"Playing with Your Mind!"
Sermon Presented February 13, 2005
Matthew 4:1-11
The season of Lent began last Wednesday. This 40-day journey excluding Sundays commemorates Jesus' 40-day struggle in the wilderness where Satan played with his mind. His journey began with temptation and ended at the cross, followed by resurrection. Our journey also begins with temptation and temptations continue throughout our lifetime.
Our spiritual journey doesn't follow the familiar path of life's milestones. It isn't the movement from being an apprentice to a skilled worker, from high school to college or from love to commitment. This journey resembles a roller coaster ride accompanied by unexpected twists and turns. It's a journey that requires us to make choices - often between things that both appear to be good. It begins in the wilderness and that is where we struggle much of the time. And just as it was with Jesus, our journey is punctuated with internal battles between God and Satan.
The Church set aside the season of Lent as a time for self-examination and getting our priorities straight. It isn't a time to beat ourselves up over our failures but a time to turn away from our temptations and sins so we can start anew on Easter. It's a time for us to refocus on love of God and neighbor so that homecoming is possible and community is restored.
Let's look at Matthew's account of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness. This desert time begins immediately following Jesus' baptism when he hears God announce that he is God's son. What does this mean? What kind of power does it give him? Enter - Satan, who tries to mess with Jesus' mind, tempting him to lose his humanity and test his relationship with God. Hear the story as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11 (Read text.)
At first glance, it might be easier accepting Jesus as God's Son if he actually did those things Satan asked him to do. It would be easier to explain him to nonbelievers had he thrown himself off the pinnacle of the temple and walked away or taken over the rule of Jerusalem and sent the Romans fleeing for their lives. But that's not the Jesus we know and worship. The Jesus we worship calls us to show power through service. He never ruled a nation but wants to rule our hearts. And he died a horrible death after asking God to deliver him.
Let's look more closely at Jesus' temptations. They begin in the wilderness when he is most vulnerable after not eating for 40 days. Each temptation invites him to take matters into his own hands and accomplish great feats - but lose his God-given identity. Acceptance of the temptations seems so logical! And besides, it's easy to play with the mind of a person who hasn't eaten for such a long time.
His first test is to turn a stone into bread - just push the envelope and see how far you can move God. At a later time he feeds more than 5000 people with a few fish and some bread. Besides, he's famished. But the purpose of his fast hasn't yet been accomplished. His time in the wilderness isn't over.
Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu saint, helped India gain independence from Great Britain through fasting. He planned his fasts carefully - sometimes for a specific length of time and sometimes unto death unless certain demands were met. Because he was greatly admired by the public no one wanted to risk being responsible for his death.
Once toward the end of his life after a great outbreak of violence, Gandhi stated that he wouldn't eat again unless all of those who had committed violence repented and solemnly vowed to stop. At first no one cared. Revenge seemed far more appropriate than forgiveness. During the first day of his fast, gunfire echoed through the streets of Calcutta. Within twenty-four hours his already weak heart started missing one beat in four, and his blood pressure dropped. The next day, as his vital signs plummeted, rioters paused and listened to broadcast reports of the old man's blood pressure and heart rate. Soon the attention of every citizen of Calcutta was riveted on the straw pallet where he lay, too weak to speak. The violence ended. The next day the gang responsible for the murders came to Gandhi to confess, ask forgiveness, and lay their arms at his feet. (Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey, p. 162) Gandhi didn't stop the fast when it appeared he would die if he didn't eat, he stopped the fast when God's will was accomplished. Satan lost that battle with Gandhi's mind.
Jesus' next temptation is to convince people that he is who he says he is by doing something spectacular. Just jump off a cliff and see if God will act. It is the temptation to believe that no matter how foolish he acts, God will save him. Does this sound familiar? What about the person who takes everything she has to the casinos believing she will win enough money to live on Easy Street for the rest of her life; or the teen who drives 100 MPH believing he won't suffer any consequences from the thrill; or the person who drives around the guardrails at a RR crossing believing he can beat the train; or the woman who marries a violent person believing God will change him. If we're honest, we can look back and see that all of us have engaged in foolish behavior believing that God will save us. Sometimes we are fortunate and escape severe consequences and other times we smash onto the concrete below. It's much more exciting to test what we don't know than to obey what we do know. This temptation of Jesus is also ours.
Jesus' third temptation is for power. "Engage in a little idolatry and you can have everything you want on your own terms. Just cheat a little, split your loyalty, worship me a little on the side and I will give you whatever you want." We know the advantages of power. The temptation is to use the tactics of the world to gain or retain power in any given situation. Many religious leaders use worldly tactics to gain power and a large membership and lose their souls in the process. Political candidates take money from big corporations or organizations in order to get elected and then discover that the chips are called in. People seek power in their communities, their churches and their families in order to serve their own needs and purposes. Satan can really do a sales job on us until we realize that it's time to pay up.
We always have the choice of following the tempter rather than God. Sometimes our temptations sound so good that we believe they must be from God. I know people who justify an affair or an unwise business venture as God's will for them. It's important to take time to test the spirits to determine the source of our temptation.
Satan promises us that if we compromise our values we can avoid the work before us. This is a "bait and switch" technique, and we don't have to be hungry to be tempted. We can be full. But here at Roundy we are hungry. In fact we are starving. Our attendance is low and our congregation is aging. What are we willing to do to grow numerically? As we seek God's vision for our church, will we compromise our integrity or do something radical to bring in those who are ostracized by society? Whose voice will we follow?
If we follow Satan, the promise is that we won't have to minister to those who aren't like us. We won't have to employ the ways of God but can gain power by more successful means. We won't have to suffer betrayal and rejection, but can taste the fruits of victory right now.
This Lenten time is offered to us as a time for spiritual growth. It's a particular time to listen to God and to learn how to live life God's way. When we are in the desert, we better recognize our need for God, and as with Jesus, we need to claim our humanity and seek God's help.
Henri Nouwen, one of the greatest writers in the area of spirituality in the 20th Century said: "Keep your eyes on the one who refuses to turn stones into bread, jump from great heights or rule with great temporal power. Keep your eyes on the one who says, 'Blessed are the poor, the gentle, those who mourn and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; blessed are the merciful, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness…. Keep your eyes on the one who is poor with the poor, weak with the weak and rejected with the rejected. That one is the source of all peace." (Philip Yancey, Soul Survivor, p. 310)
When we are in the wilderness our greatest desire is to get out! We don't like the dryness, the hunger, the isolation and the pain. We are tempted to give up and quit, to believe no one cares, to think of ourselves more highly than we should, to be selfish, to misuse power, to seek the adulation of others or to compromise our beliefs. It's tempting to see God in escape routes when it's not God at all. If I can just move to a new neighborhood, or change jobs, or change mates or obtain more money and things, then I will be able to follow God more closely. Satan offers us seemingly good things and when we accept them, we find that our life is required as payment.
The text says that after Jesus had refused to succumb to the temptations, the devil left him. And immediately, food came. Oh, he was still hungry. He was still fasting. But angels came and ministered to him. He received the nourishment he needed at the time.
During this Lenten season I invite you to discover your own temptations and repent of your sins, because we, like Jesus, are addressed by voices that want to destroy us. We, like Jesus, are in the wilderness of confusion, and we, like Jesus, have resources available to help us meet the challenges. So let's allow God to lead us on this wilderness journey. Let's seek wisdom to discern the voices so that God is victorious in our own personal mind game.
