The Gospel isn’t meant to be gulped down on Sunday morning, but gnawed on through the week so it really becomes a part of us. You’ve got to work at it, like a dog with a good bone! Here’s the Gospel for this coming Sunday — The First Sunday in Lent — with food for thought about temptation in general and the temptation of biblical literalism in specific. Gnaw away!
First Sunday of Lent – Luke 4:1-13
Jesus returned from the Jordan filled with the Holy Spirit, and she led him into the desert for forty days, where he was tempted by the devil. Jesus ate nothing during that time, at the end of which he was famished. The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God’s own, command this stone to turn into bread.” Jesus answered, “Scripture has it, ‘We do not live on bread alone.’”
Then the devil took Jesus up higher and showed him all the nations of the world in a single instant. The devil said, “I will give you all the power and the glory of these nations; the power has been given to me and I can give it to whomever I wish. Prostrate yourself in homage before me, and it will all be yours.” In reply, Jesus said, “Scripture has it: ‘You will worship the Most High God; God alone will you adore.’”
Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem, set him up on the parapet of the temple and said, “If you are God’s own, throw yourself down from here, for scripture has it, ‘God will tell the angels to take care of you; with their hands they will support you, that you may never stumble on a stone.’” Jesus said to the devil in reply, “It also says, ‘Do not put God to the test.’”
When the devil had finished all this tempting, Jesus was left alone. The devil waited for another opportunity.
The Backstory – What’s Going On Here?
Jesus’ temptation in the desert also appears in Matthew, with a short mention in Mark. In all three, it is a hinge event between his baptism in the Jordan River and his return to Galilee. In Luke, that ministry begins (after a short mention of his teaching throughout Galilee) his reading from the scroll of Isaiah. In between the baptism scene and this one, Luke inserts a genealogy that links Jesus all the way back to Adam, placing what is going to happen not just in a Jewish context but a universal one.
There have been volumes written about Jesus’ temptation and what it means (not to mention works like Dostoyevsky’s The Grand Inquisitor, which draws its structure from this scene). There are parallels to the Israelites’ time in the desert (40 years vs. 40 days – 40 in Biblical numerology is another way of saying “a long time”). There is the traditional use of prayer and fasting as a time of preparation. Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the 10 commandments. Elijah fasted for 40 days before speaking with God. Fasting also occurs in the Hebrew scriptures during times of grieving and repentance … the latter which also has connotations of purification and preparation. Jesus’ temptation has echoes of all of these things. The fact that he is tempted is also an affirmation of his full humanity, coming on the heels of his baptism affirming his divinity.
A few things to chew on:
*We tend to think of temptation as being toward things that are obviously bad. Yet all three of the things Jesus’ is tempted with have ends with great potential good — creating food to dispel hunger, gaining power, and proving the power of God. From individuals to nations, we often make decisions that allow for evil (or even less-than-good) actions for what we believe is a greater eventual good. What criteria do we use … what criteria do you use … to decide when that is justified?
*Jesus’ time in the desert is a time of extreme vulnerability. He is at the mercy of the elements, of wild animals, and of cosmic forces. The danger gets worse as he gets weaker and weaker. He has no one to rely on but himself and God. As Americans, many of us live with economic benefits and social safety nets that much of the world does not have (though those are becoming increasingly endangered). Many Americans go our whole lives without ever being physically vulnerable in this way. When in your life have you felt most vulnerable and alone? Where did you turn … or maybe where are you turning?
Try This:
The habit of fasting during Lent has its roots in Jesus fasting in the desert. It is an invitation for us to experience our total dependence on God. Fasting from food can be a powerful experience … and it is not for everyone. So many of us have issues and challenges with food that have deep roots in our lives and fasting from food can exacerbate those and be dangerous (if you want to learn more or if you need resources to help deal with eating disorders, see the website of the National Eating Disorders Association – https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/).
Fasting is an important spiritual practice. Giving up something to enter more deeply into our relationship with God. It is the root of the practice of “giving up something for Lent.” Observing a Holy Lent is about creating space for deeper communion with the divine. This Lent, pick something that creates space. Something that frees up some time on a regular basis in your life that you can then spend intentionally working on your relationship with God – time in silence and prayer, time spent with people seeking the light of God within them, time walking in nature, time in study and writing.
What can you give up this Lent not as a self-flagellating practice, but specifically because to create space to experience God more deeply in your life?
Reflection … this week by Susan Russell
I can’t even begin to estimate how many times I’ve heard and/or preached this Gospel According to Luke appointed for the First Sunday in Lent. And yet, this year I had one of those “heard it again for the first time” experiences with it.
What I heard — what I noticed for the first time — is that the third temptation, the one that sends the devil off to wait for “a more opportune time,” is arguably the Temptation of Scriptural Literalism.
Seriously. Check out the passage above.
In the first two challenges, Jesus responds with quotes from Scripture: “One does not live by bread alone” and “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him” — and the devil is stumped.
It is in the third one that the pattern changes.
This time it is the devil who leads with Scripture, trying to tempt Jesus to jump off the temple with: “For it is written ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you” and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”
And while Luke records Jesus’ answer as “Do not put the Lord your God to the test,” what I also heard his year was, “Dude! You’re not supposed to take this stuff literally! This isn’t about jumping off a roof, for Pete’s Sake — it’s about changing the world! Now get out of here, I’ve got work to do.”
And there it is. After decades of reading, marking, learning and inwardly digesting this Gospel According to Luke, preparing for the First Sunday in Lent 2019 I was struck with the divine irony that when the devil had run out of other temptations, he turned to Scriptural Literalism in his last ditch effort to keep Jesus from his appointed rounds as the rabble rousing rabbi from Nazareth.
I am confronted with how that pattern has continued in the church over the last 2,000 years as it has succumbed over and over again to the temptation to confuse the Living Word of God with the Literal Words of God and has let the devil tempt it into using the Scriptures as weapons to defend the Institutional Church rather than as tools to build the Kingdom of God.
And I am convinced that we can do better than that. Just as Jesus refused to let the devil tempt him with Scriptural Literalism in the first century wilderness, we must resist the same temptation in the 21st — because it makes no more sense now than it did then to take the Living Word of God and misuse it as the Literal Words of God. Jesus knew that — and when he called the devil on it, the devil had no option but to “await another opportunity.”
So may God give us the grace — and the wisdom and courage — to go and do likewise this Lent and beyond.
Check out the rest of Sunday’s readings
The Lectionary Page has all of the readings for this Sunday and every week.
Collect for Sunday: Pray this throughout the week as you gnaw on this Gospel.
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Want to read more?
“The Text This Week” is an excellent online resource for anyone who wants to dive more deeply into the scriptures for the week.
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References
- http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=133250177
- http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=133250225
- http://www.bookrags.com/The_Grand_Inquisitor
- http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=133250347
- http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=133250382
- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1136647
- http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Lent/CLent1_RCL.html
