Temptation
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 17, 2006
You may think I should be, but I’m not on a diet. Not on a special one, like weight-reducing diet or a bulking-up diet. I ought to be on a heart-healthy diet but … well, that’s a topic for my doctor’s sermon. I’m doing the preaching today.
My late wife was a food writer. And one of the things she taught me that the best diet for a healthy person was moderation in all things. Not all grapefruit, or protein with no carbs, or whatever the latest fad is. Simply moderation.
This is easier said than done. Especially with the way folks in this parish can cook. But for a typical person—that is, someone without diabetes or high blood pressure, for example—an occasional slice of cake or hamburger is fine. Just not all the time. Temptation, of course, can lead to excess.
In Ecclesiasticus, we are told that “Wine is very life to human beings if taken in moderation.” It goes on to say, “What is life to one who is without wine? It has been created to make people happy.” (31:27) So Scripture tells us that the occasional glass of red wine is good for the spirit—and I’m told it’s good for your heart, too.
Unless you’re an alcoholic. And then that simple glass of wine is like Satan himself, pulling you down into the pit of Hell itself. That is no exaggeration, as any recovering alcoholic will tell you. What is clearly a temptation toward danger and sin is clear for some. Not so clear for others. There are gray areas.
I read an interesting story in the New York Times yesterday about how high school football teams are now being shown on national television, and the best ones are flying all over the country to play. One coach from North Carolina talked about the educational benefits. He said, “I’m putting 80 kids on a plane this weekend, and 41 of them have never flown before. But you don’t want to sell your soul to do these things.”
In other words, he recognizes the temptations that he could give in to, the bad that could lie within the good. Education versus exploitation. He’s struggling with the gray areas. We’re all different. With different temptations, with different problems, with different weaknesses, with different gray areas. And we all have temptation, because none of us is perfect.
That’s why I find it so fascinating that even the Perfect One faced temptation and was the only one who ever could fully resist temptation. The only one who could see through the gray areas with perfect vision.
Remember back at the beginning of his ministry, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matt. 4:1) He turned down the chance to prove himself with showy miracles and to enrich himself with worldly power.
Jesus modeled for us how to react to temptation. In the wilderness, he faced temptation face to face and calmly rejected it. he rejected it by appealing to the word of God, by putting his strength with the strength of the Father.
In today’s Gospel reading, he does the same—modeling for us the way to confront temptation. He tells the disciples about how his ministry would end. He would die and rise again. The disciples didn’t pay much attention to the rise again part—only the promise of death.
Peter rebuked the Lord. “Don’t talk like that,” I can hear him saying. “You’re our leader. We need you. Fix it so that you don’t die.” It’s what I would have said. You probably would have said the same thing. Jesus had the power to do whatever he desired—but we mere mortals have trouble separating desire and necessity. It was Peter’s desire that Jesus remain with the disciples. But it was necessary for God’s plan of salvation for Jesus to die, to be put on the cross and then to rise again.
So Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Hard, harsh words. Calling Peter Satan. How terrible Peter must have felt. Can you imagine the impact of Jesus looking you in the face and calling you Satan?
It may help you to accept that if you realize Jesus doesn’t really mean it. You’re not Satan, even on your worst day. Peter was not Satan, not by a long shot. He was the rock on whom the church was built. Jesus knew that and had not changed his mind.
Perhaps Jesus was talking to himself. Temptation stood before him in the form of a friend. Yes, a friend can represent temptation. And it’s our Christian responsibility to resist temptation to sin, even when unwittingly offered by a friend.
In this case, Peter’s desire to keep Jesus at hand was a focus on human things. This was in direct contrast to God’s will, which had to do with heavenly things. Jesus had to say to temptation, get behind me. Jesus had to put temptation aside in the same way that we do.
All very symbolic, this passage. Peter was not Satan. Jesus is speaking figuratively. But the temptation to sin is best represented by the image of Satan, of the deceiver, of the embodiment of evil.
The person with whom we could have an adulterous affair is not Satan. The glass of whiskey that could pull us back into the pit of alcoholism is not Satan. The money that tempts us into dishonest dealings is not Satan. But in the temptation that leads us to break the commandments, that’s where you’ll find Satan.
Remember back to the beginning, how did Jesus resist the appeals of Satan in the wilderness? He appealed to the Father, for the love of God is greater than the power of evil. How did Jesus resist the appeals of Satan with the disciples? He put temptation behind him, putting his attention toward God’s will.
Who do you say that Jesus is? Some said John the Baptist. Others, Elijah. Still others, one of the prophets. Jesus is many things. I say that for me, Jesus is the one who stands between me and temptation. Who stands between me and the Evil One. Peter said that Jesus is the Messiah. The anointed one. The one who would deliver us from evil.
I ask you today, Who do you say that Jesus is?
