Matthew 4:1-11
I think maybe to begin what I hope to
share, I must first back-pedal on a statement I made recently. I had suggested that when we are faced with
our "moment in eternity", that glorious moment when the Lord reaches
out to us in an unmistakable and intensely personal way, our response in that
moment must never be "maybe" or "I'll get back to you";
that "not now" can be construed as "not ever".
Clearly this is an unfair statement for
a couple of reasons, not least of which is our Lord cannot
"misunderstand" us as we often misunderstand one another. The Lord knows what He is asking of us -
discipleship is no cake walk - and He surely knows above all else we humans
fear the "unknown" more than we fear almost anything else.
Jesus clearly states commitment to discipleship,
to following Him, requires much more than blind faith - especially if we, as
many do, have trust issues. Jesus calls
us to "count the cost" before we jump into something lest we come off
looking foolish when we decide it's more than we bargained for (Luke 14:25-33). In other words, there must be a period of thought,
prayer, testing and preparation - because we are never called only to be
justified (saved); we are beckoned into sanctification (the journey of continued
spiritual growth AND service to one another - two sides of the same coin).
Some traditions believe the Lord's call
is compelling beyond our capacity to resist or to doubt, that we are so moved
by the Holy Spirit in such a way that we literally cannot resist or be forced to
act against our own will. Our
Arminian-Wesleyan tradition does not see it quite that way. The calling is compelling, to be sure, and
unmistakable; but our tradition and heritage teach us our ability to reason and
to think things through is truly among our Creator's great gifts and thus
cannot be denied. Working within that
free will, however, still requires that we seriously consider an appropriate
response to what is being asked of us while
we explore discipleship honestly and openly within the many means of grace;
prayer, fasting, Scripture study, and worship to name only a few.
Lent is always a good place for seekers
to start asking the hard questions because it is during this time when many
begin to look at Jesus' life and ministry in a more challenging way; and the
reason many look more critically is we know this journey will come to a head on
what has become known as "Good Friday", that most cursed and blessed
of days when even Jesus Himself cried out to the Holy Father, "Why have
You forsaken Me?"
Surely we have all had those moments at
some point; those moments when we questioned this God who promised, "I
will never forsake you", especially when bad things happen to us. And we try to embrace that certain promise in
the midst of chaos and despair when we feel completely and utterly
forsaken. And I promise you this: if we
stand firm in Christ, in what is written in the Scriptures as Jesus did in the
wilderness, we can be sure even some "Christians" will turn on us
when we seek to do what is right in the eyes of our Holy Father rather than
worry about what our "friends" or our culture may think of us.
These attempts at destruction happen all
the time in cliquish social circles, private gossip circles, on social media,
and even in "conversation forums" such as one I am currently engaged
in at the local university. People do not want
to hear anything other than what they already think they know (I doubt any of
us can be excepted from this!); and anyone who speaks outside that particular
frame of reference is at least a potential "enemy" - but certainly a
threat.
Sometimes the attempts to undermine our
faith are more subtle, such as when the "tempter" takes Holy
Scripture out of its appropriate context in an effort to make a self-serving
point. He does so when we are at our
weakest and most vulnerable as Jesus surely was, or at least as vulnerable as the
"tempter" hoped He would be.
Lest we forget, however, it is probably even easier to be tempted when
we think we are at our strongest - you know, when we are pretty full of
ourselves and have lost all sense of humility and spiritual need.
Fasting alone does not bring us
temptation even though we should understand taking on such a spiritual practice
can be quite a test of spiritual endurance.
Yet fasting alone does not serve a spiritual purpose if our only measure
of success is whether we were able to "go the distance" and do
without something for a specified period of time without cheating. It must never be fasting alone or strictly
"giving up something for Lent"; it must be fasting AND prayer AND
Scripture study AND self-sacrifice AND the other means of grace by which we
connect or reconnect with our Lord in a meaningful way.
This is why a statement of suggesting
"now or never" is unfair and borderline manipulative; it leaves no
room for the Holy Spirit to work. It
puts people on OUR time table. We
observe Lent every year, and for good reason.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus refers to fasting as a presumed and necessary spiritual practice
already in place as He says, "When
you fast ..." - not "if".
Like repentance, fasting is not a "one-and-done" proposition.
Lent is a reminder for us that
discipleship is not a static "thing" that just sits there after we
have been baptized; that false notion of believing we are "saved" only
for our own sakes and not for the sake of the Lord's Kingdom AND His people who
have yet to make a commitment, those who find it difficult to let go, those who
are lost, those who feel "forsaken", angry, and bitter because of
what they have suffered and cannot find their way back.
Jesus clearly teaches that the
"end" of spiritual life in Him is not at baptism; rather that baptism
is a means to an end, a way to something greater and
clearly beyond oneself as being "led ... into the wilderness" as
Jesus was. I suppose it can be said that
after baptism is when the real work begins, when perhaps we become a greater
threat to the "father of lies",
when we have been marked with the sign of faith and means of grace by which our
Lord claims us and we declare our allegiance to the Kingdom of Heaven and
to the Lord's people on earth - His Body the Church - as well as to those who
continue to struggle or are struggling perhaps for the first time.
But we also must never overlook or soft
sell Jesus' use of the Holy Scriptures to endure and overcome this
"testing", this "temptation" - NOT clever bumper sticker
slogans we make up for ourselves that are, more often than not, not quite biblical. Standing
firm in the Word, returning to that Word after we have drifted away, or
entering into that Word as a new beginning, is a daily challenge for us all. This is the justification and necessity of
the fellowship of the Church, the congregation of disciples who continue to struggle
themselves and are glad for the company of others who so struggle. This is discipleship; to struggle rather than to
settle.
So if we really care about the state of
this nation, if we are truly concerned about the state of the Church, it is
time to more seriously and prayerfully consider what our Lord asks of us and
WHEN He asks it of us. We must resolve
to "start here, and start now" each day to affirm for the first time - or
reaffirm once again our commitment to our Lord.
Let the sacraments of the Church be to us our Lord's call to Reconciliation
- to Him AND to one another.
All glory and honor to the most High God,
and peace to His people on earth.
Amen.
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