Part of my Lenten discipline this year is going through The Thoughtful Christian (TTC)“Pausing on the Road to Jerusalem” Bible study and, as part of that, sharing my thoughts with you all based on the Scripture for the week and the study itself. A lot of this is just personal reflection, but I hope that maybe you can gain a little insight into your own faith and how these themes and ideas may apply to you, the larger community, the Christian church, and the world today. Here is Week 1, Part 2 (of 2). Click here to read Week 1, Part 1.
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This week’s study is based on the Luke 4:1-13
1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” 5Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.6And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 9Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 12Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
“The Opportune Time”
Our passage ends with Jesus having not fallen to the satan’s temptations...but the devil waits for “the opportune time”. What?! You mean it keeps going?
As the study says, we read later in Luke that “the opportune time” is the final temptation: when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemene and he has the opportunity to avoid the cross. Here are my questions, though:
-Did Jesus know another temptation was coming? If he knew exactly what the temptation would be, he would actually be tempted with it his entire life. Would that be worse than just having it happen?
-Was Jesus life filled with more temptations beside what we read about? My guess is yes, since he’s human. Plus, if we think of Jesus as “sinless” we have to admit that there must have been the opportunity for Jesus to sin if he had chosen to, right? What accomplishment would it be for Jesus to be perfect, but not actually have had to struggle with it? For me, the importance of the Incarnation seems to be that God experienced humanity, in its joy and sorrow.
The TTC study mentions a Martin Scorsese film based on a book by Nikos Kazantzakis, “The Last Temptation of Christ” in which Jesus’ last temptation is not simply the choice to avoid the cross or not, but to completely forget it all, maybe get married and have a family. (Have any of you seen this movie? Comment on what you thought!) [As an aside, in CPE we talked about grief and how it is not just losing someone or something, but all the future plans that went with it. For me, I’ve dealt with the grief on what giving up an immediate future as a historian means, and it’s a surprisingly tough thing to deal with. So, Jesus probably had some grief over giving up the possibility of one future for another.]
Temptation vs. who we are meant to be
TTC then goes on to say that, “Each of [these temptations] is a temptation to be a “success” but in the process to forget whom he was meant to be.”
That hit home for me.
As I’ve mentioned before, one of the reasons I’ve participated in YAGM has been to step outside of the whirlwind at home and get some space from the track my life was on. Everything was going well back home, but I was worried about getting caught up in my MDiv studies and the progression of life and not be able to get perspective on whether or not what I was doing, what I am doing, is the best decision for everyone. I am very determined to try and serve with integrity and make sure I’m not forgetting who I am meant to be.
This is where it get’s tricky for me to explain. And honest. I go through stages of thinking it could really rock to be a pastor...and other stages where I wonder WHAT IN THE WORLD I AM THINKING!? When I decided to participate in YAGM I was stuck in the latter stage, but feeling as if I had to put on the face of the first. I want to make sure I live and serve with integrity because for me, it’s not just a job. Whereas I was practically born to go through interviews, I didn’t want to approach my Candidacy Committee, with whom I go through the process of trying to figure out if I am called to be a pastor (or other rostered leader), and say the right answers, ace the interview, but not be completely honest with myself. I needed more time.
The temptation for me was to take what seemed like the easier route: to keep going at status quo and not mess up my academic schedule (and, for a while, I wasn’t sure if financially I could make it all work) or, even worse, figure out maybe I wasn’t ready to pursue ordained ministry at this point and have to start from square one with the rest of my life. Scary business.
By the grace of God, it is all working out- challenging but exciting and fulfilling. Yet that temptation weighed on me heavily- “the temptation to be a success in the eyes of the world but at the cost of integrity.” I could make everyone think that I was keeping it all together and Little Miss Perfect...or I could risk it for the sake of, hopefully, following a path to better know who it is I am meant to be (or already am).
So how do we deal with these temptations?
I don’t think our temptations will go away in this lifetime, but our passage (and the rest of the Bible) gives us some ideas on how to deal with them: arm ourselves with Scripture, reach back into our traditions and the witness of the saints, and rely on our community.
[I use the verb “arm” as my dictionary defines: “supply or provide with equipment, tools, or other items in preparation or readiness for something”, rather than using the verb to mean providing someone with weapons. I feel this is necessary to clarify. I think of it as a knight who wore a suit of armor to protect himself from the blows of the outside world, not as a knight who uses a sword to attack others.]
I think it’s amazing how the Spirit continues to work through Scripture and helps us to relate it to our lives. It’s similarly amazing how reading a passage, or even a single verse, can give us a new perspective and challenge/lift/convict/enlighten us and even keep us from taking a temptation and lose sight of our who we are meant to be, or could be, or already are.
TTC study ends with some Scripture that may be helpful equipment for when we are tempted. Perhaps you can and a verse or two that help you (these are copied from the study, I’m not sure of the exact references or translation, but if you need it I can look it up for you):
“Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God.”
“The Lord your God you shall fear; God you shall serve, and by God’s name alone you shall swear.”
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Help the suffering, honor all people.”
“Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.”
“Strive first for the kingdom of God.”
What are some verses or passages from Scripture that arm you against temptations and help you to remember to live with integrity, seeking who God has made you to be? Post in the comment section!
So here are my take-aways from week one:
-We have to retreat into the desert every once in a while, whatever that may look like, and try to listen for God’s voice. This practice looks different for everyone but, I think, takes a conscious effort.
-Sometimes we have to look out for our temptations. If we wait until they are obvious it could be too late; old habits are hard to break and some of our temptations can cause pain to others. Of course, we also need to grant ourselves grace for those inevitable times.
-Scripture can be a useful tool for dealing with temptations. Perhaps memorizing a few key verses could ground us and remind us of a larger picture.
-One temptation that is easy to overlook is that which convinces us to seek success in the eyes of the world, rather than to live with integrity for ourselves.
This Lenten Devotional Series is published by The Thoughtful Christian and was written by Michael A. Lindvall who, at the time of publishing, was a Presbyterian pastor in New York City. All Bible passages and verses are from the New Revised Standard Version unless otherwise noted.
I loved this reflection Courtney, thanks!
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