Power In The Wilderness
Children's sermon
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As we enter into Lent, the focus for many of our people will turn inward as they engage in small acts of self-denial and examine their sinfulness. This week's readings underline that theme, with Paul's discourse on original sin coupled with a pair of stories about temptation -- the Genesis account of Adam and Eve being tempted in the Garden of Eden, and Matthew's version of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin notes that a temptation that's especially seductive for us is that of power, because it appeals to our arrogance (what doomed Adam and Eve) and to our search for expedience in times of difficulty (as when the devil suggested that Jesus could turn stones into bread). Lent disrupts our understanding of ordinary life -- and we tend to want to use whatever power we have to avoid disruptions and remain in our comfort zone. But as we see from events in the headlines, the power that sings a siren song to us may often seem reliable but is ultimately fleeting. Mary points out that Lent offers us a time to -- as Jesus did in the wilderness -- sidestep our usual temptations and upend our typical way of doing things.†She poses a question for our people: Are we willing to forsake the power of the world for the power in the wilderness? Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on this week's gospel text and how the temptations Jesus was confronted with were of a much more serious nature than the garden-variety "naughties" we sometimes associate with the word "temptation." Like Jesus, we too face these temptations -- and Dean identifies two of these sins endemic to our culture as arrogance and despair... which often function as flip sides of the same tendency to self-absorption.
Power in the Wilderness
by Mary Austin
Matthew 4:1-11
Lent is about upheaval -- about doing things differently... change and surprise... power turned upside-down.
The world around us seems to be observing its own season of Lent, as governments topple and state and federal budgets are reevaluated in light of the strained finances of most governments. Around the world, citizens of long-time dictatorships are shaking off the shackles of how things have been done for a long time, often at a substantial personal cost. Close to home, new voices in government are calling for a different way of doing things. The powers that be are being shaken at their foundations. Power is shifting, on many different levels and in many different places.
Lent presents us with a chance to look at power in our own lives, at how we use it, and where its use has grown stale or rotten.
THE WORLD
Recently, a number of longtime leaders around the world have found their power challenged, or ended. The temptations of power are evident as leaders in the Middle East and North Africa are exposed as tyrants, spendthrifts, and bullies. Millions of dollars in overseas bank accounts, the failure to tolerate dissent, rewards for friends, the failure to hold promised elections, and the unquestioned transfer of political power to family members are among the temptations of high office. As people have struggled with unemployment and precarious access to food, leaders in a number of countries have been stockpiling wealth for themselves. Their hold on power was unquestioned -- until everything came into question recently.
In a seeming chain reaction, citizens who have long tolerated harsh rulers have responded with their own power. After vowing to stay in office, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak abruptly changed course and departed, unseated by the power of ordinary people in the streets. A powerful leader met a different kind of power.
Similarly, leaders in Syria and Yemen have begun to worry, and the leader of Tunisia found himself out of a job. Protesters remain in the streets of Libya, fighting for an end to the dictatorship of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi. Forces for change are battling government troops, as ordinary people struggle to get out of the country. Colonel Qaddafi has held a monopoly on power in Libya since 1969, and even expert observers are surprised at the challenge to his hold on power.
All of these leaders have found that power has its limits, and that people were no longer willing to put up with the abuses that had come to seem normal.
Closer to home, the governor of Wisconsin is learning a similar lesson, after his budget proposals included a provision that would take away the right of public employees to negotiate over pay, benefits, and work rules. Public employees -- teachers, firefighters, police officers, university professors, and teaching assistants -- have been protesting continuously at the capitol and show no signs of lessening their efforts. We are seeing the power of the statehouse and the power of the people to make themselves heard, and both are important in a democracy.
In a recent column, David Brooks of the New York Times writes about the power involved in deciding whose programs receive budget cuts. "We're going to be doing a lot of deficit cutting over the next several years," he notes, and then offers some ideas:
"The country's future greatness will be shaped by whether we cut wisely or stupidly. So we should probably come up with a few sensible principles to guide us as we cut. The first one... is: Make Everybody Hurt. The sacrifice should be spread widely and fairly. A second austerity principle is this: Trim from the old to invest in the young. We should adjust pension promises and reduce the amount of money spent on health care during the last months of life so we can preserve programs for those who are growing and learning the most. So far, this principle is being trampled. Seniors vote. Taxpayers revolt... The future has no union."
Agree or not, Brooks suggests that we look at the budget process in fresh ways. Later in the column, he proposes that this time of austerity may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, if we can attach evaluation mechanisms to programs to see if they really work or not. Our collective financial situation guarantees that upheaval is coming, and certainly pain for many people. The disruption is guaranteed, but Brooks argues that we can derive benefit from it, if we learn to think about the process in fresh ways.
THE WORD
This first Sunday of Lent brings us back to the familiar story of Jesus' 40 days of temptation in the desert, the season of preparation for his ministry. Each of the temptations, or tests (as they might more properly be understood), is about the use of power.
Will Jesus use his power to conjure up food? If he is one with the God who gave manna to the Israelites in their own desert time, why not? Then comes the allure of testing God's love for him, after such a long time in the desert listening to God's voice. Would God indeed save him now? It might behoove him to check before he embarks on this risky ministry for God. After all that, the third one seems easiest to resist -- and yet the pull of worshiping the wrong thing is always before us.
Each test is about how Jesus will use his power -- in service to God, or something else? Each question presented by the Tempter is really a question about whether Jesus will benefit himself, or turn his power in a different direction and use it for something greater than himself.
Douglas R.A. Hare in the Interpretation Commentary on Matthew notes that this is also a question about God's power: "The basic underlying temptation that Jesus shared with us is the temptation to treat God as less than God... [and] we are constantly tempted to mistrust God's readiness to empower us to face our trials." God's power, he reminds us again, is the source of any power we have for our own struggles.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Tradition holds that Lent is a time to give up something -- the sacrifice of chocolate or coffee or swearing, meant to evoke in a small way the larger sacrifices of Jesus for humankind. Recently, spiritual traditions have tried to persuade people to add something to their lives. A new spiritual discipline, or place of focus, tried out in Lent, might take hold in our lives.
Perhaps our "giving up" can be deeper than candy, or Farmville, or shopping. Looking at Jesus and his determined returning to God as the source of his power might inspire us to examine how power works in our own lives, and to give up the places where we misuse the power we have, or, fail to even see that we have any.
Politically, people around the country and the world are demonstrating in city squares and at capitol buildings with a vision of a different kind of government. We might be moved to do the same in Lent, to look at the federal budget or our state budget and see if it lines up with the vision of Jesus for the poor, the hungry, the widow, and the orphan. We might give up the mindlessness of not caring for Lent, or we might take up the work of seeing government in fresh ways, and helping others do the same.
