The Message, February 26, 2023: "Just Say, 'NO!'", Matthew 4:1-11
Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
February 28, 2023
“Just Say, ‘No!’”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Matthew 4:1-11
What did you give up for Lent? Did
you give up anything at all? Are we still doing that? It does not seem like we
talk about it much anymore.
For those of you who did … or are
doing that discipline … what did you give up? I am not going to ask you to share out loud. Some of them might be
private. Did you give up chocolate? Or perhaps caffeine? Did you give up wine?
Or beer? Did you decide to give up watching television or spending so much time
online in your social media accounts? Did you change your diet? Did you give up
meat on Fridays?
I watched a few minutes of one of
the network morning shows on Wednesday and saw a famous celebrity with a cross
of ash on his forehead say that he had given up meat on Fridays. One of the
cohosts said that she was going to give up the time that she spends on
Instagram.
Why? Why is that? Why do we give up
those things that are pleasurable or enjoyable during the season of Lent? Are
we making some sort of sacrifice for God?
Now, let me say that I am not
opposed to practicing certain disciplines during the season of Lent. The
question really is about why we are doing them. What is our motivation?
Do we think that God cares if we eat
a chocolate bar or enjoy a cup of coffee? Does God care if we eat meat on
Friday or spend too much time online? Certainly God cares if we participate in
activities that are unhealthy for ourselves or for our families or communities.
(The morning show cohost said that she was going to give up Instagram and spend
that time with her children. Wonderful!) But in terms of those “sacrifices”
that we make, is that what God desires?
Perhaps these words from Psalm 51
will help:
“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I
would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My
sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.”
(Psalm 51:16-17)
God
does not desire our sacrifices. God does not desire a thousand sheep or ten
thousand gallons of oil. God desires an upright and faithful heart.
Our
Gospel lesson this morning is a familiar one. It is the traditional lesson that
we read as we begin the season of Lent. This passage follows immediately after
the baptism of Jesus by John. This follows immediately after a Voice from
heaven saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved. In him I am well pleased.”
(Matthew 3:17)
Jesus
was about to begin his public ministry. He was about to call his disciples. But
first, this happened. The passage says that the Spirit led him out to the
wilderness to be tempted. However, the word ‘tempted’ can also be
translated as ‘tested.’
We
all know what the word tempt means. The dictionary definition means “to
seduce or entice one into doing evil or wrong. To persuade one in the wrong way.”
Does
that sound like God to you? Do you think that God tries to entice people to
sin? Do you think that God seduces people into doing wrong?
Or
… are we tested?
Testing
is intended to make one stronger. Testing is intended to develop or strengthen
ability. A teacher does not … or should not … give their students tests to
punish them or to break them down. Tests should encourage their students to
perform better … to study, to learn, to grow … so that they can achieve more.
The
Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. It was an area between Jerusalem and the
Dead Sea that was called Jeshimon, which means “The Devastation.” It was a hard
and desolate place with a rough and rocky terrain. It was a place in which
Jesus would be more alone that anywhere else in Palestine. It was there that he
fasted for forty days and for forty nights. It was there that he was tested.
As
he prepared for his public ministry, Jesus knew that the path before him would
be difficult and trying at times. He needed to prepare himself.
At
this point, I contemplate how to proceed. Do I offer a test-by-test analysis or
exploration of this event? Or do I explore how and why this event applies to
our lives and our journeys?
This
story, this event, is likely not a historical account of an actual battle that
took place in a particular location at one particular moment in time. Yet it is
one of the most sacred stories in scripture.
Consider
this … there was no one else in the wilderness with Jesus. He was alone … very
alone. There was no one there to witness this event, this struggle. The only
way for Jesus’ disciples to know about this event was for him to tell them.
Jesus had to be the one to share this with the others. This is the account of
Jesus’ very real challenge. He did not have to share it with the others, but he
did.
Why
did he do that? To glorify himself? To say to them, “Look at me! I was tested
by the Demon, and I won! I am the Satan Slayer! Follow me!”
Or
did he do it to encourage them? To let them know that they were not alone in
their struggles. To let them know that they do not need to feel shame or guilt
when they wrestle with their doubts and fears.
As
I read through the commentaries and articles I came across one that posed an
interesting thought. He asked, “What if Jesus was not struggling with Satan in
the wilderness? What if he was struggling with himself?”
He
suggested that Jesus, being both fully divine and fully human, had a very human struggle in the wilderness. Last Sunday, we explored the possibility that Jesus
was asking for reassurance from God that he was doing the right thing at the
end of his ministry. What is to say that he was not wrestling with the same
questions as he began his ministry?
Jesus
knows the struggles of the human heart and the human will. Jesus knows that the
disciples, and all of those who will follow him, will not struggle with Satan,
the Tempter or the Tester. Jesus knows that often our greatest struggles will
be with ourselves, with our own hearts.
This
account is a lesson in what it means to live as a beloved child of God. As we
just pointed out a few moments ago, when Jesus rose from the waters of baptism,
the Divine Voice proclaimed, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well
pleased.” The first two tests by The Tempter begin with the words, “If you
are the Son of God …” However, that can also be translated, “SINCE you are the Son of God …”
The
test for us is not to see IF we are the beloved children of God. The
test is BECAUSE we desire to live as God calls us to live.
Jesus
knows that there will be lures and temptations. Jesus knows that there will be
forces that will try to pull us away from the Way of God, the Way of love, the
Way of servanthood. And Jesus knows how to resist those lures and temptations.
Jesus
answered every question on the test with scripture. The Word of God filled his
heart and that was his strength, his guide. In the very next chapter in
Matthew’s Gospel we will hear the Sermon on the Mount. We will hear the
foundation, the core, of Jesus’ teaching. He will tell us that we are to have
pure hearts … hearts that focus upon God and God alone.
Jesus
knows the lure of Greed. He calls us to the Way of generosity.
Jesus
knows the lure of power and prestige. He calls us to the Way of gentleness and
humility.
Jesus
knows the lure of influence. He calls us to the Way of the servant.
Jesus
knows the appeal of avarice. He calls us to love others more than our desire to
feed our appetites.
We
may not have been given the powers that the Son of God possesses, but God has
blessed us all with a variety of gifts. God calls us to live lives of giving
rather than lives of getting. So as we venture into the wilderness, we can
wrestle with our own questions: “How can I use this gift for my own benefit? Or
how can I use this gift to benefit others?”
Just
say, ‘NO,’ to the lure of power and prestige.
Just
say, ‘Yes,’ to your own value and your own self-worth.
Just
say, ‘NO,’ to the lure of pride and arrogance.
Just
say, ‘Yes,’ to the way of humility and gentleness.
Just
say, ‘NO,’ to the lure of earthly appetites.
Just
say, ‘Yes,’ to lives of righteousness.
Just
say, ‘NO,’ to the accumulation of material assets.
Just
say, ‘Yes,’ to sharing your resources with others.
Jesus
gave us all of the answers for the test. SINCE we ARE the beloved children of
God, this is the way that we will live and love.
Blessed
are you, children of God, for yours is the Kin-dom of Heaven. Amen.
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