“Temptation Stories” (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7; Matthew 4:1-11)

It arrived in the mail on Friday . . . the AARP Bulletin.  It arrived with the usual postal flyers, junk mail, and bills.  Typically it does not grab my attention and usually ends up in the house “library”; but, this time, it caught my attention.  The bold headline on the front of the newspaper proclaimed: Live Longer! 50 Proven Ways to Add Years to Your Life.  Getting on up there in years now, that headline caught my attention, as I would be interested in knowing how I can add years to my life expectancy.  So, of course, as I sat down to eat my supper . . . I perused the fifty suggestions that would increase my longevity.

The fifty suggestions were interesting.  For example, did you know that by having a female doctor you have a better chance of surviving a hospitalization and not being re-admitted in thirty days?  I have a hard enough time dropping my pants for my male doctor, so I am not so sure the benefits of having a female doctor is worth the extra couple of days of life she would bring.  The AARP Bulletin threw out there forty-nine more suggested ways to add years to my life . . .

. . . and, half-way to shoving in that third helping of macaroni and cheese into my mouth, I suddenly had an epiphany!  My epiphany was that I was interested in the suggestions . . . interested in extending my life . . . for all the wrong reasons.  The baseline reason for me wanting to extend the years of my life had to do with me just wanting to live longer and put off the possibility of death for as long as I can.  I’m just like anyone else, I want to live for as long as I can.  Yet, what good is living life if it is not a life filled with quality experiences . . . if it is not lived to its fullest.  Not once, while I was reading that article, was I even considering what those extra years of life could mean for the quality of my life.  No, I was just interested in living a little while longer . . . and, I was willing to take the easy way out.  Who knows, if doing half of the suggestions would add five to ten years to my life, I would make the sacrifice . . . but, I would draw the line at having a female doctor!

M. Scott Peck, author of the book The Road Less Traveled, implied in that book that sin was basically taking the easy way out.  This morning in our scripture readings we heard two temptation stories . . . the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, and Jesus’ experience in the wilderness fasting and praying for forty days.  In both stories we see that the main characters are enticed . . . are tempted . . . to take the easy way out.

For Adam and Eve it is in the form of a piece of fruit . . . a piece of fruit that God has forbidden them to eat.  It is a piece of fruit from the tree of knowledge.  To eat the fruit was to gain wisdom . . . to know the difference between good and evil . . . to be like God; or at least that is what the serpent told Eve.  But, whatever the case, Adam and Eve had been forbidden to eat any of the fruit from that tree.  Eve understood this, but the serpent was wily . . . playing upon common sense, the serpent argued that God would never kill her or Adam for eating the fruit . . . no, God would be happy that they were suddenly wise like God was.  Plus, in the eyes of Eve, that fruit looked pretty tasty.  So, she bit into the fruit.

Well, we know what happened from there.

God was not pleased that Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit . . . was not pleased that they were suddenly conscious of the world around them . . . of what was good and evil.  With every action there is a reaction . . . a consequence of choice.  In this case, everyone involved feels the consequence of their choice.  The serpent loses its legs and ends up spending the rest of its life slithering around on the ground.  Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden, and suddenly life is no longer a picnic . . . no, life becomes hard.  

And, why?

Because Adam and Eve could not wait . . . could not wait until God provided them with the wisdom that they would need . . . could not wait for God’s plan to unravel as it was meant to.  No, instead of waiting for God and doing what God would want them to do, they took the easy way out . . . they ate the fruit.  I am not sure that either one of them felt the choice was worth the consequence.

In the second story, we see Jesus begin his earthly ministry by going into the wilderness after his baptism.  He goes to the wilderness to fast and pray . . . to discern God’s will.  For forty day and nights, Jesus fasted and prayed.  Forty days without food and probably many fitful nights of sleep makes one susceptible.  At the end of his spiritual quest, Jesus is visited.  He is visited by the devil.  The devil sees an opportunity . . . an opportunity to catch Jesus at his weakest.  When people are hungry and sleepy, people have a tendency to make rash choices.  The devil was hoping to take advantage of this.

As we know, the devil tempts Jesus with three scenarios . . . wealth and prestige, immortality, and power.  In three attempts the devil tries to tempt Jesus away from his loyalty and love for God . . . to bring him over to the dark side . . . to make him take the easy way out.  The devil’s offers sound pretty good.  Who wouldn’t want the things that the devil offers . . . wealth and prestige, immortality, and power?  Especially considering how easy the devil makes it sound.  The devil tells Jesus to just say the word and it is all his.

