Temptation

The Temptations of Christ. Maestro Bartolomé and workshop, after 1493.

Three temptations. And Jesus passes up on all of them. But they would be so easy to succumb to - and who could blame the old Adam if the new Adam did not partake?

First of all there is security - and there is power. What a temptation! If I could turn this stone into bread, think what else I could do. I could be like Midas only better. And one hopes, gluten-free.

After all, bread goes stale. Gold, however. That is bankable. Or perhaps you would prefer bitcoin? Conjure all you want! You won’t be alone.

Power - power to make one mad, or rich. Security - any time I want I can have plenty to eat. 

“Give us this daily bread” - for we do not depend on bread, or the baker, but on God, and on the Word that comes forth from his mouth. In that Word is life. Ironically, that Word is Jesus himself.

How about Door number Two? Dominion. Subordination. Just worship me and all is yours. Of course that allegiance belongs to God alone. But what has he done for you lately? All the kingdoms of the world. Wealth, power, prestige. And what would you do with them?

Such a temptation was presented to, of all people, Sancho Panza, right-hand man of Don Quixote himself.

The dolorous knight Don Quixote had long assured his faithful squire Sancho Panza that he would some day reward him with governorship of an island, since being a knight errant such gifts would surely be within his power to bestow before much longer in the course of their adventures. And then they met a noble lord who promised to award the island governorship straight away - but before Sancho could go, the knight gave him some astonishingly sound and sober advice, enough to make him as wise as Solomon, as impartial as the judge of the Caucasian Chalk Circle, and as knowing of human nature as the Wife of Bath. 

Judge fairly. Would this be likely, given the provenance of the gift? Worship me - and rule all the kingdoms of the world. Or dispose of them to the highest bidder. Then retire, and play golf. Entertain your buddies, if you think that is what they are, those people who gather around you.

No thanks. Jesus is not interested. “Worship the Lord and him only.” Another opportunity passed by.

At last: come on if you really are - if you really have faith - would not God save you, from whatever scrape you get yourself into? But to be sure - best put him to the test. Put God in the untenable position of saving you - or letting the one he calls Beloved plunge needlessly to his death. Test him. Prove it. Look how well it worked out for Adam and Eve. Take a bite. Or a leap.

But that is not the blind faith, the leap of faith, that persuades Jesus. Nothing does. He sends away all these opportunities, bread, kingdoms, and test, and is left alone. He has nothing but God. 

And that is all he needs.

If that does not prove he is the son of God, what would?

What we see from then on, is Jesus acts of compassion, words of truth to power, and ability to give from apparently nothing but faith a greater abundance, suzerainty, and self-confidence, than any tempter could provide. Strength in faith. 

Give us this daily our daily bread. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. The power, the kingdom, the glory: all are yours O God. 

Those are the three temptations in reverse. Power, Kingdom. Glory. All of which belong to God.

And Jesus is content to rest in the same hands that hold those three realities. 

How do we in our world acknowledge that the power, the kingdom, and the glory belong to God? How do we see that kingdom come in our lives? Our world? Our community? Our church? 

How do we reveal our dependence on God for our daily sustenance, thank him, and share it? How do we share the gifts of providence, thinly spread or overwhelmingly abundant, that we have received?

How do we acknowledge that all things come from him, and in that knowledge offer our gifts?

And do we stop, look at the sunset, or the smile on the face of a neighbor, or the happy sound of a confident child, or the shape of a rose, and remember, that all these reflect the glory of God? How do we render our praise in the face of his majesty, his gentleness, his care, his share in our sorrow and our joys? In little things and big ways, how do we give God the glory?

Finally there is the extra-biblical last Temptation, as imagined by the novelist Nikos Kazantzakis, which Jesus meets with obedience. In the garden of Gethsemane, when he was sweating blood in fearful supplication, let this cup pass from me - but what thou wilt not I - what if, offered an ordinary life, a wife, a family, just some simple things, Jesus had said, yes. But he did not. In fearful obedience, frightening to contemplate, he stood his ground. He kept the faith. 

It goes way back to that first temptation. Because he lived not for himself but for us. He did not betray us for a crust of bread. He did not sell us out to rule as the dominant megalo-monarch. He did not need to prove anything, for himself or for us, and in that he showed the strength of faith that he gave us. He did not surrender to temptation. And he kept the faith to the end. 

God of the desert, as we follow Jesus into the unknown, may we recognize the tempter when he comes; let it be your bread we eat, your world we serve, and you alone we worship. Amen.

(New Zealand Prayer Book, 573)

First Sunday in Lent

• Deuteronomy 26:1-11

• Romans 10:8b-13

• Luke 4:1-13

• Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

He did not betray us for a crust of bread.

