Our Desires and Lent
Can be heard here
Gate Pa – Lent 1 2016
Readings:
Psalm: Psalm:
91: 1-2, 9-16
First
Reading: Deuteronomy
26: 1-11
Second
Reading: Romans 10: 8b-13
Gospel:
Luke 4: 1-13
What I want to say:
Explore the temptations or tests of Jesus in
wilderness as tests of who he is in face of three main areas of desire that
confront us all. Then want to look out how the traditional tasks of Lent, pray,
fast, give, help us notice our response to these desires and to learn new ways
of responding.
What I want to
happen:
People to think about how lent might
be a time of praying, fasting and giving in light of this
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
A married couple in their early 60s were
celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet and romantic little
restaurant.
Suddenly a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared
on their table. She said, “for being such an exemplary married couple and for
being loving to each other for all this time, I grant you each a wish”.
….
And you know the rest.
If you don’t talk to someone who was here last
week.
the moral of that story is that our desire
betray us
they betray who we really are
Despite that – if you are anything like me we don’t
spend a lot of time reflecting on what we truly desire
We are in luck
It is Lent, and lent seems to be a good time
to do just that
take time to notice what it is we desire and
how we respond to that
are we like the husband, or the wife?
2. Jesus in the Wilderness
Our gospel reading this morning is the
traditional first Sunday in Lent gospel reading
story of Jesus in the wilderness
which we often describe as Jesus being tempted
in the wilderness.
temptation is defined as
·
“ a strong urge
or desire to have or do something
·
something that
causes a strong urge or desire to have or do something and especially something
that is bad, wrong, or unwise”[1]
It feels like we read this as Jesus is tempted
to be naughty, like we are tempted to do something naughty like eat too much or
something
But this is all about Jesus identity as Son of
God.
really important story
Jesus
desires will betray him
If we were to read Luke from the beginning in
one hit we would have just read
baptism of Jesus by John – voice says “You are
my Son, the Beloved”
then there is insert his whakapapa
then this story
at the heart of this story is what it means
for Jesus to be God’s Son the Beloved.
This is a test of who he is
he is tested through his desires
Tester – The Devil
is hoping that his desires will betray him
-> to not be all cracked up to be
like our desires do for us
3. The Test
Jesus is tested in the same general categories
that we tested in.
He is tested in these three areas:
food and
comfort
wealth and
power, - having more – Jesus - ruling known world
prestige,
status, honour - feeling important
If we take the time
most our desires come under those
three headings
I know I could tell stories about when
eat too much and maybe drink too much and go home and felt crapulous
wondered what like win Lotto and
how I would spend that money
more
honesty longed win lotto
Been at an event in some role and
wanted to impress people
these thoughts
these desires just creep on in
there
what we do with those become all
important.
No coincidence that Jesus tests
come udner these three headings
they
keep coming up in the literature
universal
we
all are affected by them
What we do with them that is
important
what we do with them betrays who we
really are
Just as what Jesus did with his
tests betrayed him as Son of God.
4. Lenten practices
Lent, like similar seasons in other
religious like Ramadan for Islam
is build around the practices of
praying, fasting, and giving.
Why these
because,
I suspect
early church found these were best
way of paying attention to their desires
food
and comfort
wealth
and power,
prestige,
status, honour
developing some more life giving
love
centred
ways of responding to them
to develop ways that we might join
with Jesus in his response to the same desires.
We fast to
pay attention to our desires for food, and other things
we give to
charities to face our desires for more
we pray to
learn humility in face of our desire for honour and status.
I think sometimes I can just do
these things because that is what we do at lent.
Suspect others are like me
so this lent I invite you to use these
traditional leneten praicices
to notice your desires and what it
is you desire
learn new ways of respnding
that our desires might betray us
to be people shaped by God’s love
children of God
beloved.
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