September 17, 2006
You may think I should be, but I’m not on a diet. Not on a special one, like weight-reducing diet or a bulking-up diet. I ought to be on a heart-healthy diet but … well, that’s a topic for my doctor’s sermon. I’m doing the preaching today.
My late wife was a food writer. And one of the things she taught me that the best diet for a healthy person was moderation in all things. Not all grapefruit, or protein with no carbs, or whatever the latest fad is. Simply moderation.
This is easier said than done. Especially with the way folks in this parish can cook. But for a typical person—that is, someone without diabetes or high blood pressure, for example—an occasional slice of cake or hamburger is fine. Just not all the time. Temptation, of course, can lead to excess.
In Ecclesiasticus, we are told that “Wine is very life to human beings if taken in moderation.” It goes on to say, “What is life to one who is without wine? It has been created to make people happy.” (31:27) So Scripture tells us that the occasional glass of red wine is good for the spirit—and I’m told it’s good for your heart, too.
Unless you’re an alcoholic. And then that simple glass of wine is like Satan himself, pulling you down into the pit of Hell itself. That is no exaggeration, as any recovering alcoholic will tell you. What is clearly a temptation toward danger and sin is clear for some. Not so clear for others. There are gray areas.
I read an interesting story in the New York Times yesterday about how high school football teams are now being shown on national television, and the best ones are flying all over the country to play. One coach from North Carolina talked about the educational benefits. He said, “I’m putting 80 kids on a plane this weekend, and 41 of them have never flown before. But you don’t want to sell your soul to do these things.”
In other words, he recognizes the temptations that he could give in to, the bad that could lie within the good. Education versus exploitation. He’s struggling with the gray areas. We’re all different. With different temptations, with different problems, with different weaknesses, with different gray areas. And we all have temptation, because none of us is perfect.
That’s why I find it so fascinating that even the Perfect One faced temptation and was the only one who ever could fully resist temptation. The only one who could see through the gray areas with perfect vision.
Remember back at the beginning of his ministry, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matt. 4:1) He turned down the chance to prove himself with showy miracles and to enrich himself with worldly power.
Jesus modeled for us how to react to temptation. In the wilderness, he faced temptation face to face and calmly rejected it. he rejected it by appealing to the word of God, by putting his strength with the strength of the Father.
In today’s Gospel reading, he does the same—modeling for us the way to confront temptation. He tells the disciples about how his ministry would end. He would die and rise again. The disciples didn’t pay much attention to the rise again part—only the promise of death.
Peter rebuked the Lord. “Don’t talk like that,” I can hear him saying. “You’re our leader. We need you. Fix it so that you don’t die.” It’s what I would have said. You probably would have said the same thing. Jesus had the power to do whatever he desired—but we mere mortals have trouble separating desire and necessity. It was Peter’s desire that Jesus remain with the disciples. But it was necessary for God’s plan of salvation for Jesus to die, to be put on the cross and then to rise again.
So Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Hard, harsh words. Calling Peter Satan. How terrible Peter must have felt. Can you imagine the impact of Jesus looking you in the face and calling you Satan?
It may help you to accept that if you realize Jesus doesn’t really mean it. You’re not Satan, even on your worst day. Peter was not Satan, not by a long shot. He was the rock on whom the church was built. Jesus knew that and had not changed his mind.
Perhaps Jesus was talking to himself. Temptation stood before him in the form of a friend. Yes, a friend can represent temptation. And it’s our Christian responsibility to resist temptation to sin, even when unwittingly offered by a friend.
In this case, Peter’s desire to keep Jesus at hand was a focus on human things. This was in direct contrast to God’s will, which had to do with heavenly things. Jesus had to say to temptation, get behind me. Jesus had to put temptation aside in the same way that we do.
All very symbolic, this passage. Peter was not Satan. Jesus is speaking figuratively. But the temptation to sin is best represented by the image of Satan, of the deceiver, of the embodiment of evil.
The person with whom we could have an adulterous affair is not Satan. The glass of whiskey that could pull us back into the pit of alcoholism is not Satan. The money that tempts us into dishonest dealings is not Satan. But in the temptation that leads us to break the commandments, that’s where you’ll find Satan.
Remember back to the beginning, how did Jesus resist the appeals of Satan in the wilderness? He appealed to the Father, for the love of God is greater than the power of evil. How did Jesus resist the appeals of Satan with the disciples? He put temptation behind him, putting his attention toward God’s will.
Who do you say that Jesus is? Some said John the Baptist. Others, Elijah. Still others, one of the prophets. Jesus is many things. I say that for me, Jesus is the one who stands between me and temptation. Who stands between me and the Evil One. Peter said that Jesus is the Messiah. The anointed one. The one who would deliver us from evil.
I ask you today, Who do you say that Jesus is?
posted by Michael+ at 10:25 PM
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