Who Are You?
Sermon for Lent 1C, February 25, 2007
Scripture: Deut. 26:1-11 and Luke 4:1-14a
Before I focus on today’s sermon topic, “Who are You?”, I want to talk a little bit about Lent, its origins and what it means today. There is quite a bit of controversy about when Lent began. There is no reference to Lent the Bible, and most religious historians seem to think it came into being after Christianity was legalized in the 3rd century. There is some evidence for various periods of fasting in the earlier church, especially the 40 hours between Good Friday and Easter. One interesting report[1] I read said that when the world did not end as Jesus himself had said it would, the followers stopped being so excited and expectant. They hung a wooden cross on their wall and settled back into their comfortable life styles. They decided there was no contradiction between being comfortable and being Christian. They no longer got arrested for championing the poor, they blended in; they no longer distinguished themselves by their great and bold love for one another. So the early church announced a season of Lent, the word taken from Lenten meaning Spring in order to inspire more boldness in Christians faith. The length of time—40 days (Sundays don’t count)—was chosen because of the 40 days of Israel wandering in the desert, the 40 days Moses spent on the mountain listening to God give him the commandments, and of course the 40 days in the wilderness that Luke describes in our Gospel reading today as the time that Jesus spent being tempted by the devil. In the early church, Lent was a time for fasting from both food and festivities and other types of repentance. It was the traditional time for converts to prepare for being accepted into membership on Easter day. Besides fasting, prayer and acts of justice, including almsgiving, were the traditional areas of emphasis. Today some Christians give up something they like—such as chocolate—or add a spiritual practice such as Bible Study or volunteer work, or more periods of prayer and meditation. My personal opinion is that we need to do whatever will help us be more fully aware of Christ’s suffering as well as how much we are loved.
Each Lent the Temptations story starts off our Sundays. All of us know what it is to enter the wilderness of temptation. Temptation is part and parcel of the human condition. There’s a story[2] told about an overweight businessman who decided it was time to shed his excess pounds. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he showed up at work with a gigantic coffee cake. Everyone in the office scolded him, but his smile remained nonetheless. "This is a special coffee cake," he explained. "I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window was a host of goodies. I felt it was no accident, so I prayed, 'Lord, if you want me to have one of those delicious coffee cakes, let there be a parking spot open right in front.' And sure enough, the eighth time around the block, there it was!"
In our society the word temptation is often illustrated by something like the cartoon character, Sylvester the Cat with an angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other or our fat business man trying to avoid the bakery. In each case there is a question of individual choice. To eat or not to eat! For Jesus I believe that each temptation the devil poised was a question for Jesus about who will he be. Right before the journey into the desert—which was encouraged not by the devil but the Holy Spirit—Jesus had been baptized and out of the heavens came the Holy Spirit in a form of a dove telling Jesus, “You are my son, the beloved.” I think his purpose of withdrawing to the wilderness was to give himself silence and space he needed for finding direction and purpose, to discern what God, his heavenly parent, wanted him to do. Okay, so he knew he was the son of God, but remember the pre-Easter Jesus was more human than divine. He was just beginning to figure out what it meant to be this special child of God. And then the devil started in on him, trying to get Jesus to forget his baptismal identity and to use his power first for personal comfort. Jesus was hungry and thirsty so the devil challenged him in the first temptation to turn the stone into bread. Remember he hadn’t eaten for 40 days. Can you imagine how exhausted as well as hungry he must have felt? We can all be tempted with immediate gratification, the quick fix, the easy answer. We can be tempted daily in the areas of greed and materialism, enlightenment, health and wealth. We want it now. We want God to speak to us now, to guide us now, to heal us now. It’s hard to be patient and do the hard work necessary to discover who we are and how to serve God with our whole heart and soul and mind.
Jesus’ second temptation puts political influence, power and wealth above loving God. Satan tells Jesus the whole world can be his if he will only bow down to the voice behind the principalities and powers. I wonder how many of us would like more of this kind of power and influence. Most of us know people, maybe even yourself, that have been tempted to go against their morals and ethics in order to get rich, or achieve power. The idols of prestige and power are not what God calls us to worship.
The third temptation was for fame, for the spectacular; surviving jumping from the pinnacle of the temple and being born up by the angels would certainly get Jesus some attention. We can all be tempted to seek God in the spectacular and not in the struggle and the suffering. To put this in other words, there’s always a temptation for us when we have certain gifts, or charismas to try to make a name for ourselves, rather than follow that famous Bible verse from Micah, to walk humbly with your God.
Jesus answered each temptation in a way that showed that his journey was to be that of a compassionate servant, not a rich, famous, and powerful conqueror. Remember the connection of temptation and making choices. Jesus chooses to trust God, to ascribe all power and majesty to God and to believe in a God who does not need to be tested. We need not judge others that choose differently or to criticize ourselves for our own unfortunate choices in the past. Instead let’s support each other as we struggle to discern what choices God is calling us to make.