--Ladislaus Boros, In Time of Temptation (translated by Simon and Erika Young)

http://edgeofenclosure.org/lent1c.html

https://ctktucson.org/sermons/

https://stmatthewtucson.org/

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote, Part 2, Chapter 52 (?).

An image of Don Quixote in Cordoba, Spain.

(c) John Leech. 2024.

In Thy Glory

 

Whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister; And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10.43b-45, KJV)

I’m going to tell you two stories, one true and one that’s just made up.

A new pastor went into his study, opened the drawer of his desk, and found three envelopes. One was marked, open first. And so he did.

The first time you get into trouble in your new congregation, this is what you do: blame the previous pastor.

It happened, and so he did. It seemed to work.

Then he got into trouble again. 

The second envelope said, open this second. So he did, and it said, “Blame the bishop.”

So he did. It seemed to work. Kind of…

The third crisis came. And so he opened the third envelope, which said, after all, open this third.

It said: “Prepare three envelopes.”

The true story is this: when a new president goes into the oval office for the first time as president, he sits down at the Resolute desk, and finds an envelope. It is addressed to him. It is a warm personal note, just for him, from his predecessor. A few words of wisdom, from one of the very few alive who knows just what he is facing on his first day in his new job.

George H. W. Bush apparently wrote a real winner, for Bill Clinton. And they became friends.

"When I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago," Bush wrote. "I know you will feel that, too."

The handwritten Inauguration Day letter wished “great happiness” to Bill Clinton, who defeated Bush in a crushing 1992 re-election bid.

"When I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago," Bush wrote. "I know you will feel that, too."

The outgoing president also offered encouragement and some advice for dealing with critics, saying there will be "very tough times" ahead, "made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair.

"I'm not a very good one to give advice; but just don't let the critics discourage you or push you off course."

“Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you,” Bush concluded.

Here’s how it’s done in America.⁣ ⁣ This is the gracious letter George H.W. Bush left for Bill in the Oval Office on the day of Bill's inauguration.⁣ ⁣ "Your success now is our country's success," President Bush wrote. "I am rooting hard for you."⁣ ⁣ Since the very beginning, American presidents have accepted the will of the people and participated in a peaceful transfer of power. That's what makes our democracy so unique, and so enduring.

A post shared by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Nov 10, 2020 at 7:51am PST

https://www.today.com/news/george-bush-s-letter-bill-clinton-lesson-dignity-respect-t104168

The second story, as you can guess, is the true one. The other? I hope not.

Is there a third story? No.

Jesus got no notes, no envelopes, when he embarked on his mission. He went to the synagogue, opened the scroll that was handed to him, and read, 

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

   because the Lord has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

   to bind up the broken-hearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

   and release to the prisoners;

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,

   and the day of vengeance of our God;

   to comfort all who mourn;

to provide for those who mourn in Zion—

   to give them a garland instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

   the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

(Isaiah 61:1-3)

To proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners.

And so he did.

He became, took on himself, that role of the servant, and gave himself for the liberation of many.

That liberation, that release, that healing, had already taken many forms by the time he got to this place in the journey, when two disciples ask him for the places of chief honor ‘one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory’. In thy glory.

Oh, but those places have already been appointed. And you know when he was in his glory.

And you know who they were. Maybe not by name, but you can almost see them. There they are, on his right and his left, and believe it or not, that is a picture of him in his glory.

On the cross.

His life a ransom for many. 

And liberty has been proclaimed, and those in bondage have been set free. 

And they continue to be.

And it is our job to help. To be among those who ‘will be great’ by being the servant of all.

How does that play out in real time? In our lives, we are unlikely to be the victims of midnight betrayals or crack-of-dawn trials, before the authorities of our own nation, or an occupying power; though soon some among us may be those who can say, just so. Refugees. Asylum seekers. Illegal aliens, desperate for a home.

We may all be that, when it comes to our sins, our hidden bondage, our unknown prisons.

Our need for healing.

And thanks be to God, there is a God, who sent his Son, Son of Man, Son of God, Son of David, to shower his mercy upon us and show us the way to be free. Not alone but all of us.

And of all things, an everyday ritual in public schools, a promise spoken aloud by children, leads the way.

‘The original Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy. It was first given wide publicity through the official program of the National Public Schools Celebration of Columbus Day which was printed in The Youth’s Companion of September 8, 1892, and at the same time sent out in leaflet form to schools throughout the country.

‘School children first recited the Pledge of Allegiance this way: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.”’

https://www.legion.org/flag/questions-answers/91112/who-wrote-pledge-allegiance

https://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm (accessed October 16, 2021).