Or our examination of power might come on a personal level. Are we using the power we have for God's work, or for more selfish needs? Do we draw from God as the source of our power, or are we relying on approval and compliments, or coasting along by virtue of job title or salary? We might give up our ignorance of the places where we use the power of our status, our gender, our education, our skin color, our wealth, and other privileges. We might take up the work of seeing power as a gift and not a burden, or give up the temptation to serve only ourselves.
Lent is about disrupting the ordinary routines of life so we can prepare for the startling grace of Easter. Whether we give up something familiar or take up something new, we can learn from the testing of Jesus how to connect our own power back to its Source, and to use it to serve something bigger and better than ourselves.
SECOND THOUGHTS
The Sins of Arrogance and Despair
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 4:1-11
When my father was a child, his parents took him and his brothers out to the family farm each Sunday after church. There, in warm weather, they would gather with the rest of the extended family and eat Sunday dinner on makeshift tables set up in the shade of the apple and pear orchard just a few yards away from the big house.
After dinner the kids would play in the yard and the barn while the adults stayed at the tables and played cards. Not just any cards, mind you. Regular cards with spades and clubs and hearts and diamonds were verboten on Sundays. But Rook was okay. So they played Rook.
As an adult, my dad would laugh about that stiff, German legalism that forbade one kind of cards but allowed another based solely on the designs that were painted on them. "As a kid," he said, "I never quite understood how one was a sin and the other wasn't. And I still don't."
We like to trivialize sin. We have a tendency to think of sins as naughty things that our parents or preachers told us not to do when we were kids: playing cards on Sunday, slow dancing, swearing, gambling, drinking alcohol, and/or all manner of sexual thoughts and actions.
Not so, Matthew. In this Sunday's gospel reading the sins to which Jesus is tempted are not mere naughties, things we giggle about in junior high school. These are real sins for Jesus and for us -- sins that hurt people, and separate people from each other, from God, from the creation, and from their essential selves.
When we preach of the temptation to sin, we would do well to spend those precious pulpit moments dealing with serious, hurtful acts and attitudes that do real damage. Two such sins that we have seen in the news of late would be those of arrogance and despair.
Thomas Aquinas said that despair is not only a sin itself but the cause of much other sin: "That which leads people to sin, seems not only to be a sin itself, but a source of sins. Now such is despair, for the apostle says of certain men (Ephesians 4:19): 'Who, despairing, have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness and covetousness.' Therefore despair is not only a sin but also the origin of other sins." (Summa Theologica 2.20)
Despair is not the absence of but the rejection of hope.
We hear it in the voices of our politicians who trade on our fears and manipulate our worries: "The economy will never be the same again." "Suffering is the only answer to our current economic woes." "The deficit will mean the end of civilization as we know it."
We hear it in the voices of our political pundits who insist that we must, from now on, live in a perpetual state of war with radical Islam, with terrorists, with communists, with liberals, or whatever. They despair that the Christian virtues of love and kindness and gentleness and compassion are mere wish dreams that can never survive in the real world.
And we hear it in our popular entertainment: "... few would concede that Anakin [Skywalker] in the [Darth] Vader suit is anything but a force of evil, a hideous monster to be despised.†But there is another possibility that explains his condition as Vader, a possibility drawn from Christian theology -- despair. As Vader, Anakin Skywalker dwells in a state of despair." When Anakin becomes Vader he abandons hope and embraces despair, and in doing so becomes the embodiment not of sadness but of evil.
Christians, however, side with Israeli novelist David Grossman, who noted: "I cannot afford the luxury of despair."
Arrogance is the other side of the same coin. Arrogance is self-love run amok. It is the child of despair and the parent of narcissism. It declares that nothing matters but "me," and in fact "I" may be the only thing that is real.
Our culture loves nothing quite so much as flamboyant arrogance and rewards nothing so richly as a well-groomed narcissism. How else can a person become famous simply for being famous? Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton come to mind. If we say the name Charlie Sheen, need we say anything more?
The dog looks upon humankind and says: They feed me and care for me and comfort me and tend to my every need. They must be gods.
The cat looks upon humankind and says: They feed me and care for me and comfort me and tend to my every need. I must be a god!
We live in a cat culture.
The athlete says, "I can catch a long pass and the crowd roars. I must be a god."
The movie star says, "I gave a moving performance and they gave me an Academy Award. I must be a god."
The TV star says: "I starred in a successful series and they paid me lots of money. I must be a god."
The politician says: "Fifty-one percent of the voters voted for me. I must be a god."
And none are they to say to them nay!
Is there a prescription for the twin sins of arrogance and despair? Of course there is. It is the one Jesus wrote for the devil in verse 10 of this week's gospel reading: "Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.' "
ILLUSTRATIONS
A pastor once said, "If you're looking for illustrations on the meaning of Lent, then you might as well start where it begins, by looking in the mirror." Some might find that confusing -- they could ask, "What does Lent have to do with looking at myself in a mirror?"
Lent begins with Jesus in the wilderness. Lent begins as Jesus is tempted by Satan to turn from God in order to have food, safety, and power. Lent begins as Jesus refutes every one of Satan's temptations. Lent begins as we are reminded that "we are not to live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Lent begins as we are reminded that "we are not to put the Lord our God to the test" (4:7b). Lent begins as we are reminded that we are to "worship the Lord our God and serve only him" (4:10b). Lent begins as "Satan leaves Jesus and God's angels come and wait on him" (4:11). Lent continues as Jesus turns from Satan's temptations, leaves the wilderness, and begins to preach and teach the Good News of God. Now it all becomes clear. Before Jesus could begin to preach and teach the Good News of God, he had to come face-to-face with the power of Satan. Before Jesus could journey toward the cross, he had to see that the need for salvation was great. When we look into a mirror, we are reminded that we too must look into the depths of our souls and see the need for God's forgiveness.
* * *
Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man, has now after 31 years revealed the mysteries of the game. What is perhaps most interesting to us today is the story of the ghosts. The four ghosts were well defined, with each having an individual color, name, and algorithm for movement. It was commonly thought among gamers that all four ghosts were chasing after Pac-Man. We have now learned that is not the case. Only Blinky, the red ghost, chases directly after Pac-Man. Pinky, the pink ghost, positions itself 32 pixels in front of Pac-Man's mouth. Inky, the blue ghost, moves to a mirror point symmetrical to Pac-Man. Only Clyde, the orange ghost, moves randomly along the corridors. The ghosts do not have artificial intelligence; they simply follow a designed algorithm. Iwatani said, "If the algorithm for all four ghosts was chasing after Pac-Man... it's not a fun game because all you have to do is worry about the area behind Pac-Man... To create more interesting positioning, I created the algorithms."