My sisters and brothers, I challenge you to take a Lenten journey to discover on a deep level who you really are. Each of us has to figure out the particulars of who we are and what God is calling us to do; however, we all share with Jesus the promises of our baptism. You, Jim and Pasca are God’s children; you, Kay and Toby are God’s delight; you, Angela and Lee are God’s love. Many deny this reality of their Christian identity: worldly wealth and success is what many of us look for to measure our worth. Is there anyone here this morning that may be willing to make compromises; for example, taking a job that you hate or that you know is harmful to the world-- yet it pays so much money that you feel you need in order to live a life of privilege. Even though you are basically a good person, are there areas in your outer or inner life that you know are not what your loving God desires for you? What about instead of giving up chocolate for Lent, you resolve to get to know yourself better and work on figuring out any changes that you and God might want you to make. Do not be discouraged if you find some areas of weakness, some temptations that have overcome you. Remember none of us except for Jesus is perfect.
Let me throw out a few suggestions you might use if you’re interested in such a Lenten Journey. What about setting aside a time each day where you will spend a half hour or more in reflection and prayer? Look back at your day or yesterday and think about what brought you joy, anger, sadness. What did you do that pleased you? Have you been real, authentic? What embarrassed or shamed you? When did you feel most peaceful? Feel all your feelings, confess them to yourself and God. Listen to what others have said about you—you know that God speaks through other people. And here, I am more interested in your thinking about the positive things that have been said. It’s much more helpful to spend time on what feels right and good rather than dredge up a lot of negatives. Remember you are God’s beloved child. So read the Bible, reflect on the Scriptures and pray. Maybe you will want to write in a journal any insights or concerns that you have. Think about where you have felt excited, passionate, connected. If you feel you need some help with temptation or just figuring out who you are, reach out to someone. You know it’s always fine to give me a call.
In our Hebrew Bible reading today, the Israelites are reminded of who they are and where they come from. After a long period of suffering, being slaves in Egypt and a long wandering in the desert with many hardships—including famine, they are now in a land flowing with milk and honey. They are commanded to give the first fruits of the land to the house of the Lord, your God as a thanksgiving for all God has given to them. Part of figuring out who we are is looking at where we have come from. The history of the Hebrew people clearly illustrates God’s grace, God’s ever present concern. God is there for us just as he was in the days of the Hebrew Bible.
So I close by asking again, who are you and whose are you? Is God calling you to go in a different direction? Expect great things from both yourself and from God. Let me remind you of my favorite Fred Buechner’s quote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.” May this Lenten journey be a way that we can all get clearer answers to these questions. Amen and amen.
[1] Barbara Brown Taylor, sermon online. [2] Jim Grant, Readers’ Digest.
Scripture: Deut. 26:1-11 and Luke 4:1-14a
Before I focus on today’s sermon topic, “Who are You?”, I want to talk a little bit about Lent, its origins and what it means today. There is quite a bit of controversy about when Lent began. There is no reference to Lent the Bible, and most religious historians seem to think it came into being after Christianity was legalized in the 3rd century. There is some evidence for various periods of fasting in the earlier church, especially the 40 hours between Good Friday and Easter. One interesting report[1] I read said that when the world did not end as Jesus himself had said it would, the followers stopped being so excited and expectant. They hung a wooden cross on their wall and settled back into their comfortable life styles. They decided there was no contradiction between being comfortable and being Christian. They no longer got arrested for championing the poor, they blended in; they no longer distinguished themselves by their great and bold love for one another. So the early church announced a season of Lent, the word taken from Lenten meaning Spring in order to inspire more boldness in Christians faith. The length of time—40 days (Sundays don’t count)—was chosen because of the 40 days of Israel wandering in the desert, the 40 days Moses spent on the mountain listening to God give him the commandments, and of course the 40 days in the wilderness that Luke describes in our Gospel reading today as the time that Jesus spent being tempted by the devil. In the early church, Lent was a time for fasting from both food and festivities and other types of repentance. It was the traditional time for converts to prepare for being accepted into membership on Easter day. Besides fasting, prayer and acts of justice, including almsgiving, were the traditional areas of emphasis. Today some Christians give up something they like—such as chocolate—or add a spiritual practice such as Bible Study or volunteer work, or more periods of prayer and meditation. My personal opinion is that we need to do whatever will help us be more fully aware of Christ’s suffering as well as how much we are loved.
Each Lent the Temptations story starts off our Sundays. All of us know what it is to enter the wilderness of temptation. Temptation is part and parcel of the human condition. There’s a story[2] told about an overweight businessman who decided it was time to shed his excess pounds. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he showed up at work with a gigantic coffee cake. Everyone in the office scolded him, but his smile remained nonetheless. "This is a special coffee cake," he explained. "I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window was a host of goodies. I felt it was no accident, so I prayed, 'Lord, if you want me to have one of those delicious coffee cakes, let there be a parking spot open right in front.' And sure enough, the eighth time around the block, there it was!"