I don’t know about you, but if I miss more than two meals during the day . . . well, I’m putty in anyone’s hands if he or she is offering me a cheese burger.  The devil is offering Jesus the easy way out . . .

. . . but, Jesus does not cave in.  Jesus does not fall for the temptations.  Jesus does not take the easy way out.  No, we know the story.  From this point on in Jesus’ life he takes the way of God . . . he takes the way of God no matter how difficult that way might be.  He refuses to take the easy way out.

Lent is a season of examination.  Traditionally Lent was a season in which those seeking to offer their lives to God were charged with examining their lives and doing the necessary things to accept the will of God into their lives.  It was a time of not only considering one’s weaknesses, but also one’s strengths . . . and, in the end, of giving one’s self over to God completely.  It was not taking the easy way out.  And, yet, it was a time of great temptation . . . a time of considering taking the easy way out.

Like the generations of those followers of Jesus before us, we step into this time of examination as we enter into the season of Lent.  And, right off the bat, we are asked to consider our lives in light of this idea of taking the easy way out.

Which brings me back to that headline in the AARP Bulletin.  Who among us wouldn’t like to figure out the easy way of adding more years to our lives . . . was not that the temptation of Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilds’ short story . . . the portrait ages while Dorian Gray never does.  We are all tempted to take the easy way out in our lives . . . daily.  Daily we are bombarded with temptations to take the easy way out in our lives . . . to find and use the shortcuts and loopholes . . . to achieve the result without the work.  We are no different than any of the three characters in our scripture readings this morning--Adam, Eve, and Jesus.

And, we know how it ended for each of them.

We know that there are consequences to the choices we make in our lives . . . sometimes they turn out for the good . . . and, sometimes . . . well, sometimes they don’t turn out so well.  Ask Adam and Eve.  It didn’t turn out so well for them.  At the same time, considering the life of Jesus, one has to wonder how well it turned out for him.  I am not sure too many of us are really willing to truly follow in the footsteps of Jesus . . . after all, he got himself crucified.  

The bottom line was that it was their choice.  No one forced them to choose the way that they chose.  The serpent did not twist Eve’s arm, nor did Eve twist the arm of Adam . . . no, they knew that they weren’t suppose to eat the fruit; but, they did.  They did because it was the easiest way.  Sure they knew there would be consequences, but the gain outweighed the negative in their minds.  Adam and Eve paid the price for their choice, and it didn’t end up being the easy way out.

Neither did the devil twist the arm of Jesus.  The devil just laid it out there and told Jesus that all he had to do was to say the word.  He could have had it all.  And, who knows, Jesus might have considered it when one considers his weaken state; but, in the end, he could not do it.  He could not take the easy way out.  He told the devil to “not put the Lord your God to the test.”  And, in the end, Jesus chose to do God’s will.  He proclaimed, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”  Though the easy way would have been--at least in the minds of many--the best way, Jesus chose to follow God’s will . . . even if it led to a cross.

During the season of Lent, that is the challenge it throws at us . . . to consider our lives and our faith in the light of taking the easy way out.  It is probably the most difficult challenge because it can be the most subtle.  

Despite the fifty tips that the AARP Bulletin gives to adding years to my life, I know that the real means of adding years to my life are a lot more difficult.  Even though they mean well, there is no easy way to add years to one’s life . . . to live long takes a good bit of luck and a willingness to live right.  There are no simple means to achieving a long life except for taking care of one’s self.  Taking care of one’s self means that you have to eat right, exercise, and so much more.  

If I am going to be honest with myself and others . . . I am probably losing the battle for longevity.  I do not eat as well as I should . . . my excuse is that life is short and one should enjoy it while he or she has it; plus something is going to kill you in the end, so you might as well enjoy it and eat what you want.

Exercise!!  Well, for the past decade that word has become a four-letter word for me.  Exercise, as I remember it, is associated with pain.  I don’t care too much for pain; thus, I do not exercise as much as I should.

Besides, the wonders of modern medicine ensure me that I do not need to worry about either.  All I have to do is to pop a pill and longevity is just down the road.  Better living through chemistry.

Therein lies the dilemma . . . therein lies the choice . . . and, it is mine to make.  Do I take the easy way out or do I follow the path that God has chosen for me?