Our lesson today speaks of the three temptations of Jesus. The temptations are symbolic of the same temptations that confront us on a regular basis -- wealth, power, idolatry. But temptation is not like our original thoughts on Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde, who seemingly appear to be lurking behind us. We may think temptation is always sneaking up from behind us -- only to discover that it is beside us, in front of us, or just randomly crossing our path. And if caught, figuratively speaking, temptation will devour us, just as the ghosts devour Pac-Man. This is why we need the spiritual disciple of Jesus, to be able to continually say, "Away with you, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde... Away with you wealth, power, and idolatry... Away with you, Satan."
* * *
David Beckham has adorned himself with family and religious body art, but the latest has cause for controversy and misinterpretation. On the left side of his chest he has tattooed Jesus being lifted from the tomb by three cherubs. The cherubs represent his three sons -- Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz. Jesus represents Beckham himself. Explaining the meaning of the tattoo, Beckham said: "Obviously, the cherubs are boys, so my thought of it is, you know, at some point, my boys are going to need to look after me, and that's what they're doing in the picture." He then placed a picture of the risen Jesus on his Facebook page for all his followers to admire.
Brooks Peck, writing for Yahoo Sports, summarized the inappropriateness of the latest religious body art that Beckham has chosen with this statement: "It is amazing... that he could publicize his interpretation of himself as Jesus without seeing how that might draw an unfavorable reaction. Then again, when over 8 million people like your Facebook page and thousands of others are writing about the ink on your body, you can see where such confusions could arise."
One must wonder if Satan has not led Beckham to the top of a very high mountain and said, "All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me." Perhaps Beckham, the great soccer star with a multi-million contract and a former singer and model for a wife, hasn't concluded that "all of this" is already his, a reward for his athletic prowess. And that is where the confusion arises. Jesus stood on the mountaintop knowing his place was to live in the valley among the people. Beckham stands on the mountaintop and wonders why only 8 million are currently reading his Facebook page. Depicting oneself as Jesus, with indelible ink on one's chest, straddles the border of actually thinking such is true. What Beckham is lacking is the humility of Jesus and the ability to say, "Away with you, Satan!"
* * *
Greek mythology has a fascinating story about the power of temptation. Certain areas close to where ships usually travel were the homes of sirens -- sea nymphs whose marvelous, enchanting songs would tempt the sailors off course to their destruction.
Odysseus, having been warned of the luring temptation, gave orders that everyone should have their ears tightly packed with wax and should be tied to the ship in such a way that regardless of what they said or did they would not be released. Sure enough, when the ravishing, enchanting music was heard, Odysseus fought desperately to get free. He pleaded and begged to be released. Fortunately, his original orders were carried out and he remained bound to the post. When they were out of the reach of the music he was set free, the others' ears were unstopped, and their journey safely continued.
What are some siren songs you have heard that could pull you away from full commitment to Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
* * *
C.S. Lewis has a marvelous passage in The Screwtape Letters on the subtlety of temptation. The book contains supposed correspondence between a senior devil, Screwtape, and his nephew and apprentice, Wormwood. In one particular letter, Screwtape addresses the question of whether his protÈgÈ ought to reveal his own existence. The answer is no: "I do not think you will have much difficulty in keeping the patient in the dark. The fact that 'devils' are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that (it is an old textbook method of confusing him) he therefore cannot believe in you."
It's never the blatant temptations that get us. If a snarling devil were to appear before us in red tights, pitchfork in hand and urging us on in one direction or another, we'd have little difficulty resisting. It's when we hear the hissing of the serpent, whispering sweet reason into our ears, making so much sense, that we have trouble.
* * *
When something tempts us, we frequently give into that temptation because there's something about it that seems useful. Utilitarianism is a powerful philosophy, but it's also one that can be ethically blind. It's a school of thought that grew up in England during the 1700s, with John Stuart Mill as its chief booster. Mill maintained that any ethical decision could be made according to this simple rule: "The greatest good for the greatest possible number of people."
Now that sounds fine -- but consider the fact that some of the most destructive movements in human history have used a utilitarian argument to justify themselves. Take the Nazi party, for example. Hitler and his cronies can be seen as engaging in a particularly rigorous application of John Stuart Mill's decision-making standard. You can justify all manner of atrocities against a minority group if you see those actions as leading to a greater quality of life for the majority.
The Nazis were the ultimate utilitarians. Their scientists could work to develop the deadly gas known as Zyklon B, which the SS subsequently used to murder millions in the concentration camps. It was a very "useful" product -- it got the job done with a minimum of fuss, at least for those who ran the death camps. To the Nazis it certainly was useful -- but it was also morally reprehensible.
* * *
A temptation that we Christians need to be particularly aware of is the tendency to interpret the Bible through the lenses of our own prejudices and to use it to buttress our own moral judgments rather than seeking to find God's word. The eminent preacher, theologian, and author Peter Gomes, who died last week, warned about just such a temptation. He addressed the issue in his 1996 best-seller The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart, urging believers to grasp the spirit of scriptural passages and to transcend the narrow context of modern prejudices. As Gomes starkly put it: "The Bible alone is the most dangerous thing I can think of. You need an ongoing context and a community of interpretation to keep the Bible current and to keep yourself honest."
* * *
Beginning in January 2001, the FOX network aired the reality TV series Temptation Island. Perhaps the very worst of all the reality shows, Temptation Island put four married couples on an exotic Caribbean island with a dozen scantily clad singles whose task it was to rip the marriages apart. Of course, the producers said the show was about exploring the dynamics of human relationships and that, according to one press release, couples on the show "were very much interested in exploring the strength of their own relationships." The program was popular enough to have spawned Temptation Island 2 and Temptation Island 3, despite strong criticism from Christian and other watchdog groups.
Our initial reaction as people of faith to a show like Temptation Island may be one of revulsion, but its mere existence points out the continuing battle that we mere mortals wage with temptation. Whether it's the opportunity to cheat on your spouse, your taxes, or your diet, temptation is all around us. We cannot avoid it, but how can we overcome it? Well, maybe this week's gospel story of temptation in the wilderness can help us find a way. Jesus relies on the Word of God, repeatedly telling the adversary, "It is written...."
* * *
John Galliano, 50, a designer and model for Christian Dior, has been dismissed from his position for yelling anti-Semitic remarks to two women at a public restaurant. Perturbed, he hollered at the Jewish ladies, "I love Hitler... people like you should be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers would all be f---ing gassed." Such speech is not only degrading, but in France it is a crime. Galliano claimed at first he did not speak as reported -- but as the incident was videotaped, there can now be no denial.
Confronted that he was caught on tape, Galliano suddenly became contrite and remorseful. He said, "I must face up to my own failures and work hard to gain people's understanding and respect." He then went on to say, "Anti-Semitism and racism have no place in our society." They do not, but it does seem that anti-Semitism and racism have taken up residence in Galliano's consciousness.
