“Out Into the Wilderness”
Once he had been chosen, and led by the Spirit, Jesus entered the Wilderness Olympics. Enduring a Spartan regimen during his training, he found himself always hungry.
At the opening ceremonies, the organizer, Mr. S. Atan, came up to him and said, 'if you are serious about going for the gold, the sponsors have laid out quite a spread in the athlete's area. You will find all sorts of delightful food.' Jesus looked him in the eye and replied, 'that is not what I hunger for.'
As the entrance of the athletes from all the nations began, one of the sponsors, Madame D'Evil, sat down next to Jesus. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, 'the highest honor of the games is to light the cauldron. You can have the privilege tonight, and the envy of all the athletes, if you will but sign this exclusive contract to be my spokesperson worldwide.'
Jesus got up from his seat, and as he passed her, he reminded her, 'have you forgotten Who my soul sponsor is?'
At the top of the mountain, as Jesus was waxing his skis, and visualizing the journey he must take in the coming moments, the head official of the race, Lucifer Abaddon, sidled up next to him. Looking out on the course, he promised Jesus, 'If you go throw yourself down the mountain, if you cut all the corners right, if you become reckless, I am sure that your coaches and trainers will make sure you don't suffer.' Not opening his eyes, Jesus calmly replied, 'don't tempt me to throw you down the mountain.'
Having tried everything they could, Jesus' adversaries left the wilderness, knowing that the Passover Olympics would be held in Jerusalem.
© 2010 Thom M. Shuman
Lent begins on a solemn note, in a barren wilderness, with a story hinting of the common Lenten practices of fasting, giving things up, and spending more time in prayer. The story of Jesus being tested in the wilderness sort of sets the tone for our own Lenten challenge as we once again take the opportunity to re-examine our own priorities as we reflect on where we place our trust and what holds power in our lives.
Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us Lent came about only when early Christians had "stopped expecting so much from God or from themselves.” They became too comfortable, and “before long,” she said, “it was very hard to pick them out from the population at large.” And so, Lent became “a time of spring housecleaning for our souls, of finding out what our "pacifiers" are: "the habits, substances, or surroundings [we] use to comfort [ourselves], to block out the pain and fear that are normal parts of being human…. It is necessary...to find out what life is like with no comfort but God."
However, today’s gospel lesson is not about the Lenten journey - it is only where we start. What the wilderness story has always been about is what God is doing out there. The story is about who Jesus is. We heard the voice from heaven at Jesus' baptism, and then again last week, saying he is the Son of God. Today's lesson is about the why of Jesus’ ministry - not his grabbing power for himself, or showing off how much he matters to God, or working great magic for the masses. That's not why he was there.
After Jesus' baptism, he goes out, led by the Holy Spirit, both in and with him, to a long time of reflection and fasting in the wilderness. I have been watching athletes from all over the world, who have gone through all kinds of trials and tests in preparation for what they were going to do at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Likewise, I can imagine Jesus’ time in the wilderness prepared him for what he was going to do as well.
In Luke we get a sense of the struggle, the test, Jesus faces. What he is offered from his "friend" are things that sound perfectly reasonable and good at first. After all, why shouldn't Jesus satisfy his hunger with a little bread, and wouldn't it be great if Jesus ruled the world (instead of those who did), and how impressive would it be if Jesus flung himself off the temple roof and a thousand angels came to rescue him? That would pretty much seal it for him, right?
I can picture Jesus - hungry and alone and wondering about his future - hearing a seductive voice from deep within himself, offering all these "good" things, perhaps even helpful things for his ministry. N.T. Wright refers to this voice as “a string of natural ideas in his own head… (all) plausible, attractive… which make … a lot of sense." For Jesus, it is a very personal and human struggle – a struggle he definitely wins. But is that really the point – or is it instead what God is doing here?
Perhaps this whole Lent thing is out-dated and no longer relevant. Not only is its discipline hard, its inward directed reflection unsettling - it seems really old-fashioned to "give something up" for Lent. Wouldn’t it be better to do good works, or to rest, or to grow spiritually, rather than making sacrifices and giving things up? Dianne Bergant writes: "Lent is not a season for us to concentrate on what we are going to do to be saved; it's less a time for us to be doing religious 'things' than for us to be open to the transformative 'things' God wishes to do for us."
Put that way, how could Lent now be outdated? When Lent helps us discover how and why we do what we do, and who is really in charge – how could it ever not be relevant? In the wilderness we discover we don’t have to be on our own. Bergant says, “we have Lent each year, so that again and again God can offer us the salvation that only God can give."
So, the story of Jesus being tested in the wilderness is about his being the Son of God, and not about setting an example for us. Our struggle is to be faithful and to grow deeper in our trust in our God – during those times we ‘hunger’ for things, especially when we are "famished." That is when we are "vulnerable" to thinking we have to do something about it rather than ‘leaving it up to God.’ Other times, we face the temptation to prove our worth – to prove we are effective, prove we are beloved, and prove we are on top of things. And yet we only have to open ourselves to God working for us.
So, the story of Jesus being tested in the wilderness is about his being the Son of God, and not about setting an example for us. Our struggle is to be faithful and to grow deeper in our trust in our God – during those times we ‘hunger’ for things, especially when we are "famished." That is when we are "vulnerable" to thinking we have to do something about it rather than ‘leaving it up to God.’ Other times, we face the temptation to prove our worth – to prove we are effective, prove we are beloved, and prove we are on top of things. And yet we only have to open ourselves to God working for us.
Our Lenten journey should always be one of examination and trust – and that is not easy. We all have our particular addictions, our “comfort food.” - the things Barbara Brown Taylor says, "We use to fill the empty place inside of us that belongs to God alone - ." What if we could give them up for forty days, and "simply pay attention to how often our mind thinks about them? What if we were serious about it? Chances are we would hear a voice ‘deep inside us’ warning us against giving up our pacifier, our ‘comfort food.’ Yet it is then we allow God to work through this Lenten practice to shape our faith into one that endures and thrives, no matter what is going on around us, or what happens in our lives, or what we encounter out there, in the wilderness.
John Stendahl, describes well the wilderness in which Jesus was tested, and in which we ourselves wander, at one time or another: "For the desert is not God-forsaken nor does it belong to the devil. It is God's home. The Holy Spirit is there, within us and beside us. And if we cannot feel that spirit inside of us or at our side, perhaps we can at least imagine Jesus there, not too far away, with enough in him to sustain us, enough to make us brave."
With that in mind, let’s go out into the wilderness.
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