Luke 4:1-13 (NRSV)
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
11 and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put
the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 When the devil had finished
every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Year C
First Sunday in Lent
Title: Apps or
Saying No
February 14, 2016
Cross~Wind
Introduction
I am thinking of two applications for my iPhone that have helped me
change my habits over the past few years. One was an app in which all I had to
do was scan the bar code and it told me the nutritional value of the food I was
eating. It helped me become aware of what I was eating. It taught me to say no
– sometimes. It taught me to think in terms of how well I was treating my body.
Another app is the one I use to keep track of my walking progress. Walking or a
light jog does much for my mental, spiritual, and physical health.
Your interests may be different. You might want to edit digital
photographs. You might like to play Candy Crush or another game. You might want
to read the Bible anywhere and anytime.
All you need is an app.
An app, of course, is an application you can have on your phone,
tablet, and now, your computer. You can play a game, track investments, and
keep appointments.
There is an app for almost anything.
If you are not into smart phones, you likely puzzle how people can
simply stare at their phones. The app is why. They allow you to interact with
others anywhere and anytime. You can read the news and keep track of your
favorite team. The temptation is to focus upon the phone instead of the people
around you. "Putting your phone away and paying attention to those talking
to you face to face? There is an app for that. It's called 'RESPECT.'”
Well, even if smartphones are causing problems, we should not dismiss
them. According to The Atlantic
magazine (June 2012), apps are now available to transform us into
"thinner, richer, all-around-better versions of ourselves.” Now, that
sounds exciting!
Yes, apps can help you lose weight and break a bad habit. You can share
the weight-loss journey with others to give you support. You can resist impulse
buying.
Can an app break bad habits?
An app called "Habit Maker, Habit Breaker” lets you choose the
behavior you would like to target, whether it is controlling your time in front
of television or expressing your appreciation. The slogan of this app:
"Change your habits, change your life.”
Lent is a time in which we hope to become
better acquainted with ourselves.
What are the things that tempt us to become
less than what God intended us to be?
C.S. Lewis once said, “Most Christians don’t
know temptation because we only give in to it. It is in fighting temptation
that we learn what it is.”
If Jesus could devise an app for us during this season, what might it
do?
The story of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is powerful. We
know Jesus first, by what he refuses to do. He says, “No, I will not go there.”
Application
In his book, The Road to
Character, David Brooks focuses upon people who developed character through
“self-combat.” His point is that if we approach our lives in a realistic way,
we see that we are sinners made of “crooked timber,” to use the image of philosopher
Immanuel Kant, capable of greatness while at the same time deeply flawed. This
inner struggle against our weaknesses is the central drama of life.
Lent reminds us that our greatest battle is not with others. Our
greatest battle is within; resisting the temptation to be less than God
intended us to be.
With that in mind, I want to
consider the apps that this passage suggests we need.
One app might be the Trust God,
not Self app.
Luke tells us that Jesus was tempted for 40 days by the devil, and
during that period, Jesus ate nothing. When those days were over, "he was famished” (Luke 4:2). The devil
says to him,
"If you are the Son of God, command this
stone to become a loaf of bread” (Luke 4:3). "One does not live by bread
alone” (Luke 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).
Jesus said “No” to the temptation to perform a miracle like that of
Moses when he was in the wilderness.
In the wilderness periods of our lives, when we hunger, the temptation
is present to expect God to perform some miracle for us.
In 2012, I recall many Olympic athletes praising God for their gold
medals. I am glad they did, of course. Yet, what happens when a faithful
Christian does not win a medal? The “miracle” does not happen. Runner Lolo
Jones, who speaks frequently of her faith in Christ, spent four years training
for the 100-meter hurdles. Nevertheless, even though she ran an outstanding
race, she came in fourth and failed to medal. Jones was devastated, but did not
lose her faith. She says she has never "prayed to win a gold medal at
[the] Olympics and never will.” She says that the Lord is her shepherd, and she
"shall not want.”
When we trust God instead of ourselves, we are thankful in both success
and failure. Whether we win medals or not, we can be grateful for gifts of
life, breath, talent, strength and the love and support of family members and
friends. If we apply ourselves to trusting God, we shall not want.
