“Not By Bread Alone”   Matt 4:4

a sermon by Pastor Sonja Dalglish

for First Presbyterian Church in Weslaco

First Sunday in Lent,  March 13, 2011

Genesis 2:15-17, Psalm 32, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11

focus:  The temptation of Christ in the wilderness tells us who he is.

function:  To encourage people to focus on their identity as children of God.

Introduction

Have you ever known someone who truly knew their own mind?  Perhaps someone who knew from an early age who they were and what they wanted to do with their life?  I remember picking our youngest daughter, Katie, up from eighth grade one day.  She climbed in the car and announced, “I love school.  I love eighth grade and I’m going to teach eighth grade some day.”  And, that is what she does today.  She teaches eighth grade English in Kerrville.  Along the way, she had to get some education and training.  But, she is now doing what she spent her life heading toward.  Somehow, in that moment of clarity when she herself was in eighth grade, she understood who she was.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus was just baptized.  The voice from the cloud during his baptism, declared, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”  Jesus has gone into the wilderness to meditate and get clarity about who he is and what he is to do.  Apparently, this is something that prophets, and sometimes even others of us do to focus on our purpose.  We will see him withdrawing at various times in his ministry to pray and meditate, but no time, until Getsemani will be as dramatic as this initial retreat.

He goes into the wilderness and fasts for forty days and forty nights.  At the end of that time, that he is famished.  Then, the struggle begins.  This is a struggle about who he is and what his purpose is.  What does it mean to be the Son of God?  What does it mean to be the Messiah?  He struggles with three temptations that try to draw him away from his purpose.

Before we look more deeply at the text, let us pause for a moment and look at the sheep in Agnus Day.  The silly first sheep says, “I’ve always loved how Jesus faces down temptation.”  “Yeah,” replies the second.  “His power is in the Word of God.”  The silly sheep responds, “I wish I knew which verse to use against a piece of chocolate cake.”

That silly sheep.  There is much more at stake in this passage than a piece of chocolate cake and those small decisions.  Or is there?

The first objection that some people may have is in the language about Satan.  Remember that Jesus is alone.  I am thinking that at some point he must have shared his experience with his disciples.  This is the man who later will speak to us in parables and hyperbole, a man who loves metaphor and symbolism.  From the accounts of the New Testament, he spoke in Aramaic, could read the Hebrew scrolls in the synagogue, and many scholars believe there is evidence that he also spoke Greek.  He was very well educated as this passage and many others reveal.  In the end, it does not matter if Satan is a physical or spiritual being or a metaphor, that is not the purpose of this Gospel story.  The Gospel is about the good news of Jesus Christ.

What does this tell us about the good news?

This story tells us how Jesus understood what it meant for him to be the Son of God and the Messiah.  It shows us how he stays focused on his purpose and is not drawn off of it by temptation.   One commentator called the temptations, “bread and circuses and politics.”

The temptations begin with, “If you are the Son of God, then command these stones to be loaves of bread.”  Remember, Jesus is famished.  He has just finished a forty day fast.  And he replies, not with his own words but with scripture from the book of Deuteronomy, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

What does this mean for us?  Study of the scriptures is important.  Just as Jesus studied and learned them by heart and met temptation with scripture, I believe this story is inviting us to do the same.  There are things, like seeking faithful understanding in the midst of a crisis, that are more important than a single meal or any immediate comfort.

The first temptation was about physical needs distracting us.  The second is about the spiritual or religious aspect of life.  The scene is now at the temple and the quote from Satan comes from the Psalms.  You see, not everyone who uses scripture will use it for God’s purpose. Again comes the challenge and implied doubt of Jesus’ identity,

“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.’”

Jesus again quotes from Deuteronomy, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  The devil wants Jesus to turn faith into a circus.  Jesus knows that faith is not about parlor tricks.  It is about doing God’s will.

A third temptation is then thrown in front of Jesus, that of power, worldly power granted if he would worship that which the world finds valuable.  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  Of course, people assume the devil could actually do this — but how many people promise things to get you to do something and then do not deliver.

This time Jesus sends the tempter away and counters with a quote from Leviticus.¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”  Later in his ministry, Jesus will return to this thought as he teaches his disciples that no one can serve God and wealth.

What does this mean for us today?

Even though we do not have the calling that Jesus had, we do have callings and we will encounter temptations to turn away from our callings to satisfy various needs that we have as humans: physical, emotional, or spiritual needs, perhaps needs for being in control.  We need to be alert to what is happening when we are being drawn off course.

