26^th February 2013

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 17 February 2013

Lessons - Deuteronomy 6:4-19; Hebrews 4:14-16; 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 40 days he was tempted by
the devil.' (Luke 4:1,2)

Talk of 'temptation' seems out of place in a secular age. It is unsettling and thought to be negative and dangerous to our sense of well-being. It is also at odds with the widespread conviction that if 'religion' is to be relevant then it should 'deliver' spiritual happiness. The idea of wrestling with God is alien in our society and our Church!

Still, temptation fascinates us. Novels, films, TV programs, news and advertising appeal to our lust for sex, money, power. We are drawn to people, products and programs promising to enhance our lives but which, in reality, exploit our natural desire for intimacy, economic security, political stability and a truly 'spiritual' faith.

The Christian community is not immune from temptation. Far from being a foreign element in the life of faith, temptation is an ever-present reality. It is part and parcel of the lives of those whom God calls into the service of Christ. That is why each Sunday we pray, 'Do not lead us into temptation (do not bring us to a severe trial of our faith), but deliver us from evil.' The faithful are no match for temptation!

We seriously underestimate the attraction of temptation if we think it thrives only by exposing weaknesses. The temptations of Jesus were 'temptations' precisely because he was asked to do things that were very good. 'Each of the three temptations attacks Jesus, not at a point of weakness but at his greatest strength - his compassion, his commitment, his faith.' (GB Caird, St Luke p81.) Evil masquerades as good! He is tempted to be 'virtuous'!

Three very attractive options are put to Jesus:

* He can perform an economic miracle, satisfying his own hunger and others'.
* He can become a benevolent dictator, bringing peace and good government to all people.
* He can prove his faith in his Father and bedazzle his followers.

A very attractive proposal! A 'nod and a wink' in the right direction will ensure great things for humanity and God.

(1) Economics: The first temptation urges Jesus to let 'the good' take the place of 'the best'. 'If you are the Son of God, turn this stone into bread. (v3)' It is necessary to eat and to feed the hungry. Luke, of all the gospel writers, emphasises the festive enjoyment of food as a sign of the Kingdom of God and our binding obligation to meet the needs of 'the poor'. Jesus is not indifferent to our need for material sustenance and conviviality. He feeds the crowds with real bread. He condemns those who neglect the beggars on their doorsteps.

In refusing to turn a stone to bread, Jesus is not being callous to the starving. He is resisting the temptation - of all political parties - to think that our deepest need can be met by economic means. He rejects the consumerist idea that the highest goal of life is to satisfy our physical
needs. Money, property, shares and assets are not the most important
things in life. Survival, material well-being, financial security and charity are very important, but they are not the ultimate purpose of life.

If Jesus had given in to this temptation, he would have proved his compassion, but at the cost of his mission. He came to reconcile sinful men and women to God in a life of complete sacrificial love. Good economic management cannot defeat the dread power of evil, forgive those who do it or create a community which gladly acknowledges God's grace and goodness.

(2) Politics: In the second temptation Jesus is urged to 'let the end justify the means'. What an opportunity to exercise power for good in a disordered world where untold millions have been tortured, killed, abused and demeaned by political leaders. Jesus can establish a 'new world order'
of peace and justice.

The cost of attaining such power, however, is too high. 'If you will worship me, the whole inhabited world will be yours. (v7)' Political compromise is important in making policies for the benefit of the people, but capitulation to evil - even in the service of a just cause - is unconscionable. It has no place in the mission of the One in whom God's triumphant, suffering love is revealed in crucifixion and resurrection.

Today, as ever, this word needs to be heard because many people do not think twice about 'telling lies for justice'. Since the French Revolution (at the end of the 18th Century) atrocities have been committed by numerous tyrants who have appealed to 'freedom, equality and brotherhood'!

Jesus does not 'sell his soul' so as to wield global power for good. Even political power - which we tend to think of as the pinnacle of human power
- must recognise its limits. Exercising political power or being committed to 'human rights' is no substitute for the Kingdom of God proclaimed by and in Christ. His power, the power of God, is exercised in the weakness of the Cross.

(3) Religion: Jesus is urged to force God's hand by an unambiguous display of spiritual power. He is tempted to prove his faith in God / the Father.
The devil, like the serpent in the garden (Genesis 3:1ff), practically turns religious. 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the top of the temple and people will believe because of your incredible faith
and God's astonishing power. (v9)'

What an opportunity! Surely, this would be the clincher! Jesus' identity as a divinely appointed miracle-worker without peer would be proven. The power of God would be unambiguously displayed in the man Luke describes as being 'full of the Holy Spirit' (4:1). The power of the Holy Spirit, so keenly sought by spirit-filled charismatics, Pentecostals and others, would be obvious to all in such a remarkable 'sign and wonder'.

But notice what it actually means for Jesus to be 'full of the Holy Spirit'. The Holy Spirit is the power of God encouraging him in the wilderness when sorely tempted to abandon his calling. Thankfully, he resists this spiritual temptation. The true miracle of God's presence in Jesus, the Son of God, is to be found, not in a supernatural or magical act, but in Christ's costly, self-giving love for sinful men and women displayed in the whole of his life, death, resurrection and ascension.

* In the temptations, Jesus refuses to 'make a bargain with the devil'. By resisting temptation he shows that the ultimate purpose of life is not to be found in the pursuit of economic security, political power or spiritual bliss. His mission is to show that God's goodness and grace is the power of costly, self-giving love that does not shrink from confronting evil, refuses to play by its rules, bears its dark consequences and trumps its best hand.

This is the 'best thing' to have happened in history. It must not be confused with the many 'good things' that we must do to strengthen political and economic institutions and meet the needs of those who are hungry for food or dignity or faith.

* Christ's victory over temptation, as the writer to the Hebrews says (Hebrews 4:14-16), is also a source of hope for us. We are not tested as the One who has come to reconcile the human race to God. Jesus'
temptations are far more severe than any that we experience. Nevertheless, we share in his triumph over temptation.

No temptation of ours is so great that it has not already been experienced and defeated by Christ. As the fully human Son of God, he assures us that we are not alone even in our most severe trials. We have a 'high priest'
who sympathises with us in our temptations (Hebrews 2:14ff;4:14ff). Jesus identifies fully with us in our humanity, being like us in all things except sin (see the Chalcedonian Creed, AD 451). Just as the Holy Spirit confirmed Jesus' identity as Son of God who identified himself with our broken, sinful humanity in baptism (3:21,22), so the Holy Spirit assures us that he identifies with us in our weakness. Our temptations are borne by him!

* Today, we are still tempted to look for 'ultimate solutions' to life's problems in economic, political and spiritual programs. Horrified by the evils of hunger, injustice, tyranny and religion, and desperately wanting others to be attracted to the Gospel, we are open to being duped by false hopes. Evil often raises its ugly head where we are involved in doing what is charitable, noble and spiritual. We can easily mistake these very important tasks with the Gospel. Only in this Son of God is to be found Good News for sinful, broken human beings, like you and me, who are no match for evil but who, nevertheless, can rejoice that he shares our weaknesses, forgives our sins and bears our temptations.

The question for us is whether, having trivialised temptation, we are not unsettled by powerful forces hostile to the Gospel. Huge challenges face the Church today. We are tempted to adapt ourselves to economic, political and spiritual ideals that aim to displace Christianity from the public square. Let us pray, therefore, that we may experience temptation once more, know that Christ identifies with our weaknesses, and be emboldened by the Holy Spirit to engage in a genuine missionary encounter with our contemporaries. The one word that the world urgently needs to hear is that God's costly grace has been revealed in his Son, the crucified and risen Lord.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.