Mark 1:9-15 Lent 1B, Grace Lakeland
Today the text speaks of temptation
Heard the one about God and the Evil Spirit?
A short story from A Treasury of Jewish Folklore: Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom and Folk Songs of the Jewish People, Edited by Nathan Ausubel, Copyright, 1948, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York
The Evil Spirit once came dejected before God and wailed, "Almighty God -- I want you to know that I am bored -- bored to tears! I go around doing nothing all day long. There isn't a stitch of work for me to do!"
"I can't understand you," replied God. There's plenty of work to be done only you've got to have more initiative. Why don't you try to lead people into sin? That's your job!"
"Lead people into sin!" muttered the Evil Spirit contemptuously. "Why Lord, even before I can get a chance to say a blessed word to anyone he has already gone and sinned!"
Paul in Romans 3:23 puts it this way, we have all sinned and fallen short of the Law.
But Jesus?
The writers of the Lectionary, those list makers of the lessons for each Sunday must really want us to learn something from this text, because they have put it in this year’s readings 3 times.
1 Lent—Today
Baptism of Jesus, at least part of this text
And the 3rd Sunday of Epiphany
What are we missing that we should be getting out of this text? Well let’s look at it closely and see if we can figure that out.
In our text Jesus doesn’t go to the desert or wilderness. In the Greek it is much more violent. In the Greek Jesus is “thrown” out. Thrown is much more violent, much more out of our control. Something, threw Jesus out to the wilderness. The Holy Spirit, threw him.
Well, something bad will happen if it starts out that violently, that’s for sure.
And Jesus is not alone. There is a whole cast of characters.
Satan
Wild Animals
Angels
And the Holy Spirit
And what happens?
Jesus, the human God. The fragile flesh put over bones that needs sleep, food, water and shelter God is put out into the desert. The wilderness. We know it is a wilderness because there is no Marriot for him to stay in, no IHop for breakfast and worst of all no Walmart to buy anything. A true wilderness.
And, it’s not that Jesus just sits there, all these characters come and interact with him. This is really a stage play.
Let’s look at the Holy Spirit’s role in this play. It is usually overlooked in preaching.
The Spirit's role in our text can lead us back to Deuteronomy where it is God who tests in order to know the people's hearts, whether or not they loved God with all their heart and soul.
Is this the purpose of Jesus' testing before he begins his public ministry? Is this the purpose of seminary training (and the ability to pass some tests) before we are ordained into the public ministry? Should there be a period of testing -- to learn the character of one's faith and abilities -- before one is entrusted with important ministries of the congregation? We certainly want to know something about the abilities of an organist before they leads the congregation in worship or a treasurer before handing the checkbook over to them.
Maybe there should be a test of our hearts and character for other jobs as well. How about elected officials, that comes to mind.
The only other activity of the Holy Spirit in Mark, besides casting Jesus into the wilderness, is speaking through David and speaking through disciples who have been arrested. In the first instance, the Holy Spirit gives authority to what David says.
In the second instance, the "testing" becomesthe place where the Holy Spirit can make good come out of a bad situation.
While we don't seek to be arrested or to be tested in the wilderness (or at work or at school or wherever), when such things happen, the Spirit can use them for good -- strengthening one's faith, creating an opportunity to witness and the like.
The text is a real challenge course for Jesus, the human God. How can he survive both the physical and mental obstacles of this place? Tormented in both his body and mind.
Testing and Temptation, according to the biblical scholars Nada and Lowe, has three definitions.
- to try to learn the nature of character of someone or something by submitting such to thorough and extensive testing.
That’s the one we just talked about.
2. to obtain information to be used against such a person by trying to cause someone to make a mistake
3. to endeavor or attempt to cause someone to sin
Jesus survives with the help of angels. He goes on to his ministry. I guess this was seminary for him.
Do we have testing? Of course.
How do we manage?
I think it depends on what type of testing it is.
For example, if we are being tested for our competency or character, those are things we can work to improve. God call us to learn and grow and function. We all want to be the best we can, to be the most faithful we can.
Here is a story that might help, it is called
"The Road to Holiness."
A seeker after truth came to a saint for guidance.
"Tell me, wise one, how did you become holy?"
"Two words."
"And what are they, please?"
"Right choices."
The seeker was fascinated. "How does one learn to choose rightly?"
"One word."
"One word! May I have it, please?" the seeker asked.
"Growth."
The seeker was thrilled. "How does one grow?"
"Two words."
"What are they, pray tell?"
"Wrong choices."
Experience. That is how we learn, tested, re-learn, un-learn. Try again.
Or maybe our test our tempting is our downfall. Others may have a hand in leading us down the path and we may follow along and come to the ruin of our lives and those of our families.
We have an opioid epidemic in our country. People thinking that drugs can dull the pain of this world’s testing. But the cure of the pain ends up being the downfall. It would have been better to work through the pain, both mental and physical.
But that is so hard. When we experience this in our lives we begin to realize how hard it was for Jesus.
We just want out, want it to be over, want the pain to stop.
But, here is exactly where we find God. When we can bear no more, where the choices all lead to death, when our lives are a mess, when temptation has led to downfall that is exactly the time God wants us.
God loves sinners, losers those in despair those at the end of their roped.
And that is where God comes to our aid. Just as Jesus was aided by angels, so are we. Angels are all around us willing us to fight the good fight and help us get back up from where we have been knocked down.
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he experienced the evil of temptation and with heavenly help survived, broke through, not just for himself, but for us a well.
On this First Sunday of Lent let us remember the struggles we have had and prepare for the ones ahead by giving ourselves over to a loving God who will see us triumphant, well and whole.
Temptation is so very hard, but with the help of God we come through to our salvation in Christ.
Amen
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