We have many temptations to avoid our best life.

Parents and teachers have been given the well being of students into their hands, but many abdicate that role of responsibility of training because they want children to like them.  You’ve seen parents who want to be the teen’s best friend, when what the teen needs is a parent who provides guidelines and direction to keep the teen on track and not hurting him or herself.

A psychologist is worried about what our technology is doing to our children.  Texting is robbing children of the attention they need when they are with us.  She’s found parents pushing swings with one hand and texting with the other, families eating and texting, even mothers nursing and texting.  Her hope was that we realize the importance of our life together and at least ban the cell phones and iPads at the dinner table.

In one school, and maybe more, there is the temptation to pay attention to the needs of the school, to make the school look good, instead of paying attention to the student’s needs.  And, although self-esteem is important, trying to build self-esteem by not demanding as much of the students is not going to help them in the long run.

There is a temptation for politicians to say the things which will get them the money to run campaigns, instead of doing the hard task of governing, planning for the future of this country and the world.  It is better for the future our country to have healthy, well educated citizens with an infrastructure that works.

There is a temptation to put aside what we know is good for the long haul, what is good for the environment, for conserving resources for the next generation by doing what is easy and comfortable and beneficial for us today.  We are an impatient people, people who love quick fixes, wanting to have what we want now – people who don’t care about the overall good that someone does, but want to know what is in it for me?

We are as children of God and disciples of Christ.

One commentator said that this text is not about those little temptations, like what we want to eat, but perhaps he was wrong.  I remember again C. S. Lewis who said that every day we are faced with hundreds of little decisions.  Each one turns us a little toward God or a little away.  Remember a few years ago when we as Presbyterians boycotted Taco Bell because the tomato pickers wanted a one cent an hour raise?  That little decision to not eat a taco one day helped get the farm workers their raise and with that, better housing, education for their children and hope for a better tomorrow.  Giving that small raise to people at the bottom of the pay scale made far more difference than a million dollars would have made to those in the top income bracket.

Conclusion

This is a fateful week.  We’ve had the fifth largest earthquake in over a hundred years, a tsunami, two nuclear power plants leaking and a partial melt down of a reactor core.  There has been an enormous amount of destruction and loss of life.  We know from experience that the needs will be tremendous.  Presbyterian Women and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance are assessing needs.  If you want to help, you can go on the website and make a monetary donation.  Also, Presbyterian Women are asking us to help Church World Services need for more hygiene kits.  We have the instructions printed for you because I know you have been active in many missions and are always looking for something you can do to help.  Make your bags and bring them to church next week.  We will have collection boxes and will package them to send to Church World Services.

Jesus went from his baptism into the wilderness for forty days to confront what it meant to be the Son of God.  You will go from this place, reminded that you are a Child of God and a follower of Jesus.  We have the scriptures to guide us as we consider what we are called to be and what gifts we have been given to live out our call.

This week was also the first anniversary of Pastor Cindy Ordway’s death.  She was important to many people who knew her.  I hope that you can take the time to write on a card your gratitude for some aspect of her ministry.  During our last hymn, “Take My Life and Let it Be,” you can bring the cards forward and put them in the bowl on the communion table, or just hold them up and an usher will take them up for you.  And, if you find that we have moved to the offering and you still have a card in your hand, just put it in the offering plate.

Cindy faithfully lived out her call.  You can live out your call as well even though there will be temptations to draw you away from what is important in your life.  Don’t let the needs of your body, your desire for showy religiosity or for power and wealth stop you from being the person God created you to be.

As a sage once said, Be yourself.  Someone needs to – and you’re the closest.

 

Gospel Matthew 4:1-11

¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.²He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.³The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”⁴But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶saying 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.’”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” ¹¹Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

 

First Reading Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

^2:15The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;¹⁷but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

^3:1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ²The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; ³but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” ⁴But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; ⁵for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Psalm Psalm 32

¹ Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered.

² Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ While I kept silence, my body wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.               Selah

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not hide my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”

and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Selah

⁶ Therefore let all who are faithful

offer prayer to you;

at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters

shall not reach them.

⁷ You are a hiding place for me;

you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.                        Selah

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

⁹ Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,

else it will not stay near you.

¹⁰ Many are the torments of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.

¹¹ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous,

and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Second Reading Romans 5:12-19

¹²Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned — ¹³sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law.¹⁴Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

¹⁵But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.¹⁶And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.¹⁷If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. ¹⁹For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.