"Filled with the Holy Spirit"
Luke 4:1-13
If you were here on Baptism of the Lord Sunday, you remember that John the Baptizer had been going around the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah: “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness…”
When Jesus had been baptized and was praying, heaven
was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a
dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You
are my Son, the Beloved. With you I am
well pleased.”
At the age of 30, the man Jesus of Nazareth came to know
that he was the beloved Son of God.
Afterward, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where
for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
He needs to decide what kind of son he’s going to be. The wilderness is hot and barren. The gospel tells us that "he was famished."
From somewhere comes a voice--
"If you are God's Son, then command
this stone, so that it becomes bread."
And Jesus remembers John... the
Jordan River... the sky opening and a
voice thundering, "You are my
SON... the beloved."
But now there’s a different
voice: "If you are God's Son... if you are God's Son." A rounded stone could become a loaf of bread.
Who could it hurt? If he is
God's child-- then why shouldn't he have
what he wants? The TEMPTATION is to turn
away from the way of SACRIFICE and SUFFERING… and to serve himself. The temptation is for Jesus to use his
authority as the Son of God to meet his personal needs and desires.
The first temptation in the gospel
story is to choose the easy life. We end
up hungry for the wrong things. The life
focused on security… worldly success… or
play... or earthly pleasure-- is a life spent looking for substitutes for
communion with God.
We're tempted to avoid hard things
like FORGIVENESS. Somebody says
something thoughtless that makes you feel stupid... or devalued.
Someone you thought was your friend hurts you deeply. We should forgive. But it's a hard part of following Jesus.
Jesus understood the temptation of
the easy way. But he knew: "One
cannot live by bread alone.”
The adversary tries again. This
time, the temptation is an appeal to the human desire for power. “If you will worship me, all the kingdoms
of the world will be yours.” Jesus is offered the authority and glory of
all the kingdoms of the world. This was
a temptation to embrace what many would have expected of him as the Messiah: political and military might and rule.
Jesus could have chosen success… and
prominence or wealth-- instead of redemptive suffering. But he didn’t.
That Jesus rejects this is a clear
sign that his messiah-ship, his kingdom, will be a different kind of kingdom
than people were expecting. Jesus’
mission isn’t about asserting worldly power, but about saving others, about
sacrificial service.
The tempter tries again. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the
temple…” You know what the
scriptures say, "God will protect
you."
As Shakespeare pointed out, "There is no error so grave but that
some sober brow will not bless it with a proper text." Even Satan quotes scripture.
First century Jews believed that
when the Messiah came, he would reveal himself from the temple roof. Jesus could be the Messiah the people
wanted-- if he would do what they expected.
This may be partly a foreshadowing
of the crucifixion and a temptation for Jesus to save himself from death. But this temptation seems to be about
another alternative path for Jesus’ power, leading to fame and riches, rather
than to service and the cross.
Out in in the wilderness, Jesus had
to answer the hard questions about who he was and what his mission would
be.
Out in the wilderness, Jesus faced these three decisive issues in the
process of spiritual maturity-- issues each of us has to work through, if we want to tackle the challenges of life
with a strong sense of who we are and whose we are.
It might be easier if the Evil One appeared in a red suit with a
pitchfork, so he's easy to identify. But
often the tempter appears as a sensible way to meet our worldly needs-- or at least our selfish desires. When we give in to those temptations-- we push
ourselves away from God and God’s will for our lives.
Jesus was continually tempted to
make it easier for himself. But he kept
foregoing comfort... applause.. and wealth to be true to his God-given identity. Jesus was never freed from temptation, and we
won’t be either.
So--
why do we keep giving in to temptation?
I think it’s because we give in because we FORGET.
Jesus' antidote for temptation was REMEMBERING. When he was tempted, he was able to come back
with the words of the SCRIPTURES. He remembered who God is, and how God works.
What’s at stake here is a question
of IDENTITY. Who is Jesus? Who are we?
One of the saddest conditions a
person can face in life is AMNESIA-- not
knowing who you are. It’s frightening when
a person doesn’t understand what life is about…
when life has no meaning or purpose.
That’s what made Willy Lohman such a
pathetic character in Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman. After Willie committed suicide, his son Biff
says that the heart of his father’s problems
was that he didn’t know who he was.
Knowing who you are and whose you are is essential to your wholeness as God’s
child, and to your awareness of what God wants you to do with your life. Satan’s primary objective isn’t getting you
to do something wrong-- but to get you
to forget WHO YOU ARE. The Adversary
wants you to lose your identity… and
your sense of belonging to the family of God.
The ways Satan tries to
convince us that we don’t deserve God’s
love are subtle and clever. And these
temptations-- like the temptations of
Christ-- are far more treacherous than
an impulse to disobey one of the commandments.
Think about this tricky
question: “If you are a child of God,
then why don’t you feel more like one?
This can be deadly, because sometimes we don’t feel much like a beloved
member of God’s family. The temptation
is to believe that-- if you’re not feeling
like a child of God-- then maybe you aren’t.
Or about this temptation: “If
you are a child of God, why don’t you act more like one?
When we’re tempted to forget who we are, we’re in a kind of spiritual
desert. The word “wilderness” or
“desert” has often been used as a symbol for being lost spiritually. Sometimes we don’t feel or act like children
of God. Sometimes it seems as though
we’re wandering around in a wilderness, not knowing who we are.
Being in a wilderness place is an unavoidable part of the Christian
walk. We fight some of our greatest
spiritual battles when we’re out in the wilderness. It’s a time when we’re confronted with
ourselves.. and we need to clarify what
it is that we want or desire more than anything else.
When we're tempted to forget who we
are... when we're tempted to take the
EASY way-- we're called to follow
Jesus’ example. Jesus went back to the
scriptures that he learned as a child… the stories he’d heard at home and in
the synagogue. He remembered the things
God had done for him. He recalled the
truths God had spoken.
That’s what we’re called to do. We need to remember this story of Jesus
in the wilderness.
There were no witnesses to this event but Jesus. So he must have told the disciples-- in the
hope that they would remember.
Remember that we have a savior who
understands our struggle. Remember how
Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee and made it
clear what his mission was in his inaugural speech in the synagogue in
Nazareth:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate those who are
oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
It is hard to resist the power that
the world loves and values. But in the
beginning of today’s gospel lesson is the promise. You don’t do this on your own. “Filled with the Holy Spirit.” And you are.
That is your promise. “Filled
with the Holy Spirit” is God’s promise that extends beyond Luke to Acts.
In the beginning of Acts, we hear
Jesus’ promise: “You will receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
“Filled with the Holy Spirit” is not
a one-time thing or a temporary truth, but an eternal promise for God’s people.
The good news is that, beginning with our baptism, God claims us and
calls us and by the Holy Spirit gives us the power we need to carry Christ’s
saving love into the world.
So remember who you are: a beloved child of God, claimed by God’s grace…
and called to work in partnership with Christ to embody God’s love and to work
for reconciliation and justice and peace in the world.
Thanks be to God!
Amen!
Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor
Littlefield Presbyterian Church
Dearborn, Michigan
February 14, 2016
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