On this first Sunday in Lent, we go back to an earlier moment in Luke's Gospel. After Jesus was baptized, but before speaking publicly, he went off into the wilderness by himself.
People usually spend extended time in the wilderness for one of two things: seeking or sorting. “Seeking” involves an epiphany: an eye-opening moment, transformation or deep insight. “Sorting” suggests that the moment has already happened, but one needs to go off to be alone to sort things out, find direction, and next the next steps to take.
Jesus, in his baptism, had his epiphany: “You are my beloved Son. With you I am well pleased.” Whether it’s incarnation or confirmation (pending on the particular Gospel and one’s interpretation), it’s clear that Jesus goes into the wilderness to sort, not to seek.
Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus goes into the wilderness to sort out what he is to do: what kind of beloved Son will he be? What will his ministry look like?
There he is met by the devil. (Side note: In Mark’s version of the story, Jesus is “tempted by Satan,” which may be referring to the adversary in Job’s story who actually works for God in an accusatory manner. Luke refers to him only as “the devil,” which by New Testament time is a clear hostile force to God. Matthew uses both “Satan” and “the devil”, but the force is clearly hostile to God’s purpose as in Luke.)
In Mark’s version of the story, what Jesus was tempted with is left to our imaginations. But in Luke, as in Matthew, the devil’s temptations take specific form.
Number One: “Command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
This could be simply to use your power for what you need, but it also could be economic power: for example, turning stone to bread gives the resources to solve all economic issues, like hunger and famine.
Number Two:
“All the kingdoms of the world can be yours.”
The devil offers Jesus the opportunity to rule the world with justice. End the tyranny of Rome: instant regime change. Jesus could accomplish great things for the world by accepting this temptation, by “playing the world’s game for a good purpose.” (Sharon Ringe in Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol. 2, edited by David Bartlett & Barbara Brown Taylor.)
Number Three:
“Throw yourself down from (the pinnacle of the temple)”
This doesn’t sound like anything’s offered here, but in truth it may the greatest offer of all. Take control of the temple. Establish righteous leadership. Restore the rightful place of the temple as the center of faithful living. All it would take is an example to the community, and Jesus could have ultimate religious power to be used for good.
We think of the devil’s temptations and we tend to think of being temped to do bad things, but that’s often not the case. Using economic abundance to feed the hungry is a good thing. Governance with justice is a good thing. Righteous religious leadership is a good thing. To make it harder, all of these things fit into Jesus ministry: Jesus, throughout his ministry, will feed the poor, advocate governing with justice, and faithfully wield religious power.
The devil seeks to move Jesus only to solutions, or to taking “the end justifies the means” approach. The devil seeks to divert Jesus from faithfully walking God’s unknown path to a more certain one with results measurable to the world...be it worldly goods, political power, or religious power.
The focus for Jesus, however, is the kingdom of God...and remains so in the midst of the temptations.
If there is one overarching message from this temptation story, it is this: HOW we do things matters.
I happened to hear a modern example yesterday when I turned on NPR in the car and the show On the Media was broadcasting. They were having a conversation on the problem with tariffs.
Gordon Hanson, an economist at Harvard university, described tariffs as as instance of “Beggar thy Neighbor.” Host Micah Loewinger wasn’t familiar with that term, nor was I. Hanson explained its the concept that “I’m going to make myself richer by making you poorer.” It works if the other simply accepts what you do and functions in your newly created system (and it certainly isn’t the justice that God hopes for.) I should now mention that Hanson makes it clear that in reality other countries don’t do this, but instead retaliate and everyone ends up poorer. This played out in the 1930s. The long term results was that the United States realized that we would instead be richer if we are producing for each other, leading to the rise of global markets.
Note the echos of Deuteronomy: “I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.”
How we do things matter.
Jesus emerges from his time in the wilderness fully embracing his role in the kingdom of God. His path not only results in good things accomplished, but the practice of them always demonstrates love for God and neighbor.
Now in our wilderness of Lent, we are invited to seek or sort out how we might faithfully walk the path of God with our lives...understanding that how we get there is as important as reaching the destination.
(This is the written form of a sermon preached at St. Paul's Episcopal Salt Lake City on March 9th, 2025)
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