Temptation

The Readings

Old Testament

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

The Gospel

Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

The Sermon

Temptation

Lets look first at the reading from Genesis. Adam and Eve are tempted by a serpent. I believe this story was told to explain why life was difficult for us humans, and in typical old testament tradition the blame was firmly put on us for our disobedience. From the beginning of our time on earth humans have been tempted to make decisions that go against the will of God. We all have moments of weakness where we decide on a path that is harmful to us and others. In Adam and Eve's case they wanted more even though they had been given so much. In our case we often fall into the same trap. We want a bigger television. We want a new I-phone because our old one doesn't have lightening speed. It seems like we never have enough. The beauty of these forty days of lent is that we give ourselves a chance to reflect on life's temptations and remind ourselves that this world will never supply us with enough.

Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days. I can not begin to imagine what that must have been like. I miss a meal or two and my growling stomach makes me think my end is near. Jesus is tempted three times by Satan. In the old testament Satan has a job. He is the tempter and that is what he does with Jesus. First he hits Jesus where he is the most vulnerable. He asks Jesus to simply turn the rocks into bread. After all Jesus hasn't eaten for days and it is hard to get hunger out of your head.

Then he reminds Jesus that he has power over the elements. He can cast himself over a cliff and nothing will happen to him. Lastly, Satan says that if Jesus just worships him he will give him the whole world.

Jesus final remark is, “Away with you , Satan! For it is written, worship the lord you God and serve only him.”

Jesus puts so much into perspective in that last sentence. Worship the Lord your God and serve only him. It is a temptation to gravitate toward the material world but we must always remember that everything in this world has a shelf life, including us. God is eternal and our souls are eternal. That is where our hearts and minds should be.

Amen