Putting Us to the Test

February 29, 2004 (First Sunday in Lent)

  by The Rev. Linda Yeager, Deacon

- Deuteronomy 26:1-11- Psalm 91 or 91:9-15- Romans 10:5-13- Luke 4:1-13

(From The Lectionary Page)

Increasingly, when I go to church meetings, to a gathering of Episcopalians, we recite the "new" version of The Lord's Prayer. I'm sure you have either used it or at least noticed it in the Prayer Book, there to the right of the traditional version. I have mixed feelings about this version. On the negative side, The Lord's Prayer is the one prayer that all Christians are able to say together, even if we do have a difference in "debts" and "trespasses," and even if we Episcopalians like to stretch things out--forever AND EVER. So, if we accept the new version, will we make people even more uncomfortable when they visit our church? But, on the positive side, I like the language and I believe that I pay a little more attention to what I'm saying when I recite it. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen. Of particular note to me is the change to "Save us from the time of trial" replacing "Lead us not into temptation." When I heard that phrase, "Save us from the time of trial," for the first time, I was slightly confused at its substitution for "Lead us not into temptation." But after reading today's gospel of the "temptation of Christ" and thinking about that word "temptation," I believe I like and accept the new version.

The Greek work for "to tempt" means more than to entice a person to do wrong; it more closely means "to test." So when Jesus went into the wilderness, it was to be tested. And in his aloneness, he passed the test.

As we enter the season of Lent, the forty days of our own wilderness that precedes the glory of Easter, we, too, can put ourselves to the test. And I can see a correlation between the three great tests of Christ and how we are also tested in these three areas.

You will remember from today’s gospel that the first test for Jesus, who had been fasting and was hungry, was to "command this stone to become a loaf of bread." But he answered, “It is written, ‘one does not live by bread alone.’" Jesus faced the test of material possessions. I recently heard of the death of a 19-year-old man. It was a swift death from spinal meningitis and his friends and family were left shocked and grief-stricken. Someone commented, “You know, his family has a beautiful home with a view of the ocean, they have sailboats, great jobs--but all that means nothing.” We live by the word of God, the gospel tells us. And the only way that these grieving parents will find consolation is through the word of God. Not all the material possessions in the world will comfort them at this time. In God alone will they find the strength to walk the journey of grief.

We are continually tempted by material goods, by the world that is "too much with us" as Wordsworth said. In that great sonnet, Wordsworth goes on to say, "we have given our hearts away" to the world. Lent is a time of testing for each of us, to look at the world around us, at the material part of that world. Have we given our hearts to that part of the world? We can tell a great deal about our commitments and ourselves by looking at our date book and our checkbook. Where do our time and our money go? Lent is a desert time when we may spend some time thinking about our priorities and trying to pass our own tests of commitment.

Then came Jesus' second test, to be a world leader in the political sense. The devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offers Jesus glory and authority. "If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours," says the tempter's voice. How easy it would have been to give in to this test. After all, that's what people expected. They were looking for a worldly king who would step in and "take over." But Jesus reminded himself that "it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" Jesus realized that his leadership role was a sacred one, not one of worldly values. And this Lent, it might be wise for us to examine our own values, to be sure that we don't compromise our faith because of what the world argues. As a former teacher, I can see that life is a lot like a pop test every day, of the multiple choice variety. If we have prepared well—by prayer, study, and scripture—we know the right answers. If we are unsure of our answers, we will be tempted to guess, to select the answer that seems like it might be correct. Without preparation, we are unsure of ourselves and not ready for the daily pop quizzes that we continually face. We need to examine our own hearts in light of our faith, to make decisions on issues from the standpoint of that which is never changing and not be swayed by politics or persuasion of the worldly sort. Our God is not a worldly king, and our world leaders are not God. Jesus is the true king and his word is truth. Jesus passed the test of being a worldly king; we need to remember that he is our true king and he wants us to live by his values.

Jesus' third test found him fighting against his own power. If he was the Son of God, he could do anything he wanted, he could perform supernatural feats. But he resisted the temptation to gather followers based more on magic than message. Do we put Jesus to the same test? Do we find our faith being tested when "bad things happen to good people" and God doesn't intervene? Why, we ask, did that young man have to die? Why didn't God step in? But we live by the word of God and now "we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face." The triumph of our faith is that God is there to help us when we suffer beyond the limits of our own strength. He takes away the pain through the intervention of his love, not the intervention of superhuman physical power. We have faith in God not because he works miracles, but because he has given us the promise of His grace, of His acceptance of our imperfect selves and His promise of eternal life. God’s love is there whenever we need it and through God we will find the strength to endure the suffering that living in this world brings. None of us escapes suffering—physical, emotional, spiritual. God knows our suffering. Surrendering to God’s comfort is a symbol of our faith.

The testing of Christ in the wilderness is certainly an appropriate scripture for this first Sunday in Lent. During Lent, each of us can walk alone in the wilderness, examine our lives, pray, meditate, study, and grow closer to our God. We know, in this time of testing, that we must resist the temptations of the material world, that we must search our hearts for our true values, and that our help comes from the Lord. We, like Christ, face the testing of our faith every day. Lent is an appropriate and important time to prepare and pass these tests. And, with God’s help, we will.