¹Jesus 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.

-o0o-

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

“Lead us not into temptation”.  In the Genesis story that we all know by heart, Adam and Eve are living in the Garden of Eden, the paradise that God has created for them.  And we are told that almost immediately after completing the creation of the world, that God called Adam and Eve into being, and they were given dominion over this garden paradise.  And, it seems that as soon as they found themselves facing temptation, they succumbed to it.  Right from the very beginning, humans were unable to resist being tempted, and the failure of our first two ancestors resulted in paradise being lost and replaced by a sinful world.

Humans apparently can’t bring themselves to resist temptation, and thus paradise is forsaken.  In our gospel reading this morning Jesus is likewise tempted, but he doesn’t submit to temptation; he resists and his mission proceeds according to God’s will.  And, on the cross Jesus’ saving work assures humanity that those who believe in him will be blessed with life eternal in a heavenly paradise.  One man, Adam causes paradise to end, while one man, Jesus restores it.

These two biblical narratives regarding temptation are read each year on the First Sunday in Lent, and both involve the devil in some form acting as the tempter.  And in some church circles this day is referred to in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner as “Satan Sunday”.  I find this to be rather uncomfortable and you wouldn’t be blamed for feeling that way also.  But the truth remains that our Scripture lessons for this beginning of Lent do center quite clearly on the topic of temptation and the diabolical role that evil plays in it.

And it seems that we can be drawn into temptation rather easily and often, quite soon after undergoing a more holy experience.  We noted that Adam and Eve found themselves tempted by the serpent not long after occupying the garden paradise of Eden.  And Jesus was accosted by the devil after being led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit; this, right after he was baptized by John in the Jordan.  God had just declared, “this is my Son” and that he was “pleased” when Satan chose to attempt to test Jesus.

 Perhaps it is when we find ourselves in virtuous circumstances, that is when we are most susceptible to falling into temptation.  It’s how we respond that determines how we move forward.  The “man and woman” in Genesis, Adam and Eve gave in and proved themselves to be unworthy of the paradise God had provided for them; Jesus did not succumb, and thus he was proven to be worthy of the title, “Son of God”.  This temptation by Satan occurred before Jesus even called his first disciples, and thus by his resistance to this testing, his sinless nature was confirmed and his mission and ministry might commence.  But we’re not like Jesus, we are poor mortals and we often find ourselves failing, as did our first parents.

Exactly who is this “tempter”, this “tester” who seeks so much power over human beings?  Satan; in the Hebrew, Sah-tan’ was known by many descriptions: “the accuser”, “the adversary”, “the tempter”; and for some, this temptation might come from a devilish outside source, or even from within ourselves.  The three temptations that Jesus flatly resisted? He responded at a later time by performing acts that were completely different from what the tempter had tested him with.       

In the wilderness with Satan, he refused to turn stones into bread to satisfy his own hunger, but soon after he will feed thousands in the wilderness with just a few loaves and some fish.  “One does not live by bread alone” he reminds the devil, but Jesus does provide bread for those who are physically and spiritually hungry.  He refuses to test his relationship with the Father by throwing himself down from the heights of the Temple as Satan taunts him to do, but at the end he displays his trust in God, knowing God will raise him from death on the cross.  He rejects the devil’s offer to reign over the earthly kingdoms, and instead bestows the kingdom of heaven to all those who follow him in the way of righteousness.  Similarly, it’s how we respond to that which tempts us that defines our relationship with God and speaks to how we live in community with others.

Lent is the perfect time to reflect on the manner in which we resist or succumb to those things that tempt us, whether from without or within.  And, as we noted we mortals are not imbued with the strength of character that Jesus has; yet we do have the freedom to choose how we respond to temptation.  It’s just that this can be much more difficult for us, mere humans that we are.  And because of our human frailty we must depend on God to guide us in the choices we make, and in resisting that which might be, in the long run detrimental to us and to the community.  I’m not in a position to list those things that each of us might find ourselves tempted by; as individuals we are fully aware of that which might lead us to unhealthy thoughts, words, or actions.

What I will do though, is invite each of us to reflect on those temptations and strive to repent of our predisposition to give in to them.  And, unlike Jesus, in his dual nature of humanity and divinity, we can’t do this alone.  On Ash Wednesday we read that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus commands us to engage in three holy endeavors; we are called to give alms, pray, and fast from what is harmful.

The most helpful of these three is prayer, for when we reach out to our Savior we are blessed with the resolve that Jesus possesses, even as we acknowledge that this strength may not be within us.  I would like to share with you a prayer by renowned Dutch theologian, Henry Nouwen, as he confesses his struggle with earthly temptation.  I trust you may hear your thoughts in his words; I hear mine.

Dear Lord Jesus:

The Lenten Season has begun.  It is a time to be with you in a special way, a time to pray, a time to fast, and thus to follow you on your way to Jerusalem, to Golgotha, and to the final victory over death. 

I am still so divided.  I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, human respect, pleasure, power, and influence.  Help me to become deaf to these voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road to life.

I know that Lent is going to be a very hard time for me.  The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life.  I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions.  There are no times or places without choices.  And I know how deeply I resist choosing you.

Please, Lord, be with me at every moment and in every place.  Give me the strength and the courage to live this season faithfully, so that, when Easter comes, I will be able to taste with joy the new life which you have prepared for me.

Amen.

God is Good, all the time.  All the time, God is Good.  Amen.