1st Sunday in Lent: February 17, 2013

1st Sunday in Lent: February 17, 2013

Luke 4:1-13

PREACHER: Pastor Carrie Smith

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

On Tuesday of this week, my calendar had one word written on it: BAPTISMS. That’s because I spent a good part of the day calling, emailing, and writing to the sixteen families and individuals who have indicated they are ready for baptism in the next months. That’s right—SIXTEEN! Thanks be to God!

As Pr. Paul and I made plans for an upcoming baptism workshop, I got to thinking about the most awkward part of preparing families for the rite of baptism. For me, it’s the point in the rite when parents of beautiful babies and children—and the adults who have made leaps of courage and faith to stand before the church and commit their lives to God—must answer these questions:

• Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?
• Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?
• Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?

Especially when I’m sitting with young parents to make plans for the big baptism day, I find myself apologizing for these words. Lutherans don’t often talk about the devil in regular conversation, and somehow it seems awkward, scary, or even offensive to be suggesting that parents need to renounce “the devil and all his empty promises” on behalf of the adorable baby sitting in the car seat next to us. Other times, I worry that folks who have made their way back to church after experiencing judgment and condemnation from other Christians will be turned off by such open talk of the red, horned one.

But of course, this portion of the baptism rite is essential, and not just because it has been included in the liturgy since the earliest days of the church.

This portion of the baptism service—rightly called an exorcism—is nothing to apologize for, because when we turn toward the life God desires for us, we necessarily turn away from an alternate one. Whether we conceive of the devil as an entity or a force, as our own sinful nature, or as working through systems of oppression at work in the world—or all of the above—what we know for sure is the devil is the enemy of God’s kingdom. And we also know that from Creation until this day, the enemy has been tempting us with his version of a life well-lived. In today’s Gospel lesson, we hear how he even tried to tempt Jesus to choose another path.

Speaking of temptation, it is tempting to read Luke chapter 4, the Gospel text for the first Sunday in Lent, and think only of our excessive desires for chocolate, coffee, donuts, or Facebook. It is tempting to conflate Jesus’ experience of forty days in the wilderness with our own forty day opportunity to lose a few pounds before swimsuit season, to lower our cholesterol numbers, or to be more consistent in prayer. In other words, it is tempting to read the account of Jesus being tempted by the devil and make it all about us.

On the one hand, there is much we can recognize in the account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. Each of us probably has personal experience with the three temptations he faced: the temptation to think only of our own stomachs, our own needs, and our own desires; the temptation to gain power over others; and the temptation to achieve fame and glory in the sight of others.

But when we read the Scriptures this way, picking apart the devil’s dirty tricks and studying the way Jesus had a quick biblical comeback for each punch, taking notes for the next time the devil comes knocking at our door—then the story becomes all about us. Suddenly, Jesus facing off with the enemy becomes nothing more than a morality tale, teaching us how we, too, can overcome temptation, if we only try hard enough.

The problem with this scenario is that I’m not Jesus. And neither are you!

Rather, on this first Sunday in Lent, we hear the story of how it was Jesus, the Son of God, who was led into the wilderness by the Spirit. We remember that it was Jesus, fully divine and fully human, who ate nothing for forty days. And we hear how it was at that very moment, when Jesus was famished and exhausted, that the devil entered the scene and pulled out all the stops, trying as hard as he could to get Jesus to change course.

The devil offered him food, he offered him power, and he offered him fame. He even took Jesus to Jerusalem and placed him on the very highest point of the temple saying, “See! Here it is! You can have glory and honor right here in the holy city. Just throw yourself down from here and let the angels catch you! You’ll win an Oscar for sure for that performance. Everyone will be talking about you. The whole world will hear your message.”

It was right there before Jesus—an alternate path. A shortcut. An option he hadn’t considered. Here was the perfect way to avoid the cross.

Today, on this first day of Lent, we remember that this story isn’t about us. It was Jesus, the Son of God, who renounced the devil and all his empty promises, choosing the path of the cross.

But sisters and brothers, while this story is not about you—the Good News is that it is for you.

Jesus chose the way of the cross for you and for the world.
He chose to speak truth to power for you.
He chose to heal the sick and raise the dead for you.
He chose to eat with the outcast and welcome the stranger for you.
He chose to preach the coming of God’s kingdom for you.
He chose to stand before Pilate for you.
He chose to walk to Calvary for you.
He chose to suffer humiliation and death for you.
He walked out of the tomb and appeared to the disciples for you.
And he is present here today—in the water, the Word, and the bread and wine—for you.

My dear people, Jesus chose the path that led to the cross, thereby granting all people the free gifts of grace, forgiveness, and eternal life.

And that’s why for this Lenten season, Bethany will keep the cross as the focus of our prayer and worship. On Wednesday evenings we will gather here to pray around the cross, contemplating the suffering of our Lord and the free gifts of grace, forgiveness, and life we have received. We will light candles and sing, and we will sit with that dangerous memory of how Jesus Christ, the Son of God, chose the way of the cross for us.

I invite you to join me in this Lenten season of confession and repentance, as we turn back toward God, seeking forgiveness and hope. May our time at the foot of the cross transform us into a people who will boldly choose to follow Jesus, wherever he leads us. Amen.