The actress Natalie Portman, who is Jewish and a Dior spokesperson, said, "I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still existing prejudices that are opposite of all that is beautiful."
After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve's eyes were opened and they saw good and evil. They realized they had sinned. Remorseful, they covered their nakedness with fig leaves, but they knew life in the Garden would never be the same. Galliano ate the fruit of prejudice, and in so doing humiliated two innocent women and tarnished the image of a corporation. His eyes may be opened now to see good from evil, but one can only suppose that with such deep-seated prejudices he has yet to cover his consciousness with fig leaves. This is why as Christians it is our mission to encourage individuals to focus on "all that is beautiful."
* * *
What is it that Adam and Eve do that's so terrible? The answer lies in that little phrase "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Preachers and scholars have debated for centuries over the symbolic significance of that tree and its forbidden fruit. If we refer to it in shorthand as "the tree of knowledge" (as some are inclined to do), it could lead us to think that perhaps God wants to keep humanity in the dark, to keep us from using our full intellectual capacities. Yet that's not likely what it means at all.
The key lies in that little qualifying phrase "of good and evil." It's not the tree of knowledge at all; it's "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." What's so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil? The answer is that this "knowledge" by rights belongs only to God.
It's not about ethics -- God's not mad because Adam and Eve have developed an ethical sense. God's angry because Adam and Eve are daring to put themselves in the judgment seat of God. That's what "the knowledge of good and evil" means. It's what a judge needs to know. The Hebrew word yada, or knowledge, means more than mere cognitive knowledge. It also means an awareness of judgment or justice. To pursue and claim the knowledge of good and evil means to take on the role of judge, a role that belongs to God alone. If Adam and Eve aspire to eat the fruit of that tree, it means they want to make themselves into little gods. We need to ask ourselves: Isn't that also what we seek to do -- in large ways and in small -- each day of our lives?
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven;
People: Happy are those whose sin is covered.
Leader: Happy are those to whom God imputes no iniquity.
People: Happy are those in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Leader: When we acknowledge our sin and confess it,
People: God is quick to forgive and restore us.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God who leads us to life.
People: We want to find life, but we get distracted by other things.
Leader: God knows how difficult it is to choose wisely.
People: We have good intentions, but then we act foolishly.
Leader: God invites us to come find new life in Jesus.
People: We come to worship God and to be made whole in Christ.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"God Has Spoken by the Prophets"
found in:
UMH: 108
LBW: 238
"There's a Wideness in God's Mercy"
found in:
UMH: 121
H82: 469, 470
PH: 298
NCH: 23
CH: 73
LBW: 290
"Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days"
found in:
UMH: 269
H82: 142
PH: 81
NCH: 211
CH: 180
"Where He Leads Me"
found in:
UMH: 338
AAHH: 550
NNBH: 229
CH: 346
"Come Back Quickly to the Lord"
found in:
UMH: 343
"Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus"
found in:
UMH: 349
"I Surrender All"
found in:
UMH: 354
NNBH: 195
"Freely, Freely"
found in:
UMH: 389
Renew: 192
"Only by Grace"
found in:
CCB: 42
"Create in Me a Clean Heart"
found in:
CCB: 54
Renew: 181
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who knows the frailty of human life: Grant us the wisdom and the will to resist temptations that call us to be less than you have created us to be; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We enter this place aware that we are in the presence of you who are the Holy One. We have come to worship you and to redirect our lives to follow our Savior Jesus. Open our hearts, minds, and wills to receive all that you have for us this day. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways in which we so easily yield to temptation.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the path that we are to follow, and you have given us the very Spirit of Jesus so that we might be faithful. Yet we are easily led away by others and by our own appetites. We accept things as they are, instead of being those who proclaim your reign which is breaking in upon us. We aren't even sure if we believe it is happening. We fall into the trap of despair or of arrogance. Forgive us, and restore us as the proclaimers and bringers of your holy reign. Amen.
Leader: God comes to bring us back to our right minds and to a right life. Know that God's forgiveness is yours, and with the Spirit of Jesus be faithful to God.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We have come to offer our praise and adoration to you, O God, for the wonder of your shepherding love.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the path that we are to follow, and you have given us the very Spirit of Jesus so that we might be faithful. Yet we are easily led away by others and by our own appetites. We accept things as they are, instead of being those who proclaim your reign which is breaking in upon us. We aren't even sure if we believe it is happening. We fall into the trap of despair or of arrogance. Forgive us, and restore us as the proclaimers and bringers of your holy reign.
We give you thanks for those who have helped us stay on a faithful path by their good example or their good counsel. We thank you for the guidance you have given us in our scriptures and traditions. We thank you especially for the gift of the Spirit so that we might discern the direction of our lives.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray to you for one another in our needs and for those anywhere who find their lives in disruption because they have not made wise decisions.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Visuals
Pictures that portray the temptations of the seven deadly sins (huge plates of food, piles of money, etc.) plus scenes that show haughtiness and not caring (walking by someone in need).
Children's Sermon Starter
Talk about temptation in simple terms, such as knowing we need to eat our vegetables but being tempted to eat ice cream or candy instead. Our parents want us to eat our vegetables not because they want to force us to eat something we may not like but because they know we need to eat them to be healthy. God wants us to be kind and caring even when we don't feel like it because God knows that is what is good for us and will make us better people.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Those Tempting Crayons
Matthew 4:1-11
Objects: some crayons and scissors
Good morning, boys and girls! Today we are going to talk about a word that I am sure all of you have heard many times but you may not be sure what it means. The word is "tempted" or "temptation." How many of you have heard that word used before? (let the children answer) How many of you know what it means? (let them answer) Let me see if I can help explain it a little better.
I brought with me some crayons and some scissors. How many of you have crayons at home? Almost all of you. What do you do with crayons? (let them answer) That's right, you color pictures. Sometimes we use them in coloring books and sometimes we use them just on a piece of paper. That is the right place to use them. No problem, and no temptation.
But have you ever used them anywhere else, or thought about using them somewhere else? Have you ever colored a wall in your house, or thought about coloring the wall or maybe a table or your bed? If you thought about it and you wanted to do it, then you were tempted. You could almost hear a little voice that said, "Go ahead and color the table," or "Go ahead and color the wall. It's all right, no one will ever know." That is temptation. Of course, if you color it then the temptation is over. You have done something wrong. But if you just think about it and you want to do it and you think it might be all right; then you are being tempted.
Jesus was tempted. Did you know that Jesus was tempted? He was. The Bible tells us how the devil tried to get Jesus to follow him rather than the Father in heaven. Jesus knew it was wrong, but he listened to the devil tell him how he would make him wonderful, and how he would give him land and all the food he could eat. Jesus listened to the devil and he was tempted. How many of you knew that Jesus listened to the devil, or as the Bible calls him, Satan? (let them answer)
That's a true story. Jesus was high on a mountain and that devil came and tried to get Jesus to follow him just like that little voice tries to get you to color the table.