A second app might be the Serve
Only God app.
In the second temptation, the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the
world. The tempter says,
"To you I will give their
glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it
to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours” (Luke
4:5-7). "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him” (Luke 4:8; Deuteronomy
6:13, 10:20).
Jesus said “No” to the temptation that political power would bring.
Jesus knew that his Father in heaven sent him for a different mission than
political life.
The focus of the Jewish Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is to love God with
all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. We are to love God with all we got,
as Scot McKnight puts it.[1] The response of Jesus to
the devil here is just a few verses after the Shema and reinforces what it
says.
This app is a tough one for us, because life asks us to make
compromises every day. We can make a god out of anything. We often think of it
as wealth. We might think of the rich young man who came to Jesus, a man whom
Jesus loved, and who followed the moral side of the Ten Commandments. However,
he had a problem with the first two commandments. He had another god. He
worshipped an image. It was money. Yet, we can make anything into a god: work,
the nation, the family, acquiring fame or power. If we do not give God
priority, then something else will take the place of God.
Yet, we know we still need to honor the place of family, work, wealth,
country, fame, and power. These are tough choices. Rarely are they a contest
between good and evil and God versus the devil. Rather, they require prayerful
attention. Jesus places the interests of God above earthly interests. He is
showing us the way to say, No.
The third app might be the Do Not
Put God to the Test app.
In his last temptation, the devil takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the
temple in Jerusalem and invites him to throw himself down, trusting the promise
of the Book of Psalms,
"His angels ... will bear
you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone” (Luke 4:9-11;
Psalm 91:11-12). "Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Luke 4:12;
Deuteronomy 6:16).
Jesus trusts the power of God to save him, but he is not going to tell
God when and how to do it. Even at the end of his life, he does not ask God to
rush in and rescue him from the cross.
We have all put God to the test.
Charles Rush, a pastor in New Jersey, says it starts in the third
grade, when we get a pop quiz on the multiplication tables. We say, "God,
if Marcy Fogelman's paper can come into view during this test, I promise I will
not curse for a whole week.” From there, it just escalates, "Dear God, if
I can just get Robin Hittman alone at this party, I will be nice to my sisters
for a whole week.” "O God just let this pitch land in there for strike
three. I won't get drunk the whole weekend.” "O God let those guys emerge
from behind the conference room doors with a job offer. I'll go to church for a
month straight.”
The temptation is to bargain with God, making promises in exchange for
particular types of help.
Conclusion
A good app is intuitive. It will not take forever to learn how to use
it.
Trusting God, serving God and not putting God to the test. That keeps
it simple. These apps are the ones Jesus uses in his own time of trial
concerning who he is, and they are habits that he recommends we apply to our
own struggles with who and whose we shall be.
If we change our habits, we can change our lives. Moreover, maybe we
can even app ourselves closer to holiness.
Going deeper
The passage is from Q, and a story about the temptation of Jesus in
the wilderness. Most
scholars recognize this story about Jesus as one created by the tradition,
foreshadowing the life and destiny of Jesus.
It is a unified composition based upon theological and Christological
reflection.
Luke 4:1-13 (NRSV)
Jesus,
full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in
the wilderness,[Mark says
the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, while Luke and Matthew envisions a
cooperative relationship between Jesus and the Spirit] 2 where for forty days [as Moses spent 40 days at the top of Mount Sinai to receive the Ten
Commandments (Exodus 34:28) and Elijah spent a 40-day journey to Mount Horeb in
I Kings 19:4-8, and as Israel spent a 40-year journey in the wilderness in
Deuteronomy 8:2-6. Luke ties the
temptation to the long history of Israel. He gives an account of the 40-day
experience of Jesus in exile. Luke ties Jesus to the great leaders of Israel.]
he was tempted by the devil.[Matthew
has a similar story, reversing the second and third temptation, largely because
Luke wants to have the dramatic scene occur in Jerusalem. Mark refers to the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, but
does not offer the substance of it. Hebrews 4:15 also testifies to Jesus'
temptation episode. The author of Hebrews used the temptation narrative to show
that Jesus, like us, faced threats to his own fragile humanity.] He
ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, [indicating the Christological focus of this
story, demonstrating that Jesus is the Son of God, a title coming out of a
Hellenistic interpretation of Jesus as a miracle-worker.] command this stone to become a loaf [only one for his personal consumption] of bread.” [The Devil hits
literally at gut level with the first temptation. Not surprisingly, Jesus'
truly human nature experienced truly ravenous hunger after his 40-day fast.