All of us are faced with such choices on a daily basis.  We are confronted with choices of taking the easy way out or doing God’s will.  Think about it.  How many times during the day are you confronted with a choice . . . on the one hand, there is God’s will; on the other hand, there is taking the easy way out.  One will be easy, the other will probably be a little more difficult.  Both are legitimate choices that are acceptable in our society.  In our day and age, taking the easy way out is acceptable and often the preferred route.  But, the choice is ours.

I think this is the biggest challenge of the season of Lent . . . facing temptation.  Because it is the most difficult challenge we should not be surprised that the season kicks off with this starting point . . . that it asks us to consider those temptations in our lives and how they keep us from truly fulfilling God’s will in our lives.

Temptations are not easy.  It is easy to be lured into taking the easy way out in this day and age when we are so busy.  And, yet, as M. Scott Peck stated, taking the easy way out is the root of sin.  Thus we need to rise up to accept this challenge of examining our lives and what it is that tempts us to take the easy way out instead of following God’s will.  During this season of Lent, may we find the strength to enter into the wilderness and ground ourselves in the will of God.  The stories of temptation tells us that the best way is not always the easiest way.  Let us not put God to the test in proving our faith . . . let us choose wisely.  Remember, it is always our choice.  Amen.

“Until . . .” (II Peter 1:16-21)

In the Good News Bible, Today’s English Version, our scripture reading begins with these words: “We have not depended on made-up stories . . .”  In our version of the Bible, the New International Version, it reads: “We did not follow cleverly invented stories . . .”  Here, the author--Peter, is continuing his support from his first letter to the Christians in the northern part of Asia Minor by combatting teachings of false teachers who claim to know what is right.  Unfortunately, these teachings often go against what Jesus taught and said, causing the Christians to fall into act of immorality.  Thus it is that Peter takes on those false teachers and what they are proclaiming as the “gospel”.

In the past couple of months there has popped up a new phrase in our vernacular as a society.  That phrase, first used by Kellyanne Conway--one of the chief counselors to President Trump in a press conference, to cover up a falsehood by White House Press secretary, Sean Spicer’s falsehood during a press conference.  Her response to the questions being pressed upon her was that the Press Secretary was giving “alternative facts.”  Now, trust me, this is not the first time in history that “alternative facts” have been used to cover up a falsehood.  No, “alternative facts” have been floating around our society as a people and a nation for many, many generations.  The difference is that we now have a “name” to call these falsehoods.  The fact is that “alternative facts” have been a favorite tool of people everywhere no matter what their political party.  Everyone does it.

That is what Peter is attempting to deal with in his second letter to the Christians in the northern Asia Minor.  Peter is attempting to correct the “alternative facts” with the reality of having been one who witnessed and experienced Jesus firsthand.  In his rebuttal to the falsehoods that these teachers were teaching and preaching, Peter let the people know . . . from first-hand experience . . . that they were wrong.  What the people are hearing are made-up stories . . . cleverly invented stories . . . that pull the people away from Jesus and his teachings.  Peter should know . . . he was there.

In his rebuttal, Peter makes reference to his own experience of Jesus . . . his own experience of the Holy.  He tells the people that he was present when God affirmed Jesus as his Son.  Peter tells the people: “. . . but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’”  Peter is attempting to let the people know that . . . unlike the false teachers . . . he was there.  He was in the presence of Jesus when the transfiguration took place . . . he saw it all.  And, not only that, he was present with Jesus throughout his earthly ministry . . . he is a living witness to the presence and words of Jesus.  Because of this, he should know a false teaching.

Thus it is that Peter takes on the “alternative facts” that are floating around this newly found faith.  The words and teachings that these false teachers are sharing are . . . well, they are wrong . . . they are falsehoods.  To follow these falsehoods, says Peter, is to lead to immorality . . . is to go against the teachings and witness of Jesus.  Peter warns them to not fall into this trap.

Now, I don’t know about you, but my head is spinning.  My head is spinning in this day and age of technological advancement in which we are flooded with an array of sources for information concerning the world in which we live.  My head is spinning so much that I do not and cannot focus as I am being bombarded with an array of “facts”.  There is so much information--both true and false--being thrown around that I cannot determine which is true and which is false.  I feel as if the world I live in is spinning so fast that I cannot even determine what is real and what is fake.  I can’t tell what is true and what is false.  It is so frustrating that I cannot determine for myself which side of the fence I should fall on.