But Jesus did not give up. He was tempted, but he told the devil to get away because he was not going to do anything that was a sin against God. After three times of the devil offering Jesus everything he had, the devil left Jesus and went away.
We must often do the same thing. There are things that we know are wrong, but they sound wonderful. That is temptation, and we must be strong and put it away. Temptation is strong, but God is even stronger. If you listen to both voices and ask God for his help, you will do it God's way.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 13, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Power in the Wilderness
by Mary Austin
Matthew 4:1-11
Lent is about upheaval -- about doing things differently... change and surprise... power turned upside-down.
The world around us seems to be observing its own season of Lent, as governments topple and state and federal budgets are reevaluated in light of the strained finances of most governments. Around the world, citizens of long-time dictatorships are shaking off the shackles of how things have been done for a long time, often at a substantial personal cost. Close to home, new voices in government are calling for a different way of doing things. The powers that be are being shaken at their foundations. Power is shifting, on many different levels and in many different places.
Lent presents us with a chance to look at power in our own lives, at how we use it, and where its use has grown stale or rotten.
THE WORLD
Recently, a number of longtime leaders around the world have found their power challenged, or ended. The temptations of power are evident as leaders in the Middle East and North Africa are exposed as tyrants, spendthrifts, and bullies. Millions of dollars in overseas bank accounts, the failure to tolerate dissent, rewards for friends, the failure to hold promised elections, and the unquestioned transfer of political power to family members are among the temptations of high office. As people have struggled with unemployment and precarious access to food, leaders in a number of countries have been stockpiling wealth for themselves. Their hold on power was unquestioned -- until everything came into question recently.
In a seeming chain reaction, citizens who have long tolerated harsh rulers have responded with their own power. After vowing to stay in office, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak abruptly changed course and departed, unseated by the power of ordinary people in the streets. A powerful leader met a different kind of power.
Similarly, leaders in Syria and Yemen have begun to worry, and the leader of Tunisia found himself out of a job. Protesters remain in the streets of Libya, fighting for an end to the dictatorship of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi. Forces for change are battling government troops, as ordinary people struggle to get out of the country. Colonel Qaddafi has held a monopoly on power in Libya since 1969, and even expert observers are surprised at the challenge to his hold on power.
All of these leaders have found that power has its limits, and that people were no longer willing to put up with the abuses that had come to seem normal.
Closer to home, the governor of Wisconsin is learning a similar lesson, after his budget proposals included a provision that would take away the right of public employees to negotiate over pay, benefits, and work rules. Public employees -- teachers, firefighters, police officers, university professors, and teaching assistants -- have been protesting continuously at the capitol and show no signs of lessening their efforts. We are seeing the power of the statehouse and the power of the people to make themselves heard, and both are important in a democracy.
In a recent column, David Brooks of the New York Times writes about the power involved in deciding whose programs receive budget cuts. "We're going to be doing a lot of deficit cutting over the next several years," he notes, and then offers some ideas:
"The country's future greatness will be shaped by whether we cut wisely or stupidly. So we should probably come up with a few sensible principles to guide us as we cut. The first one... is: Make Everybody Hurt. The sacrifice should be spread widely and fairly. A second austerity principle is this: Trim from the old to invest in the young. We should adjust pension promises and reduce the amount of money spent on health care during the last months of life so we can preserve programs for those who are growing and learning the most. So far, this principle is being trampled. Seniors vote. Taxpayers revolt... The future has no union."
Agree or not, Brooks suggests that we look at the budget process in fresh ways. Later in the column, he proposes that this time of austerity may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, if we can attach evaluation mechanisms to programs to see if they really work or not. Our collective financial situation guarantees that upheaval is coming, and certainly pain for many people. The disruption is guaranteed, but Brooks argues that we can derive benefit from it, if we learn to think about the process in fresh ways.
THE WORD
This first Sunday of Lent brings us back to the familiar story of Jesus' 40 days of temptation in the desert, the season of preparation for his ministry. Each of the temptations, or tests (as they might more properly be understood), is about the use of power.
Will Jesus use his power to conjure up food? If he is one with the God who gave manna to the Israelites in their own desert time, why not? Then comes the allure of testing God's love for him, after such a long time in the desert listening to God's voice. Would God indeed save him now? It might behoove him to check before he embarks on this risky ministry for God. After all that, the third one seems easiest to resist -- and yet the pull of worshiping the wrong thing is always before us.
Each test is about how Jesus will use his power -- in service to God, or something else? Each question presented by the Tempter is really a question about whether Jesus will benefit himself, or turn his power in a different direction and use it for something greater than himself.
Douglas R.A. Hare in the Interpretation Commentary on Matthew notes that this is also a question about God's power: "The basic underlying temptation that Jesus shared with us is the temptation to treat God as less than God... [and] we are constantly tempted to mistrust God's readiness to empower us to face our trials." God's power, he reminds us again, is the source of any power we have for our own struggles.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Tradition holds that Lent is a time to give up something -- the sacrifice of chocolate or coffee or swearing, meant to evoke in a small way the larger sacrifices of Jesus for humankind. Recently, spiritual traditions have tried to persuade people to add something to their lives. A new spiritual discipline, or place of focus, tried out in Lent, might take hold in our lives.
Perhaps our "giving up" can be deeper than candy, or Farmville, or shopping. Looking at Jesus and his determined returning to God as the source of his power might inspire us to examine how power works in our own lives, and to give up the places where we misuse the power we have, or, fail to even see that we have any.
Politically, people around the country and the world are demonstrating in city squares and at capitol buildings with a vision of a different kind of government. We might be moved to do the same in Lent, to look at the federal budget or our state budget and see if it lines up with the vision of Jesus for the poor, the hungry, the widow, and the orphan. We might give up the mindlessness of not caring for Lent, or we might take up the work of seeing government in fresh ways, and helping others do the same.
Or our examination of power might come on a personal level. Are we using the power we have for God's work, or for more selfish needs? Do we draw from God as the source of our power, or are we relying on approval and compliments, or coasting along by virtue of job title or salary? We might give up our ignorance of the places where we use the power of our status, our gender, our education, our skin color, our wealth, and other privileges. We might take up the work of seeing power as a gift and not a burden, or give up the temptation to serve only ourselves.
Lent is about disrupting the ordinary routines of life so we can prepare for the startling grace of Easter. Whether we give up something familiar or take up something new, we can learn from the testing of Jesus how to connect our own power back to its Source, and to use it to serve something bigger and better than ourselves.
