for the entire season of Lent.
As you can imagine, by the end of Holy Week, a couple of things happened:
– her house would be spic ‘n span from attic to basement . . . and
– her entire family would be eagerly awaiting the day of Easter…not only because they were devout Christians but also because Mary Jean could start smoking again—and they could all relax!
So on Holy Saturday night, we’d gather in her kitchen for the final countdown…It was our little Montana town’s version of watching the ball drop in New York City on New Year’s Eve. As soon as their grandfather clock finished ticking off twelve tolls, Mary Jean would light-up a smoke… and everyone would breathe easier!
Lead us not into temptation…really? Would God do that to us?
That’s never made sense to me. Isn’t it hard enough for us to JUST SAY NO to the world’s enticements without God leading us down that path too? Like lemmings drawn to the sea or moths to the flame, we are by nature attracted to those things that appear to be the answer to our dreams, yet often can quickly turn into our worst nightmares. Nor am I sure that the newer version of the prayer clarifies it with save us from the time of trial.
Generally, scholars agree that the word Jesus uses can mean anything from temptation, to testing, to trial, or to trap. But in the end, I don’t think the difference really matters, because they all work against us—work to infect our relationship with God. Think of the Bible stories on this theme:
– Adam and Eve desiring the fruit forbidden by God
– King David lusting after Bathsheeba
– Judas and his 30 pieces of silver
– Peter’s denial that he even knew Jesus
The question for us is this: “what helps us withstand the temptations, testings, trials, and traps that can trip us up?”
The strange thing about temptation is that it always works against our weaknesses. For some people, the more we say no to it, the less power it has over us. But it’s also true for some folks that the harder we fight against a temptation, the more it can control us.
Some of the best wisdom for dealing with temptations or trials comes from the philosophy of A. A. (which actually covers a multitude of sins):
| 1. admit the temptation | 3. pray about it | 5. go to meetings/worship |
2. acknowledge its power |
4. commit it to God |
6. change habits |
Life would certainly be a lot less complicated if God simply removed that part of human nature, wouldn’t it? But the painful truth, as we all know, is that God allows it—from sins of omission to sins of commission (things that we do and shouldn’t, as well as things that we should do and don’t).
With that in mind, what do you think was the greatest temptation that Jesus faced? We see some great examples when he’s out in the wilderness, tormented by the Devil while he’s fasting (Luke 4).
– turn stone into bread (satisfy his own needs)
– grasp earthly riches and power (earthly fame, glory, power)
– jump off the temple (testing God’s devotion)
Nikos Kazantsakis, in his novel The Last Temptation of Christ, came up with another one…does anyone remember it? Here’s a clue: in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Kazantsakis imagines that Jesus might have struggled with just saying no…to God’s plan to save the world, and saying Yes to his own plan to save himself. But we all know how that turned out—Good Friday is just around the corner.
It’s no accident, I’m convinced, that Jesus’ petition about temptation is followed immediately by his moving request: “Deliver us from evil”… For problems with temptation often land us smack dab in the middle of evil, or caught in the clutches of the evil one.
The same thing is true about both evil and temptation—for some mysterious reason, they are and will be for as long as we live, an unwelcome but persistent partner on our path through life. Such is, I believe, at the core of Jesus’ invitation to “take up our cross and follow” him.
It’s less, I think, about looking to live the perfect life, and more about trusting that we also have a welcome and persistent partner on our path through life. The One who was tempted in every way, is the One who, indeed, will save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil—maybe not in the way that we’d planned, but certainly in the way that helps us best in our relationship with God and helps us help others in their struggles.
In today’s lesson from Jeremiah (31:31-34), we’re given a glimpse of God’s plan to help us in our problem with sin. Instead of trying to impose external rules on our internal rebellion, God decided to get right to the heart of the matter—figuratively and literally! Says the Lord about us,
I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Jesus was able to withstand temptation because he dared to trust that God’s will would deliver him and this entire creation from evil. That’s a matter of the heart…that is good news for us all. Amen.
Pastor Scott Fuller