Into the Unknown

 

Rev. Debra McKnight's Sermon - March 1, 2020

Matthew 4:1-11

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" 11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Into the Unknown

Jesus is in the wilderness and it’s not because he is lost or in trouble. Most folks don’t go into the wilderness, not on purpose, not in the ancient world and not in the modern world. Most of us would prefer the developers go ahead of us, smooth out the rough spaces, grade the hills so the trails are easier to hike. We like someone to map it out, organize it, manage the wild into an easy to navigate grid…wilderness is uncertain, rough, scary and probably has terrible Wi-Fi. There are no comforts in the wilderness...not a comfy couch or a convenient Starbucks for your morning coffee or your mocha frappe something or other. Brené Brown has sold a ton of books on Braving the Wilderness and Jesus didn’t have to read it to go into the wilderness. After his baptism, he is driven to the wilderness, he goes there with purpose, called by the spirit, the presence of Love, to explore who he is and how we are called to be in the world. Jesus goes to the wilderness like the folks before him. Wilderness is woven into the fabric of the Jewish story and Jesus learns from the ones who went before, Moses fasted 40 days on Sinai as he prepared to hear God’s commandments (Ex 24:18). The people of Israel wandered 40 years in the desert wilderness waiting for the promised land (Ex 16:35).  Noah and his floating zoo rode the wild wilderness waves for 40 days (Gen 7:4) and the prophet Elijah fasted in the desert before finding direction from God (1King 19:8). The wilderness is sacred in Jesus’ tradition; a place of listening to God, a place of understanding who and discerning your next step. The wilderness is uncharted and while for Jesus it might be an arid desert, for us it might be a metaphor to reflect on our journey, even if we don’t leave the grid. Perhaps that is why most of us prefer to stick to what we know, it can be easier to climb the ladders and follow the plan even if it isn’t our own.  Brené Brown speaks about the wilderness as unknown space, it is active and requires whole hearted showing up, risking the untamed and unpredictable. She quotes Joseph Campbell, “If you can see your path laid out in front of you it’s not your path. Your own path you make every step you take. That’s why it's your path.” True belonging and true self is found in the wilderness but it is risky to reap this reward. 

Jesus fasts in the wilderness and is famished just as the Devil shows up. Most of us are not fluent in the practice of fasting, except perhaps intermittent fasting and I don’t think that is what Jesus is doing. Because we don’t have a lot of practice with fasting, protestants sometimes imagine Jesus has consumed nothing…and then some folks try that themselves. I’m not sure that is the best entry point and perhaps fasting means intention around our consumption. We know John the Baptist was in the Wilderness and he ate locusts and honey.  It’s possible that in the wilderness, Jesus is sustained by the uncertain provision of the wilderness…bugs and honey maybe? 

Jesus is hungry, and the Devil shows up to tempt him with food. Now, I don’t spend a lot of time talking about the Devil as a personification, but here it is convenient for the narrative. You can imagine the Devil however you want, a blue dress or a fabulously red cape and terrifying horns. Regardless of how you paint them in your mind’s eye, Devil makes three big offers to Jesus, each one bigger than the last. First, the Devil says disregard all the laws of nature, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Jesus quotes scripture to say no. The Second temptation, the Devil says test your relationship with God, be a spectacle. "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" Again Jesus quotes scripture, the tradition in which he is rooted provides for him in his hour of need and he says, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' 

The third temptation is really more of a bribe. The Devil gives Jesus a bird’s eye view and offers him authority without earning it, power without sacrifice. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." The Devil offers Jesus political power and he says no. He does not look at this and say what a great opportunity, I could change all their laws myself and set everything right, I could do this so fast and he is not even tempted to use this power for good. Jesus not only rejects the temptations he rejects the tempter.

Jesus says, “no” and it's not really a challenge for him. He chooses God’s call on his life, the same spirit that drove him to the wilderness gives him courage to be who he is and stand his ground. The Devil's tempting cuts to the question of who are you, “If you are the Son of God…command these stones to become bread. If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down for it is written that He will command His angels concerning you.” We have just learned at his Baptism that he is the Son of God and the Temptation is to forget who you are. Jesus isn’t the first one to be called Son of God, the Kings that followed David grasped the title as Sons of God, the Caesars also assume the title, “Son of God” and even all of Israel is named Son of God by the Prophet Hosea, “When Israel was a child, I loved him and out of Egypt I called my son.” Jesus claims the the title and embodies it in a way none of them could. He claims the title of Beloved, the identity of a child of God at his baptism and rejects everything that stands in the way of his call. Jesus has no trouble rejecting temptations. He embodies them in his ministry, feeding people on hillsides rather than himself and not by magic of stones into bread but by transforming hearts to open their baskets and share like the boy who offered a few fish and a few loaves of bread. He will not use his relationship with God for power but debates people in authority, chooses a path that rejects the kingdoms and the power of kings. He chooses his own path, one without the comforts of the status quo, leadership for Jesus requires sacrifice, suffering and vulnerability.

Jesus rejects the temptations of power and wealth and ego pretty quickly and without much drama. The church that follows in his name and most of the people who call themselves Christian struggle to say no. The church loves political power and money to spend, it has a history of partnering with the Empire and supporting kings, past and present. We love power, we have egos, and we like stuff…bread included and it's not just because we like carbs. Maybe if the tempter showed up in a red cape, with terrifying horns and an evil smile we would have an easier time saying no, it would be obvious and the one time “just say no” really worked. Our temptations look much more every day and harmless, maybe it's the Target dollar bin, maybe it's staying in the wrong job for the pay, maybe it's using our gifts for our own purpose and not the common good, maybe it's unnecessary drama manipulating relationships, maybe it's screen time or Chil-Fil-A or Netflix or not really carrying our weight or taking on more than our share. It could be anything really. Temptations require our constant negotiation and understanding who we are. If we are not clear who we are we can not understand our call and we will have trouble saying No like Jesus did. This Lent we are invited into the wilderness, to know we are beloved children of God and to consider how that impacts the choices we make with our lives. Living close to God is not easy, faith does not mean we stay in safe space but it does mean that when we are in the wilderness we can have the courage to be who we are, beloved.  

When have you been in the Wilderness?

What are your temptations? 

What practices would help you grow into a more loving presence in the world?