SECOND THOUGHTS
The Sins of Arrogance and Despair
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 4:1-11
When my father was a child, his parents took him and his brothers out to the family farm each Sunday after church. There, in warm weather, they would gather with the rest of the extended family and eat Sunday dinner on makeshift tables set up in the shade of the apple and pear orchard just a few yards away from the big house.
After dinner the kids would play in the yard and the barn while the adults stayed at the tables and played cards. Not just any cards, mind you. Regular cards with spades and clubs and hearts and diamonds were verboten on Sundays. But Rook was okay. So they played Rook.
As an adult, my dad would laugh about that stiff, German legalism that forbade one kind of cards but allowed another based solely on the designs that were painted on them. "As a kid," he said, "I never quite understood how one was a sin and the other wasn't. And I still don't."
We like to trivialize sin. We have a tendency to think of sins as naughty things that our parents or preachers told us not to do when we were kids: playing cards on Sunday, slow dancing, swearing, gambling, drinking alcohol, and/or all manner of sexual thoughts and actions.
Not so, Matthew. In this Sunday's gospel reading the sins to which Jesus is tempted are not mere naughties, things we giggle about in junior high school. These are real sins for Jesus and for us -- sins that hurt people, and separate people from each other, from God, from the creation, and from their essential selves.
When we preach of the temptation to sin, we would do well to spend those precious pulpit moments dealing with serious, hurtful acts and attitudes that do real damage. Two such sins that we have seen in the news of late would be those of arrogance and despair.
Thomas Aquinas said that despair is not only a sin itself but the cause of much other sin: "That which leads people to sin, seems not only to be a sin itself, but a source of sins. Now such is despair, for the apostle says of certain men (Ephesians 4:19): 'Who, despairing, have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness and covetousness.' Therefore despair is not only a sin but also the origin of other sins." (Summa Theologica 2.20)
Despair is not the absence of but the rejection of hope.
We hear it in the voices of our politicians who trade on our fears and manipulate our worries: "The economy will never be the same again." "Suffering is the only answer to our current economic woes." "The deficit will mean the end of civilization as we know it."
We hear it in the voices of our political pundits who insist that we must, from now on, live in a perpetual state of war with radical Islam, with terrorists, with communists, with liberals, or whatever. They despair that the Christian virtues of love and kindness and gentleness and compassion are mere wish dreams that can never survive in the real world.
And we hear it in our popular entertainment: "... few would concede that Anakin [Skywalker] in the [Darth] Vader suit is anything but a force of evil, a hideous monster to be despised.†But there is another possibility that explains his condition as Vader, a possibility drawn from Christian theology -- despair. As Vader, Anakin Skywalker dwells in a state of despair." When Anakin becomes Vader he abandons hope and embraces despair, and in doing so becomes the embodiment not of sadness but of evil.
Christians, however, side with Israeli novelist David Grossman, who noted: "I cannot afford the luxury of despair."
Arrogance is the other side of the same coin. Arrogance is self-love run amok. It is the child of despair and the parent of narcissism. It declares that nothing matters but "me," and in fact "I" may be the only thing that is real.
Our culture loves nothing quite so much as flamboyant arrogance and rewards nothing so richly as a well-groomed narcissism. How else can a person become famous simply for being famous? Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton come to mind. If we say the name Charlie Sheen, need we say anything more?
The dog looks upon humankind and says: They feed me and care for me and comfort me and tend to my every need. They must be gods.
The cat looks upon humankind and says: They feed me and care for me and comfort me and tend to my every need. I must be a god!
We live in a cat culture.
The athlete says, "I can catch a long pass and the crowd roars. I must be a god."
The movie star says, "I gave a moving performance and they gave me an Academy Award. I must be a god."
The TV star says: "I starred in a successful series and they paid me lots of money. I must be a god."
The politician says: "Fifty-one percent of the voters voted for me. I must be a god."
And none are they to say to them nay!
Is there a prescription for the twin sins of arrogance and despair? Of course there is. It is the one Jesus wrote for the devil in verse 10 of this week's gospel reading: "Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.' "
ILLUSTRATIONS
A pastor once said, "If you're looking for illustrations on the meaning of Lent, then you might as well start where it begins, by looking in the mirror." Some might find that confusing -- they could ask, "What does Lent have to do with looking at myself in a mirror?"
Lent begins with Jesus in the wilderness. Lent begins as Jesus is tempted by Satan to turn from God in order to have food, safety, and power. Lent begins as Jesus refutes every one of Satan's temptations. Lent begins as we are reminded that "we are not to live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Lent begins as we are reminded that "we are not to put the Lord our God to the test" (4:7b). Lent begins as we are reminded that we are to "worship the Lord our God and serve only him" (4:10b). Lent begins as "Satan leaves Jesus and God's angels come and wait on him" (4:11). Lent continues as Jesus turns from Satan's temptations, leaves the wilderness, and begins to preach and teach the Good News of God. Now it all becomes clear. Before Jesus could begin to preach and teach the Good News of God, he had to come face-to-face with the power of Satan. Before Jesus could journey toward the cross, he had to see that the need for salvation was great. When we look into a mirror, we are reminded that we too must look into the depths of our souls and see the need for God's forgiveness.
* * *
Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man, has now after 31 years revealed the mysteries of the game. What is perhaps most interesting to us today is the story of the ghosts. The four ghosts were well defined, with each having an individual color, name, and algorithm for movement. It was commonly thought among gamers that all four ghosts were chasing after Pac-Man. We have now learned that is not the case. Only Blinky, the red ghost, chases directly after Pac-Man. Pinky, the pink ghost, positions itself 32 pixels in front of Pac-Man's mouth. Inky, the blue ghost, moves to a mirror point symmetrical to Pac-Man. Only Clyde, the orange ghost, moves randomly along the corridors. The ghosts do not have artificial intelligence; they simply follow a designed algorithm. Iwatani said, "If the algorithm for all four ghosts was chasing after Pac-Man... it's not a fun game because all you have to do is worry about the area behind Pac-Man... To create more interesting positioning, I created the algorithms."
Our lesson today speaks of the three temptations of Jesus. The temptations are symbolic of the same temptations that confront us on a regular basis -- wealth, power, idolatry. But temptation is not like our original thoughts on Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde, who seemingly appear to be lurking behind us. We may think temptation is always sneaking up from behind us -- only to discover that it is beside us, in front of us, or just randomly crossing our path. And if caught, figuratively speaking, temptation will devour us, just as the ghosts devour Pac-Man. This is why we need the spiritual disciple of Jesus, to be able to continually say, "Away with you, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde... Away with you wealth, power, and idolatry... Away with you, Satan."