However, Jesus was not actually starving. This was a self-imposed hunger,
willingly endured for religious purposes. Long fasts have always been popular
means of bringing oneself closer to God. Thus, the Devil's taunt was not to a
man whose suffering was the result of a famine or poverty or cruelty. Eating at
this point was not a matter of life or death for Jesus. It was more like the
temptation an unguarded cupcake represents to a struggling dieter. The issue is
not survival. The issue is willpower and a sense of purpose. This temptation recalls the manna God
provided to feed the hungry Israelites during their wilderness sojourn. If
Jesus is a prophetic figure comparable to Moses, then surely he, too, can
perform such a basic feat.] 4
Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”[(Deuteronomy 8:3) Based upon the analogy
with Deuteronomy, where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded, showing the path to
victory. The story reflects the testing
Jesus experienced in his ministry. The
primary test, however, was whether Jesus would consistently obey God. Human life is not dependent on satisfying
physical needs alone. What is more important than mere food, Jesus states, is
remaining obedient to the word of God.]
5 Then the devil led him up and
showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the
devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for
it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If
you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”[Luke presents the greatest elaboration of
the devil's words. The claim made here
by the devil--of glory and authority -- reflects that which would be given to
the Messiah (Psalm 2:8) and to the Son of Man (Daniel 7:14). The devil
claims full authority over the kingdoms of the world and the power to
"give it to anyone I please.” Jesus
faces the dual temptation of personal power and denying God in this second
trial. Here the tempter offers a seductive gift to Jesus, but only if he will
give up his identity and acknowledge the Devil's pre-eminence. The temptation to political power must have
surely been enticing to one who possessed such a clear sense of righteousness
and justice as did Jesus. We imagine Jesus using this power compassionately
and wisely. This temptation would be to have a short-sighted vision, rather
than view the world from God’s perspective. Interestingly, this offer by the devil
is not consistent with Old Testament theology, which clearly keeps the
authority of God in tact in both heaven and earth. It may well be that one
should not trust this word of the devil. Of course, what the devil wants in
return is what only God ought to receive, worship.] 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ” [(Deuteronomy
6:13, the Shema occurring just previous to this) The retort has nothing to do
with the power the devil offered him. It
deals only with the high price the Devil seeks to extract.]
9 Then the devil took him to
Jerusalem, [Luke wants the climax of the temptations to
occur in Jerusalem and at the temple. and
placed him on the pinnacle [The
pinnacle is the high point, the little wing or colonnade on the soaring temple
top, which apparently overlooked a high ravine. This was a dizzying and
dangerous viewpoint.] of the temple,
saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10
for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
11 and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a
stone.’ ” [(Psalm 91:11-12), the devil uses the trust
of psalmist in the continuous and protective presence of God to justify the
extremity of his challenge. The devil
dares Jesus to deny his humanity, with its accompanying mortality, and to allow
his divine nature full rein. However, of course, the whole point of the
Incarnation would have been lost. Jesus' full participation in human life,
including living with the uniquely human agony of a consciousness that knows it
will someday die, is what ultimately becomes our salvation. Only by willingly
accepting the finality of death does Jesus overcome it and create the reality
of resurrection.]
12 Jesus answered him, “It is
said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”[(Deuteronomy
6:16) “Test” is both when God tests people (Abraham in Genesis 22:1-19) and
when people test God (Exodus 17:2). The point is to demonstrate the obedience
of Jesus to God and his refusal to usurp authority in the Father-Son
relationship.
13 When the devil had finished
every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. [Here
is the purpose of the story, as Luke sees the ministry of Jesus as a period of
victory over Satan, demonstrated in his faithfulness to the word of God. In
contrast to Matthew and Mark, Luke has
the ominous phrase, “until an opportune time.” In 22:3, Satan returns to enter
Judas Iscariot and begin the cycle of passion events.]
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