Lent 2

Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, "One does not live by bread alone.' " Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' " Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and "On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.' " Jesus answered him, "It is said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' " When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.


As I continued to think about that image from yesterday's Stone Mountain reflection, my Thursday chapel sermon began to form. I had been thinking over the temptation of Jesus passage for a few days, reading it, reading about it. I was struggling to find the message, though. But as I talked about that Easter journey idea, I started to think about Jesus and his ministry. The whole of Jesus' ministry took place while walking to Jerusalem. Granted, he made stops along the way, gathered people to him, taught, and healed, but that was all by way of walking to Jerusalem and ultimately the cross.

What does this have to do with the temptation passage, you may ask? Well, this story takes place before Jesus' ministry begins, before we know what his life and ministry will be all about. There were many expectations about who the Messiah would be, warrior, doer of miracles, political figure... And when Satan tempts Jesus, those are exactly the choices offered. His life could be about turning stones to bread, doing miracles. His life could be about political power, ruling over all the world. He could test God and distance himself from humanity. But Jesus said no to all these things. Jesus said, no, I won't do those things. Instead, I'll walk with the people.

Jesus' no to temptation was a holy and wonderful yes to us, to you and me. His walking ministry is recorded in scripture and stands as our great reference to how we can be more like Christ in our lives. Instead of being over and above humanity, Jesus chose walk alongside humanity, to be the God we can see and touch, the God we can know and by whom we can be known. It makes me thankful for the walk.