* * *
David Beckham has adorned himself with family and religious body art, but the latest has cause for controversy and misinterpretation. On the left side of his chest he has tattooed Jesus being lifted from the tomb by three cherubs. The cherubs represent his three sons -- Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz. Jesus represents Beckham himself. Explaining the meaning of the tattoo, Beckham said: "Obviously, the cherubs are boys, so my thought of it is, you know, at some point, my boys are going to need to look after me, and that's what they're doing in the picture." He then placed a picture of the risen Jesus on his Facebook page for all his followers to admire.
Brooks Peck, writing for Yahoo Sports, summarized the inappropriateness of the latest religious body art that Beckham has chosen with this statement: "It is amazing... that he could publicize his interpretation of himself as Jesus without seeing how that might draw an unfavorable reaction. Then again, when over 8 million people like your Facebook page and thousands of others are writing about the ink on your body, you can see where such confusions could arise."
One must wonder if Satan has not led Beckham to the top of a very high mountain and said, "All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me." Perhaps Beckham, the great soccer star with a multi-million contract and a former singer and model for a wife, hasn't concluded that "all of this" is already his, a reward for his athletic prowess. And that is where the confusion arises. Jesus stood on the mountaintop knowing his place was to live in the valley among the people. Beckham stands on the mountaintop and wonders why only 8 million are currently reading his Facebook page. Depicting oneself as Jesus, with indelible ink on one's chest, straddles the border of actually thinking such is true. What Beckham is lacking is the humility of Jesus and the ability to say, "Away with you, Satan!"
* * *
Greek mythology has a fascinating story about the power of temptation. Certain areas close to where ships usually travel were the homes of sirens -- sea nymphs whose marvelous, enchanting songs would tempt the sailors off course to their destruction.
Odysseus, having been warned of the luring temptation, gave orders that everyone should have their ears tightly packed with wax and should be tied to the ship in such a way that regardless of what they said or did they would not be released. Sure enough, when the ravishing, enchanting music was heard, Odysseus fought desperately to get free. He pleaded and begged to be released. Fortunately, his original orders were carried out and he remained bound to the post. When they were out of the reach of the music he was set free, the others' ears were unstopped, and their journey safely continued.
What are some siren songs you have heard that could pull you away from full commitment to Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
* * *
C.S. Lewis has a marvelous passage in The Screwtape Letters on the subtlety of temptation. The book contains supposed correspondence between a senior devil, Screwtape, and his nephew and apprentice, Wormwood. In one particular letter, Screwtape addresses the question of whether his protÈgÈ ought to reveal his own existence. The answer is no: "I do not think you will have much difficulty in keeping the patient in the dark. The fact that 'devils' are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that (it is an old textbook method of confusing him) he therefore cannot believe in you."
It's never the blatant temptations that get us. If a snarling devil were to appear before us in red tights, pitchfork in hand and urging us on in one direction or another, we'd have little difficulty resisting. It's when we hear the hissing of the serpent, whispering sweet reason into our ears, making so much sense, that we have trouble.
* * *
When something tempts us, we frequently give into that temptation because there's something about it that seems useful. Utilitarianism is a powerful philosophy, but it's also one that can be ethically blind. It's a school of thought that grew up in England during the 1700s, with John Stuart Mill as its chief booster. Mill maintained that any ethical decision could be made according to this simple rule: "The greatest good for the greatest possible number of people."
Now that sounds fine -- but consider the fact that some of the most destructive movements in human history have used a utilitarian argument to justify themselves. Take the Nazi party, for example. Hitler and his cronies can be seen as engaging in a particularly rigorous application of John Stuart Mill's decision-making standard. You can justify all manner of atrocities against a minority group if you see those actions as leading to a greater quality of life for the majority.
The Nazis were the ultimate utilitarians. Their scientists could work to develop the deadly gas known as Zyklon B, which the SS subsequently used to murder millions in the concentration camps. It was a very "useful" product -- it got the job done with a minimum of fuss, at least for those who ran the death camps. To the Nazis it certainly was useful -- but it was also morally reprehensible.
* * *
A temptation that we Christians need to be particularly aware of is the tendency to interpret the Bible through the lenses of our own prejudices and to use it to buttress our own moral judgments rather than seeking to find God's word. The eminent preacher, theologian, and author Peter Gomes, who died last week, warned about just such a temptation. He addressed the issue in his 1996 best-seller The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart, urging believers to grasp the spirit of scriptural passages and to transcend the narrow context of modern prejudices. As Gomes starkly put it: "The Bible alone is the most dangerous thing I can think of. You need an ongoing context and a community of interpretation to keep the Bible current and to keep yourself honest."
* * *
Beginning in January 2001, the FOX network aired the reality TV series Temptation Island. Perhaps the very worst of all the reality shows, Temptation Island put four married couples on an exotic Caribbean island with a dozen scantily clad singles whose task it was to rip the marriages apart. Of course, the producers said the show was about exploring the dynamics of human relationships and that, according to one press release, couples on the show "were very much interested in exploring the strength of their own relationships." The program was popular enough to have spawned Temptation Island 2 and Temptation Island 3, despite strong criticism from Christian and other watchdog groups.
Our initial reaction as people of faith to a show like Temptation Island may be one of revulsion, but its mere existence points out the continuing battle that we mere mortals wage with temptation. Whether it's the opportunity to cheat on your spouse, your taxes, or your diet, temptation is all around us. We cannot avoid it, but how can we overcome it? Well, maybe this week's gospel story of temptation in the wilderness can help us find a way. Jesus relies on the Word of God, repeatedly telling the adversary, "It is written...."
* * *
John Galliano, 50, a designer and model for Christian Dior, has been dismissed from his position for yelling anti-Semitic remarks to two women at a public restaurant. Perturbed, he hollered at the Jewish ladies, "I love Hitler... people like you should be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers would all be f---ing gassed." Such speech is not only degrading, but in France it is a crime. Galliano claimed at first he did not speak as reported -- but as the incident was videotaped, there can now be no denial.
Confronted that he was caught on tape, Galliano suddenly became contrite and remorseful. He said, "I must face up to my own failures and work hard to gain people's understanding and respect." He then went on to say, "Anti-Semitism and racism have no place in our society." They do not, but it does seem that anti-Semitism and racism have taken up residence in Galliano's consciousness.
The actress Natalie Portman, who is Jewish and a Dior spokesperson, said, "I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still existing prejudices that are opposite of all that is beautiful."
After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve's eyes were opened and they saw good and evil. They realized they had sinned. Remorseful, they covered their nakedness with fig leaves, but they knew life in the Garden would never be the same. Galliano ate the fruit of prejudice, and in so doing humiliated two innocent women and tarnished the image of a corporation. His eyes may be opened now to see good from evil, but one can only suppose that with such deep-seated prejudices he has yet to cover his consciousness with fig leaves. This is why as Christians it is our mission to encourage individuals to focus on "all that is beautiful."
