Warning: scenes of nudity…
Lent 1 – St Giles Church – Sunday 13 March 2011
First Reading Genesis 2.15-17; 3.1-7
15The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but 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.’
1Now 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”?’ 2The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but 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.”’ 4But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ 6So 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. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
Gospel Matthew 4: 1 - 11
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
The Lord is a great God, O that today you would listen to his voice.
Harden not your hearts.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also 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 splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
Lent readings – this year – narrative of big events in Israel’s history.
1. The Fall in Genesis 2-3
2. God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12
3. Israel in Wilderness – Exodus 17
4. Election of David as king in I Samuel
5. Exile, and promise of restoration in Ezekiel 37
6. Suffering Servant of Isaiah 50 on Palm Sunday
Strong relationship between OT and NT readings.
1. Theme - Temptation.
Genesis – creation of animal kingdom, creation of woman, temptation by serpent, and Fall.
Matthew – temptation of Jesus during 40-day fast in wilderness.
Creation stories – early man’s attempt to explain why things are the way they are. Long ago, in school or church, when taught, we were offered simple explanation about the symbolic meaning of The Fall. Here’s a few wrongheaded assumptions:
· God created a perfect world – God calls creation ‘good’ but there are still dark forces pushed back by the Spirit of God. Can rush back (Noah) if not held in check by God. Waters of chaos.
Incomplete. Problem of loneliness – ‘it is not good that the man should be alone’ – so God created animal kingdom, and also a companion for the man.
· Humans lived in paradise with no responsibilities – Man had to till garden and maintain it. Regular work and rest gave meaning to human life. Boundaries. First – edge of garden. Second – behaviour – Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – so here again the mention of evil in Eden. You shall surely die – serious consequence of disobedience.
· Snake represents Satan – no, wily animal created by God. Something in the humans already posed questions about God and his boundaries. Snake merely fuelled them.
· Woman was to blame for the Fall – nice try – written by men – but careful reading shows both Man and Woman present throughout. Both heard the serpent. Man failed to speak out. Both were tempted, and both rebelled and were disobedient against God.
May cause argument – but maybe Paul responsible for incorrect interpretation of Genesis in I Timothy 2 when blames woman for being deceived and becoming first sinner. Paul gives this as reason why women should be fully submissive and to find their salvation through child bearing.
· Aim was to explain origin of Sin in the world – no, objective was to describe reality of what it is to be human – mystery of sin – our doubts about God – our desire to be like God, or take over control of the world, or even deny existence of a creator. When humans are faced with boundaries, their immediate temptation is to break them – we don’t need a serpent to put the idea in our heads, only nag and feed what is already there.
Maybe if we advertised today’s service as Temptation, seduction, betrayal with scenes of nudity?
Importance of creation story is we are still subject to just same types of temptation, and with ‘dominion’ over creation we continue to misuse and abuse it. Temptations of Jesus were of a different order altogether, but reveal his nature as fully man as well as fully God. Real temptation, not be a serpent, but by the force of evil itself, questioning his very identity and nature.
Three temptations – each invite Jesus to turn away from trust in God. Each starts with a challenge: If you are the Son of God...?’
Each temptation invited Jesus to turn away from trust in God and rely on his own abilities alone.
· Stones into bread – here Jesus is tempted to abandon faith in God and prove to himself incontrovertibly his divine Sonship by commanding stones to become bread. He is hungry after a long fast, but stones never become bread. Wheat, water, and yeast become bread. The temptation is to subvert natural order of things. Also denies faith by conclusively proving God’s existence – something not available to us as human beings – nor to Jesus as fully man.
· Throw yourself to certain death – this is to tempt God. If Jesus is truly divine, he will not be able to commit suicide. God would have to intervene and save him. A legion of angels would protect and save him from injury. Temptation challenges God’s fidelity. Negates the coming sacrifice of Jesus, by showing conclusively he would be parachuted out of danger when faced with the cross.
· Lure of earthly power – harder to comprehend – perhaps the temptation is to exchange hope (and perhaps strong doubt) about God’s power to save for the certainty of earthly dominion. Maybe the suggestion is his task of salvation and redemption can be achieved more easily, the crucifixion avoided, and the people of Israel turned back to God as the prophets of old had tried to do but largely failed.
These 3 temptations all strike at root of Jesus’ trust in God, and God’s fidelity and promises. There are obvious parallels with the wandering tribes of Israel. 40 years in Sinai being tempted and rebelling becomes for Jesus 40 days fasting and triumphing over trials.
Just as the Israelites emerged into Promised Land chastened and sanctified, ready to inherit the old covenant, so Jesus emerged confirmed in his identity, strengthened in his absolute trust in the Father, and ready for the start of his mission on earth. For each, it was the start of a new era.
So it was for Adam and Eve. They did not die, but were reprieved. They failed, in that their trust in God was shattered by their disobedience. But in eating of the fruit of the Tree of Life they became more like God, and started on the path of salvation by the second Adam, Jesus himself.
At the heart of all these temptations to this day is a longing. A feeling we are not complete in ourselves. A hole in our very beings we are desperate to fill. Unanswered questions. Doubts. Uncertainty about our origins, future after death, and our very identity.
Adam and Eve thought the hole in their hearts was fruit-shaped. Absolute knowledge. Knowledge of God. That was the fruit they craved. But after eating that fruit, their emptiness not only remained, but became infinitely worse.
Jesus, on the other hand, remained convinced the hole was God-shaped. Only by absolute trust in God would the hole be filled. Only that was would be eventually be confirmed in his identity, his Sonship, and fulfil the mission which he had been set.
Surely, by now, we must be aware the hole we all have will not be filled by human means, whether love, possessions, security, knowledge and learning or what have you.
Some say that to be a Christian means you don’t any longer have that hole. That the longing is satisfied by our relationship with God and with each other. When we realise that God’s grace is sufficient for us, and we have no need of anything else, provided we put our trust in him.
Maybe, but we still have our lives to lead, which in my experience are full of doubts and fears. But to know in our hearts of hearts what is the answer is a comfort surely. And to know, when we are assailed by doubt, that Jesus himself was tempted shows this is the natural order of things. Why should we not be tempted too?
Unlike Adam and Eve, or the children of Israel, we are not cast into the wilderness of sin and doubt, because for us, all has been fulfilled in Christ. His example shows where we must put our trust, if we are to overcome. Through his own mortality, he knows our struggles at first hand. So with confidence he invites us to find both hope and courage as God’s children. To walk the narrow path towards salvation, when we will finally know who and whose we are. Amen
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