In our society the word temptation is often illustrated by something like the cartoon character, Sylvester the Cat with an angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other or our fat business man trying to avoid the bakery. In each case there is a question of individual choice. To eat or not to eat! For Jesus I believe that each temptation the devil poised was a question for Jesus about who will he be. Right before the journey into the desert—which was encouraged not by the devil but the Holy Spirit—Jesus had been baptized and out of the heavens came the Holy Spirit in a form of a dove telling Jesus, “You are my son, the beloved.” I think his purpose of withdrawing to the wilderness was to give himself silence and space he needed for finding direction and purpose, to discern what God, his heavenly parent, wanted him to do. Okay, so he knew he was the son of God, but remember the pre-Easter Jesus was more human than divine. He was just beginning to figure out what it meant to be this special child of God. And then the devil started in on him, trying to get Jesus to forget his baptismal identity and to use his power first for personal comfort. Jesus was hungry and thirsty so the devil challenged him in the first temptation to turn the stone into bread. Remember he hadn’t eaten for 40 days. Can you imagine how exhausted as well as hungry he must have felt? We can all be tempted with immediate gratification, the quick fix, the easy answer. We can be tempted daily in the areas of greed and materialism, enlightenment, health and wealth. We want it now. We want God to speak to us now, to guide us now, to heal us now. It’s hard to be patient and do the hard work necessary to discover who we are and how to serve God with our whole heart and soul and mind.
Jesus’ second temptation puts political influence, power and wealth above loving God. Satan tells Jesus the whole world can be his if he will only bow down to the voice behind the principalities and powers. I wonder how many of us would like more of this kind of power and influence. Most of us know people, maybe even yourself, that have been tempted to go against their morals and ethics in order to get rich, or achieve power. The idols of prestige and power are not what God calls us to worship.
The third temptation was for fame, for the spectacular; surviving jumping from the pinnacle of the temple and being born up by the angels would certainly get Jesus some attention. We can all be tempted to seek God in the spectacular and not in the struggle and the suffering. To put this in other words, there’s always a temptation for us when we have certain gifts, or charismas to try to make a name for ourselves, rather than follow that famous Bible verse from Micah, to walk humbly with your God.
Jesus answered each temptation in a way that showed that his journey was to be that of a compassionate servant, not a rich, famous, and powerful conqueror. Remember the connection of temptation and making choices. Jesus chooses to trust God, to ascribe all power and majesty to God and to believe in a God who does not need to be tested. We need not judge others that choose differently or to criticize ourselves for our own unfortunate choices in the past. Instead let’s support each other as we struggle to discern what choices God is calling us to make.
My sisters and brothers, I challenge you to take a Lenten journey to discover on a deep level who you really are. Each of us has to figure out the particulars of who we are and what God is calling us to do; however, we all share with Jesus the promises of our baptism. You, Jim and Pasca are God’s children; you, Kay and Toby are God’s delight; you, Angela and Lee are God’s love. Many deny this reality of their Christian identity: worldly wealth and success is what many of us look for to measure our worth. Is there anyone here this morning that may be willing to make compromises; for example, taking a job that you hate or that you know is harmful to the world-- yet it pays so much money that you feel you need in order to live a life of privilege. Even though you are basically a good person, are there areas in your outer or inner life that you know are not what your loving God desires for you? What about instead of giving up chocolate for Lent, you resolve to get to know yourself better and work on figuring out any changes that you and God might want you to make. Do not be discouraged if you find some areas of weakness, some temptations that have overcome you. Remember none of us except for Jesus is perfect.
Let me throw out a few suggestions you might use if you’re interested in such a Lenten Journey. What about setting aside a time each day where you will spend a half hour or more in reflection and prayer? Look back at your day or yesterday and think about what brought you joy, anger, sadness. What did you do that pleased you? Have you been real, authentic? What embarrassed or shamed you? When did you feel most peaceful? Feel all your feelings, confess them to yourself and God. Listen to what others have said about you—you know that God speaks through other people. And here, I am more interested in your thinking about the positive things that have been said. It’s much more helpful to spend time on what feels right and good rather than dredge up a lot of negatives. Remember you are God’s beloved child. So read the Bible, reflect on the Scriptures and pray. Maybe you will want to write in a journal any insights or concerns that you have. Think about where you have felt excited, passionate, connected. If you feel you need some help with temptation or just figuring out who you are, reach out to someone. You know it’s always fine to give me a call.
In our Hebrew Bible reading today, the Israelites are reminded of who they are and where they come from. After a long period of suffering, being slaves in Egypt and a long wandering in the desert with many hardships—including famine, they are now in a land flowing with milk and honey. They are commanded to give the first fruits of the land to the house of the Lord, your God as a thanksgiving for all God has given to them. Part of figuring out who we are is looking at where we have come from. The history of the Hebrew people clearly illustrates God’s grace, God’s ever present concern. God is there for us just as he was in the days of the Hebrew Bible.
So I close by asking again, who are you and whose are you? Is God calling you to go in a different direction? Expect great things from both yourself and from God. Let me remind you of my favorite Fred Buechner’s quote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.” May this Lenten journey be a way that we can all get clearer answers to these questions. Amen and amen.
[1] Barbara Brown Taylor, sermon online. [2] Jim Grant, Readers’ Digest.
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 2:03 PM
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