“Just Say No!”

February 10, 2008, 1st Sunday in Lent    

Readings: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11


Human beings seem to have an obsession with sin and temptation. An incredible amount of art and other graphics and countless books and articles exist devoted to this subject. From Adam and Eve in the garden to modern people in Hollywood, in sports arenas, and other places, there seems to be no end of temptation and people wallowing to it. The entertainment industry makes millions on telling stories of TV and movie stars misbehaving.  How many stories about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears can we stand?  What is it about us that wants to hear about these people and plunk down our money for magazines that tell their stories? Perhaps we like to compare ourselves to someone who behaves worse than we do? Some naughty celebrities misbehave just to keep their names in the headlines. Others are just rich, self-centered and self indulgent and act without thinking of the consequences. But what does that do for their souls?

Our lives are formed by what we affirm and what we reject. Rich and famous people who look to the world for recognition face huge temptations. But, then don’t we all? Every human being faces temptation in his or her life. A Christian, through faith, has the strength to say “no.”

All our scriptures this morning are about sin and forgiveness – central themes for the season of Lent, the forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Christians observe Lent by remembering the sacrificial nature of discipleship, repentance and renewal, atonement and resurrection. It is the most countercultural observance in church.  Where else in our culture are we asked not to indulge ourselves? Have you ever seen an advertisement telling us we don’t deserve what we want? I doubt it.  But in Lent we’re told to take up a cross –an implement of torture – and follow Jesus!  Pretty countercultural if you ask me!

In the early Christian Church, Lent was observed as a time of preparation for baptism for those converting. As a matter of fact, Easter was traditionally the day to be baptized into the Christian faith. As we look forward to a baptism in this church on Easter, we can prepare ourselves to be the church worthy to accept her!

But early in the Christian church, Lent was not observed because people thought that to follow Jesus, they should live a pious life at all times. The first Christians expected Jesus would return for them in a very short time, so they practiced very devout piety, spending their lives in prayer and self-denial. Then time took its toll. People who could not or would not maintain their religious fervor relaxed their passionate devotion. In 313, Emperor Constantine legalized Christian belief in the Roman Empire, and the status of Christian believers was redefined in the empire. Christians became mainstream. Soon it was no longer possible to tell the believers from the unbelievers – Christians began to “blend in” with their neighbors.  As Barbara Brown Taylor puts it, “[Christians] decided to be nice instead of holy and God moaned out loud.”2 Those who heard that moan decided something needed to be done to return to their previous close relationship God. They took their cue from bible stories.  The Israelites had wandered in the desert forty years with Moses learning to trust the Lord. Moses spent forty days on the mountain waiting for God to write the law. Elijah spent forty days fasting and wandering in the wilderness to hear God’s voice, and even Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness to prepare himself for his ministry. So the Church named the forty days before Easter “Lent,” (from the word Lenten, which means “spring”) to return to a life of devotion, even for a short time, to cleanse the believer and remind him or her of what it was like to do without physical comforts and depend wholly upon God.

Post-modern people are really used to conveniences, and many of us are addicted to something – we need a pacifier to fill in the hollowness of modern life.  So we do something that numbs us; if not drugs or alcohol, then overdoing something else like video games, or eating, or shopping, or blaming others for our own unhappiness. Taylor says, “The simplest definition of an addiction is anything we use to fill the empty space inside of us that belongs to God alone.”3 So, in Lent, we recognize the crutches we use, the conveniences we rely on, and we pick one and give it up for a short time, in hopes we can root out our dependence on the worldly, to realize our dependence on God.

Giving up some small thing may seem a bit absurd when considering what Jesus gave up for us, yet in Lent, we enter the wilderness and leave behind our pacifiers.  We give up something – Sudoku puzzles or coffee or chocolate or soda pop – it doesn’t really matter what.  When we deny ourselves one thing, especially if that thing feels addictive, then we can pay attention to what draws us to that thing in the first place. Is it hunger or loneliness or anger? Then, instead of trying to fill that empty space and fix that feeling with a pacifier, we try to really feel that emotion.  What is wrong with being alone that turns it into loneliness?  What is it that is making us angry – not the fault of someone else, but the underlying emotion of our own?  Isn’t it time to bring that out into the light and see what makes it happen?

When an idea comes to us that we don’t really need to give up something to show our love for God, it’s good to remember we have the same Adversary as Jesus. The world tempts us every day.  But we have the tools to overcome it.

Henri Nouwen, a great spiritual writer of the 20th century, compared the temptations of Jesus to temptations we face today.

To turn stones into bread is the temptation to be relevant.  We want to do, make, accomplish, build and create to prove our relevance, rather than to be faithful and vulnerable.

To throw oneself off of a tower is the temptation to be spectacular, the pressure to win other people’s applause.  We want to be recognized as extraordinary.

And to rule the kingdom of this world is to be powerful, to be in charge, to have some sort of power – be it economic, military or political.  Nouwen says our task is to empty ourselves and follow Jesus.

Each of three of these sins is to claim our right as powerful.  To turn away from these sins is to affirm that God is in charge.  And that is really good news. 

Thanks be to God. 

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