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SERMONS

The First Sunday in Lent
February 17 , 2002

By David Christian

It really doesn't seem fair, not fair at all. You would think there would be a little time to relax and savor what had happened. There should have been at least some sort of honeymoon.

I'm talking about Jesus and the events in today's gospel. What we have just read follows immediately on the story of the baptism of Jesus. John the baptizer was baptizing down in the Jordan River. Matthew tells us that Jesus came down from Galilee to be baptized by John.

John didn't want to do it. He said to Jesus, "You should be baptizing me."

But Jesus said, "Do it," so John did. And Matthew tells us that as Jesus came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

What an incredible and wonderful event. What a moment to savor and cherish and celebrate. When people are baptized we frequently have a party. The baptism of Jesus was at least as momentous an occasion as the baptisms that occur here.

But there is to be no honeymoon. There is to be no celebration. Matthew's very next words are the words that open today's gospel. "Then," Matthew tells us, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

This is the Son of God we are talking about. Immediately after his baptism; immediately after he receives this call from God; immediately after he is identified as God's beloved, immediately, he is driven into the wilderness where he is tempted. What an amazing thing.

During this season of Lent we are called to self-examination. During this time temptation is an appropriate topic for reflection. This event suggests several ideas about being called and about the nature of temptation.

First, temptation is not sin. It is not a part of our fallen human nature. The creation stories tell us that Adam and Eve were each tempted before they ate that apple. And Scripture tells us that Jesus, who we believe was without sin, was tempted. The ability to be tempted is a part of the freedom that God has given us as sons and daughters. So while we pray in the Lord's Prayer that we will not be led into temptation, we can never completely escape it.

Second, temptation is bound up in the very fact of being called. Any call from God-a call to follow any path-carries with it the possibility that that call can be perverted. Because of our freedom we always have a choice. We have the choice of answering God's call faithfully or of using that call to feed our own desires. We can't escape it. It is a risk God takes when God calls. And a risk we take when we respond.

Third, in the wilderness of temptation we are not alone. Matthew tells us that after Jesus resisted the last temptation the devil left him and suddenly angels came and waited on him. God is with us in the midst of temptation. God can lead us safely through that wilderness. If we will look for God, we will find him. If we will only ask, God will keep us safely on the path.

And there is one last, and very important, point to remember; a point that is particularly important for those of us who, unlike Jesus, are not be able to resist the power of temptation.

Remember that sin is not the final word.

When we succumb to temptation and fall into sin-as we surely will-God does not abandon us. God stands by, offering to forgive. God stands ready to give us a hand, to help us back to our feet; to dust us off, and to send us out into the world once again to do his will.

As we gather week on week around our Lord's table, we recall the depth of God's love for us. We are fed the food of forgiveness. We are nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ. And we are sent back into the world, renewed and forgiven, to answer God's call as God's beloved sons and daughters; sent to serve as God's agents of reconciliation, to spread the good news of the love of God that is ours in Jesus our Lord.

David Christian
The Chapel of the Cross
Madison, Mississippi

Genesis 2:4b-9,15-17,25-3:7
Romans 5:12-21
Matthew 4:1-11