sermon March 13

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 p 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.”
3Now 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.
This is the Word of the Lord…..Thanks be to God
Matthew 4:1-11 (a reading from Scripture…Listen now, to the Word of the Lord)

(script)



Jesus was out in the wilderness. Led there by the Spirit, immediately after his baptism in the Jordan River. The same Spirit who came down as a dove, while a voice from heaven said “This is my Son, the beloved…” has sent him out into the wilderness.

And now Jesus is out in the desert, and has been fasting for forty days. And he is famished. Satan, the deceiver comes to him. And with subtle words, reasonable words, begins…..”IF……iffff” If you are the Son of God”…….asking about what God has just said.

So soon? The questions and the doubt and the deceit begin so soon- “if you are the son of God”
God has just declared, loudly, and publicly, that Jesus is the Son of God, and beloved, and that God is well pleased with him. The deceiver is trying hard, with seductive words, with reasonable questions, even quoting Scripture at Jesus, to get under Jesus’ skin and raise—even just a little—a question about what God has said, to get in between—even just a little- the relationship between Christ and the Father.

Remember the snake in the garden……God has told the humans in the garden that “they may freely eat of every tree of the garden”….and the serpent begins, asking “Did God say “you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?....” No! that’s not what God said. God told the humans, the man and woman, that they may freely eat of every tree….except for one tree. The deceiver is already, so soon in paradise, asking, with subtle words, with reasonable questions, about what God had said.

This, I think, is the essence of sin—listening to a voice other than God’s. Not a list of behaviors, not a grocery list of actions you’ve done this past week that you are sorry for—argued with your sister, had unkind thoughts about your spouse, didn’t return the overpayment of change that you received in the store. No—sin is about our own, internal state—a state of turning to and listening to anything that is not God.

We have talked a lot, this year, about baptism. In baptism, we are marked by God, given our identity, claimed as Christ’s own forever. We are marked by water and by Spirit. But very soon, after our baptism, we are out in the wilderness, and the questions begin…about who we are, and whose we are. About what God has said about us. Are we really children of God? Has God really claimed us? Does God’s love extend to us—to me, even to me, we ask—or, rather, the voice of the deceiver, inside our head, does.

This is the season of Lent. We begin the season of Lent by being marked, once again. Instead of water, though, we are marked by ashes. Symbols of repentance, and grief, but also a reminder of what we are made of, a reminder of our mortality.
Lent is traditionally thought of as a time of penitence, and sacrifice. What are you giving up for Lent? we ask one another. Chocolate, we say, or facebook, or beer. Some people choose to take things on instead of giving things up: more bible reading, or a discipline of daily prayer, or making a donation to the food pantry for each of the 40 days of lent.

The word discipline reminds us of rules, and punishment, maybe even getting whacked over the knuckles with a ruler. But discipline is related to the word “disciple” that is, one who follows. The disciplines of Lent help us follow in the way of Christ. The disciplines of Lent help us tune out the voice of the deceiver, and focus on the voice of God who claims us as a beloved child.

These "sacrifices," the disciplines, are not intended as good works offered by us to God; rather, they are God's gifts to us to remind us who we are, God's beloved children, so priceless that God was willing to go to any length -- or, more appropriately, to any depth -- to tell us that we are loved, that we have value, that we have purpose.
And these disciplines are to get us back to where we started— claimed by God. They are a way to silence any voice but God’s in our hearts. Adam and Eve, listening to the snake, forgot whose they are. They forget who they are. They listened to the voice that asks whether God is trustworthy….whether what God says is true.

When we hear this story of Jesus in the wilderness, of Jesus and temptation, we often think “I want to imitate Jesus. He resisted temptations, so I will too.” Temptations are not once and done. Jesus resisted temptation, but struggled with them again, in Gethsemane, and at the cross. Our life as Christians does not eliminate doubt, or need, or a sense of incompleteness. As humans, as heirs of Adam and Eve, we will inevitably fall short in claiming our God-given identity. We will listen to voices that question our relationship with God. Yet Jesus has triumphed at the cross, committing himself, and us-- to God. Therefore, when we fall short, we confess our failings, and trust that in and through the crucified and risen Jesus we have the promise of forgiveness and new life. A life of discipleship is turning, again and again—and again—toward Jesus, who is Lord, and turning away from anything that is not God. In the baptism liturgy, we ask “Do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?” But it is a daily turning, sometimes a moment by moment turning. Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, calls it “a long obedience in the same direction”. And we are strengthened for this turning away from, and turning to Christ, by disciplines—or prayer, of fasting, of repentance, of intentional acts of love and mercy.

In the wilderness, Jesus triumphed. He did not forget who he was or whose he was. He did not listen to that voice—reasonable and seductive—that called to him. In our wilderness, whatever that looks like, we are still God’s. Marked by God in water and Spirit. Made out of dust. But joined to Christ forever. Because Christ has triumphed, we are given strength to turn to God. Again and again. Amen.

note: quotes by David Lose, www.workingpreacher.org