You see, the problem is how do we live lives that are faithful to Jesus and his teachings when we are being assaulted from so many directions as a follower of Jesus.  Yet, at the same time, I imagine that this is not a problem unique to me or you.  It has been going on since the birth of the Jesus movement.  Apparently what the Christians that Peter was addressing are experiencing is not much different than what we are experiencing in this day and age.  In both times, then and now, the question remains . . . how do we shift through the garbage to find the prize?

One of the easiest ways is to go back to the source.  In the case of our faith in Jesus . . . Jesus is the source.  All else is interpretation.  Interpretation is someone’s opinion of what they think is being said . . . that is all that it is . . . opinion.  True, that opinion might speak volumes to us about what that individual thinks, but the bottom line is how well it stacks up to what Jesus is saying.  After all, Jesus is the source of our whole being and our faith.  He is the fulfilment of the prophets . . . prophets who did not speak their words, but shared the words of God.  What the prophets shared about the “source” . . . about Jesus . . . were true.  They manifested themselves in the presence and words of Jesus.  All was from God.  Peter told the Christians that the words of the prophets were certain, and in Jesus they were fulfilled.  Jesus is the source . . . Jesus is the foundation . . . Jesus is the baseline from which we are to live our lives as his followers.  Anything outside of Jesus is a lie . . . is what we are now calling “alternative facts.”

Peter calls the people to focus upon this.  He tells the people: “. . . and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”  Here the apostle challenges the people to hold what they are hearing up to the standard of Jesus and what he taught.  In doing this the people have a grounding point in which they can weigh what they are hearing.  If what they are hearing does not meld into the words of Jesus or his example . . . well, then, it is a bunch of hooey.  

Until . . . until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts . . . we are challenged to hold all that we hear against the presence of Jesus and his words.  We are to do this over and over again until it becomes a part of who we are as the followers of Jesus . . . we are to reconcile Jesus--his words and actions--against the world we are living in.  We are to do it until we become who God has created us to be.

“. . . until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”  That is the prayer of Peter to his fellow sojourners of Jesus . . . that they continue to strive to hold the “alternative facts” up to the words and actions of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.  In doing this, we begin to understand and incorporate our faith into our daily lives.  This is not easy.  What Peter is asking is that each and every follower of Jesus to do is to step into this “twilight” zone of uncertainty and frustration . . . to compare Jesus--his words and actions . . . to the world in which we live.

Ultimately the bottom line is knowing whether or not our faith is congruent with Jesus.  If it is not, then Peter recommends that we get aligned.  To allow the morning star to rise in our hearts . . . to arise in our being . . . to arise where we happen to be.  That is the challenge then . . . and, it is the challenge now.

May God grant us the courage to truly walk in the footsteps of Jesus.  It is a simple prayer.  May we discover its power in our own lives.  Amen.

“The Paradox of Faith” (I Corinthians 3:1-9)

It’s a lie.

When I graduated from kindergarten I truly believed Robert Fulghum and what he wrote about everything I needed to know I learned in kindergarten.  But, it was a lie.  They made me go back to school.  Told me there was more that I needed to learn.  So, off I went to elementary school.  Six years later, I was graduating from elementary school . . . a scholar of all things elementary.  I thought I was done . . . but, no, they told me I had to go to junior high . . . told me there was still more to learn.

Off to junior high I went.  Three years . . . three more years in the educational system . . . three more years of stuffing my mind with education.  At the end of ninth grade . . . ninth grade graduation . . . I realized the end was there; or, so I thought.  They told me I had three more years.  They told me I had to go to high school.

Reluctantly I made my way to high school.  There they opened my mind to even more education . . . rammed that education stuff right into the ol’ brain.  For three years they crammed that education in, and then, in my senior year I felt I had reached the apex of all things educational.  But, no, I was told . . . there’s more, there’s college.  Higher education.  Not only do you get more education, you increase your likelihood for better wages.  In fact, I was told you really needed to go to college.

After high school I thought there was no way I could learn any more.  Shoot, if we are going to be honest, after kindergarten I thought I knew it all.  But, I was wrong.  Thus it was that I put in my four years in college.  Got myself a degree.  Then, I found out that if I wanted to really be what I wanted to be--which was a minister--I needed to go to more school.  In fact, it was three more years of school . . . three more years of education.  Even after three more years of education, I wasn’t done . . . I even went back to college for another degree.