* * *
What is it that Adam and Eve do that's so terrible? The answer lies in that little phrase "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Preachers and scholars have debated for centuries over the symbolic significance of that tree and its forbidden fruit. If we refer to it in shorthand as "the tree of knowledge" (as some are inclined to do), it could lead us to think that perhaps God wants to keep humanity in the dark, to keep us from using our full intellectual capacities. Yet that's not likely what it means at all.
The key lies in that little qualifying phrase "of good and evil." It's not the tree of knowledge at all; it's "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." What's so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil? The answer is that this "knowledge" by rights belongs only to God.
It's not about ethics -- God's not mad because Adam and Eve have developed an ethical sense. God's angry because Adam and Eve are daring to put themselves in the judgment seat of God. That's what "the knowledge of good and evil" means. It's what a judge needs to know. The Hebrew word yada, or knowledge, means more than mere cognitive knowledge. It also means an awareness of judgment or justice. To pursue and claim the knowledge of good and evil means to take on the role of judge, a role that belongs to God alone. If Adam and Eve aspire to eat the fruit of that tree, it means they want to make themselves into little gods. We need to ask ourselves: Isn't that also what we seek to do -- in large ways and in small -- each day of our lives?
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven;
People: Happy are those whose sin is covered.
Leader: Happy are those to whom God imputes no iniquity.
People: Happy are those in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Leader: When we acknowledge our sin and confess it,
People: God is quick to forgive and restore us.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God who leads us to life.
People: We want to find life, but we get distracted by other things.
Leader: God knows how difficult it is to choose wisely.
People: We have good intentions, but then we act foolishly.
Leader: God invites us to come find new life in Jesus.
People: We come to worship God and to be made whole in Christ.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"God Has Spoken by the Prophets"
found in:
UMH: 108
LBW: 238
"There's a Wideness in God's Mercy"
found in:
UMH: 121
H82: 469, 470
PH: 298
NCH: 23
CH: 73
LBW: 290
"Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days"
found in:
UMH: 269
H82: 142
PH: 81
NCH: 211
CH: 180
"Where He Leads Me"
found in:
UMH: 338
AAHH: 550
NNBH: 229
CH: 346
"Come Back Quickly to the Lord"
found in:
UMH: 343
"Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus"
found in:
UMH: 349
"I Surrender All"
found in:
UMH: 354
NNBH: 195
"Freely, Freely"
found in:
UMH: 389
Renew: 192
"Only by Grace"
found in:
CCB: 42
"Create in Me a Clean Heart"
found in:
CCB: 54
Renew: 181
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who knows the frailty of human life: Grant us the wisdom and the will to resist temptations that call us to be less than you have created us to be; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We enter this place aware that we are in the presence of you who are the Holy One. We have come to worship you and to redirect our lives to follow our Savior Jesus. Open our hearts, minds, and wills to receive all that you have for us this day. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways in which we so easily yield to temptation.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the path that we are to follow, and you have given us the very Spirit of Jesus so that we might be faithful. Yet we are easily led away by others and by our own appetites. We accept things as they are, instead of being those who proclaim your reign which is breaking in upon us. We aren't even sure if we believe it is happening. We fall into the trap of despair or of arrogance. Forgive us, and restore us as the proclaimers and bringers of your holy reign. Amen.
Leader: God comes to bring us back to our right minds and to a right life. Know that God's forgiveness is yours, and with the Spirit of Jesus be faithful to God.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We have come to offer our praise and adoration to you, O God, for the wonder of your shepherding love.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the path that we are to follow, and you have given us the very Spirit of Jesus so that we might be faithful. Yet we are easily led away by others and by our own appetites. We accept things as they are, instead of being those who proclaim your reign which is breaking in upon us. We aren't even sure if we believe it is happening. We fall into the trap of despair or of arrogance. Forgive us, and restore us as the proclaimers and bringers of your holy reign.
We give you thanks for those who have helped us stay on a faithful path by their good example or their good counsel. We thank you for the guidance you have given us in our scriptures and traditions. We thank you especially for the gift of the Spirit so that we might discern the direction of our lives.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray to you for one another in our needs and for those anywhere who find their lives in disruption because they have not made wise decisions.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Visuals
Pictures that portray the temptations of the seven deadly sins (huge plates of food, piles of money, etc.) plus scenes that show haughtiness and not caring (walking by someone in need).
Children's Sermon Starter
Talk about temptation in simple terms, such as knowing we need to eat our vegetables but being tempted to eat ice cream or candy instead. Our parents want us to eat our vegetables not because they want to force us to eat something we may not like but because they know we need to eat them to be healthy. God wants us to be kind and caring even when we don't feel like it because God knows that is what is good for us and will make us better people.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Those Tempting Crayons
Matthew 4:1-11
Objects: some crayons and scissors
Good morning, boys and girls! Today we are going to talk about a word that I am sure all of you have heard many times but you may not be sure what it means. The word is "tempted" or "temptation." How many of you have heard that word used before? (let the children answer) How many of you know what it means? (let them answer) Let me see if I can help explain it a little better.
I brought with me some crayons and some scissors. How many of you have crayons at home? Almost all of you. What do you do with crayons? (let them answer) That's right, you color pictures. Sometimes we use them in coloring books and sometimes we use them just on a piece of paper. That is the right place to use them. No problem, and no temptation.
But have you ever used them anywhere else, or thought about using them somewhere else? Have you ever colored a wall in your house, or thought about coloring the wall or maybe a table or your bed? If you thought about it and you wanted to do it, then you were tempted. You could almost hear a little voice that said, "Go ahead and color the table," or "Go ahead and color the wall. It's all right, no one will ever know." That is temptation. Of course, if you color it then the temptation is over. You have done something wrong. But if you just think about it and you want to do it and you think it might be all right; then you are being tempted.
Jesus was tempted. Did you know that Jesus was tempted? He was. The Bible tells us how the devil tried to get Jesus to follow him rather than the Father in heaven. Jesus knew it was wrong, but he listened to the devil tell him how he would make him wonderful, and how he would give him land and all the food he could eat. Jesus listened to the devil and he was tempted. How many of you knew that Jesus listened to the devil, or as the Bible calls him, Satan? (let them answer)
That's a true story. Jesus was high on a mountain and that devil came and tried to get Jesus to follow him just like that little voice tries to get you to color the table.
But Jesus did not give up. He was tempted, but he told the devil to get away because he was not going to do anything that was a sin against God. After three times of the devil offering Jesus everything he had, the devil left Jesus and went away.
We must often do the same thing. There are things that we know are wrong, but they sound wonderful. That is temptation, and we must be strong and put it away. Temptation is strong, but God is even stronger. If you listen to both voices and ask God for his help, you will do it God's way.
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The Immediate Word, March 13, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