One nation, indivisible. 

And here comes the kicker:

With liberty and justice for all.

That’s our job, to make it happen.

Not just the ones who ‘would be great’ - or ‘the chiefest’ among us - but all of us.

Under God.

We can do that.

Amen. May it be so, Lord, may it be so.

And so look upon the ministers who serve inside your church, your servants among us, that they and we are that all.

Blessed be God, whose power working in us, can do more than we could ask or imagine.

Ask the disciples! They know. They found out. Those two guys, who seem so silly in this story, did indeed drink of his cup, and were baptized with his baptism: they went on to do more than they could ever have imagined, in the grace and in the power and to the glory of God.

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely

more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from

generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus

for ever and ever. Amen.   (Ephesians 3:20,21).

JRL+

Oct 16, 2021 5:06 PM

dig out the muck

If leaf trash chokes the stream-bed,
reach for rock-bottom as you rake
the muck out.
- Marie Ponsot b. 1921 Springing: New and Select Poems

http://www.edgeofenclosure.org/lent1c.html

The summer of "Stairway to Heaven" I worked at Gaithersburg Car Wash and I'd hear that song over and over on the radio playing as I greased the fittings inside the machines. We had a particularly gritty chore once. The (primary) owner backed his old jeep up one day to the front end of the track (the belt that pulled the cars through the washing machines) with a little trailer attached. The muck and filth from the cars washed down into a pit at that end of the car wash - a pit about the size of a gas-station rest room, 6x8x8 or so, and we'd clean it out once in awhile. The owner, Bobby T. Lee, would haul it away in his jeep trailer to dump it out at his farm on some waste land. But how it got there - how the filth got out of the pit - was hands on and up to us. One of us would jump down into the pit and stand upon a piece of plywood board supplied for the purpose, and shovel the muck (on which the plywood - and you - balanced) into a bucket to be hauled up and away (by rope at first, held by a watching companion) and off to the farm, ultimately. You had to dig deep to get to the real filth. I suppose the farther you'd go, the more toxic it became.

March
10
First Sunday in Lent

Year C
RCL

• Deuteronomy 26:1-11
• Romans 10:8b-13
• Luke 4:1-13
• Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

 

the power of servanthood

October 21, 2012
Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 24
Isaiah 53:4-12
Psalm 91:9-16
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45

They just don't get it, do they?

We just don't get it, do we?

The power to serve - the power of servanthood ... as Father Robert Fuller (St Frances Cabrini Parish, Tucson, Arizona) says, the only thing that makes you "important" to Jesus is that you serve selflessly, that you follow him ... that you do drink the cup that he will drink, under go the baptism with which he will be baptized ... that you will willingly follow the way of the cross, the way of the servant, that you will be obedient, as he is obedient.

What we believe is that as human beings God wants us to live into the fullness of life; as Christians we believe that the way to become truly human - to experience this fullness - is to follow Jesus.

And that means to follow him to Jerusalem, on the way to the cross, even as the disciples, oblivious as they were, were following Jesus. They went with him; what they expected, they did not get.

They had to give up what they expected, what they knew, for something greater, for a different kind of kingdom altogether from what they had expected, a different triumph, a different 'cup', a different 'baptism'.

The cup of salvation was the cup of suffering that Jesus drank freely - in the garden of Gethsemane he said, take this cup away from me: but he had already said, at the last supper with his friends that night before the soldiers came, this is the cup of my blood which is shed for you, and for many.

Will you share it?

The baptism was the baptism into and through death; through the rising from the waters of baptism we symbolically (at the least) re-enact his rising from the grave. He has conquered death; first of all, though, he went through it - and he went through it for us. In obedience to his Father, he underwent the grief and the pain and the suffering of an ignominious death. This kind of cruel death, crucifixion, was all too common in the Roman world. What was uncommon was that Jesus did it in obedient love.

He is the suffering servant, the one whom Isaiah proclaimed.

And we are his body - that we suffer too is not a sign that he has failed us; it is part of our humanity - that he shared. Jesus shared in our humanity - including our suffering - and redeemed us by his own taking upon himself of the pain he did not need to share. We share in his suffering - and his triumph.

We share in his joy. His cup. His baptism. And indeed in the kingdom of heaven we will sit beside him.

Perhaps not on his right and his left! that is not his to grant ... or ours to ask.

It is enough.

Francis foolishly asked (holy fool that he was) that he might know the pain and the joy that Jesus suffered on the cross; and his wish was granted, on the feast of the Holy Cross, September 14th, after which he could echo the epistle of that day, "from now on let no one bother me for I bear in my body the marks of our lord Jesus Christ."  (Gal 6.17)