So, to sum it all up . . . I graduated from kindergarten, elementary school, junior and senior high, once with a bachelor degree from college, once from seminary with a master’s degree, and one more time from college with a second master’s degree.  That is seven graduations.  I am what my oldest granddaughter says is “edumacated.”  And, still, I feel lied to.

I feel lied to because education never stops.  Even after all those graduations, all those diplomas . . . there is still a lot to learn.  Education never ends . . . education is a lifelong journey . . . it never ends until we die.

One of my favorite cartoons was of a student sitting at a desk taking a test.  The question on the test was, define the word “paradox”.  That was the first frame of the cartoon strip . . . the second was the student scratching his head . . . and, the third, was him writing his answer: “Paradox--two of ox.”  Any kindergartner would know that!  Actually, “paradox” is a statement that is contradictory.  The way we talk about and present education is a contradiction . . . learning is a lifetime proposition.  It does not end with kindergarten, high school, college, or the most advanced degrees . . . there is always more to learn.  I know that now, but through the years . . . well, I felt lied to.

This is the point that the Apostle Paul is attempting to get across to the people in the congregation at the church in Corinth.  They might think that they have reached the pinnacle of faith thanks to the teachers that they had, but, Paul knows better.  They are mere “children in the Christian faith.”  They might think that they have matriculated at the top of their class, but they haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what it means to be a person of faith.

Paul points out the signs that show that they have not matured in the faith and that they still have a long ways to go.  He tells them that they continue to live as people of the world . . . that they are jealous of one another . . . that they continue to argue and bicker . . . no, says Paul, you are not there yet.  In fact, he tells them that they are a work in progress, always a work in progress.

And, in the end, the people feel lied to.    Think about it . . . give your life over to Jesus and you are save . . . you have hit the heavenly home run and the game is over.  After all the holy celebrating, someone asks you if you are ready to grow in the faith.  Wait a minute . . . the homerun . . . that won the game, right?  Nope . . . there is more.  So the people jump into the study of faith and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  They take the classes offered by their teachers . . . Paul, Apollos, Peter, and even Jesus.  They learn everything that they are taught, everything their teachers know.  They graduate . . . and, then Paul shows up and tells them that they haven’t even begun to understand and life of faith.

I think they felt like I did when I learned that kindergarten wasn’t the end all to education.

That is the paradox . . . especially when it comes to faith and living a life grounded in faith.  The reality is that it never stops . . . it is a constantly growing, changing part of who we are as the children of God . . . part of who God created us to be.  And, I know that all of you know about this paradox of faith.  I know that you have all experienced it.  Just when you think that you have it all figured out, God reveals another part of the picture for us to consider.  That is the desire of God . . . that each and everyone of us continue to grow in faith and in the faith.

The bottom line is that we are never done when it comes to our education about faith.  During my time serving as a pastor of a United Church of Christ congregation, I appreciated their use of the slogan that Gracie Allen--wife of George Burns--is created with: “Never place a period where God has put a comma.”  It is our human nature to put periods in the journey of our lives . . . capped off as a milestone . . . as the final piece; but, the truth of the matter is that those periods--those ending points--are nothing more than mere respites in the journey of life . . . a chance for us to catch our breath . . . commas . . . before we continue on with the next leg of the journey.

I know that you understand what I am saying.  I have heard many of you tell me that you are not at the same place you were when you first committed your life to Jesus years ago, that you are not in the same place in your faith that you were five, ten, twenty, or even forty years ago.  You have grown in your understanding of what it means to love God and in turn, love one another.  You know that you have grown deeper and wider in your faith and love for God.  You are not the same person who encounter Jesus years ago . . . you have grown deeper in your faith.

Paul wanted the people in the Corinthian congregation to understand that faith in Jesus is not an end product, but a process.  A process that takes a lifetime.  And, because it is a lifetime process, one must constantly be studying, praying, and considering one’s faith in the light of the time that he or she is living.  One must continue to grow.

Now it is true that the call upon each of our lives is to love the Lord with all of our being, and to love our neighbors.  Yet, at the same time, the call upon us is to discover completely who we are created by God and how we fit into this world we have been placed in to live.  We can never reach the end, but always continue to discover the deeper and more intimate relationship we can have with God, one another, and the world.  We can never be complacent in thinking that we are done when it comes to faith.  We are never done.  That is the paradox of faith . . . we are never done.  It might feel like a lie, but the truth is we are never done.

I just wish they had told me this in kindergarten.  Amen.