Lectionary blog for March 5
The first Sunday in Lent
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:17; Psalm 32;
Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11
A few years ago, a young man I know found himself in a heated argument in a college biology class. Much to his surprise, most of the class believed in some version of creationism. He was arguing in favor of evolutionary theory, that Genesis is a theological work, not a scientific textbook. In the midst of the classroom discussion—with scientific, philosophical and religious arguments being vigorously defended from all sides—one young woman stood up, pointed at my friend and said, indignantly, “If you believe that, how can you call yourself a Christian?” He smiled a little smile and said, “I don’t call myself a Christian. I’m a Lutheran.”
“If you believe that, how can you call yourself a Christian?” the woman said. “If you are the son of God …” the tempter said to Jesus. Questions of identity are important. Knowing “who you are,” is important. What we do, how be behave, what we believe are a large part of how others define us. Pastor, teacher, housewife, student, musician; funny, quiet, aggressive, talkative, etc. And how we define ourselves goes a long way toward defining how we behave. It is, at times, a chicken and the egg question. Which came first? Am I a pastor because I do pastoral things, or do I do pastoral things because I am the pastor? The biblical position is that we act out of our identity, that who we believe ourselves to be is the determining factor in what we choose to do. Who we think we are shapes our behavior.
In the last verse of Matthew, Chapter 3, following Jesus’ baptism, a voice comes from heaven and says, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” And three verses later the devil says, “If you are the Son of God.” The temptations are about Jesus’ figuring out what it means to be the Son of God, and “if he is the Son of God,” what are the things he is called to do.
Is he supposed to become quickly popular by giving the people what they want—turning stones into bread, feeding the masses and feeding his ego at the same time?
Is he supposed to gain great attention and immediate recognition by throwing himself off the temple so people will know he’s the messiah when the angels catch him?
Is he supposed to grab great power by turning his back on God’s promise to provide—instead worshiping the devil and serving him?
The temptations in the wilderness are an opportunity for Jesus to imitate the Roman emperors, securing power by giving the people free food and free entertainment, winning their favor with bread and circuses. The problem is that each of the things the devil wanted Jesus to do as the Son of God was selfish, self-serving and ultimately self-glorifying. And Jesus rejected them because being centered on self is inconsistent with being the Christ, the Beloved, the Son of God, the one sent to save others.
It was during the 40 days in the wilderness that Jesus struggled with what it meant to be the Son of God. When he became clear about that identity, he came out of the wilderness and began to preach about the kingdom of God and perform mighty acts of healing and exorcism. In the 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus found out who he was, and then the question of what he was to do was already answered. To be the Christ, the Son of God, laid out for him a path to follow, a way of being in the world that led to certain things to do. Preaching. Healing. Confronting evil.
Throughout these 40 days of Lent we are called to contemplate the life of Jesus, his path of service and obedience to God, his living out his identity as the Son of God. As we do that, we must ask ourselves some identity questions, personally and congregationally. Who am I? Who am I, really? And what is God calling me to do? Who are we? Who are we, really? And what is God calling us to do?
Who am I? Am I a lawyer, or a doctor, or a police officer, or an office manager, or a teacher, or a truck driver, or a nurse, or a retiree who just happens to be a Christian? Or am I a child of God who happens to be a lawyer or a doctor or a police officer, etc. It is an important question, and the answer will shape our lives.
Likewise, as a congregation, as a community, we struggle with identity questions. Who are we, really? Are we a gathering of like-minded people, a little Lutheran enclave in this community? If so, then the things we do should be designed to take care of ourselves. But if we are a people whom God has called together to be the body of Christ, then the things we do will be designed to strengthen us in our will and ability to go forth into the world to care for others.
Luther teaches in the Small Catechism that we are called, gathered, made holy and kept faithful by the Holy Spirit. Do we consider ourselves called by God to be God’s people? Do we believe we gather here around word and sacrament to be taught and strengthened? Are we aware of the Holy Spirit working in our lives to make us a little more saint and a little less sinner? Do we realize that to be faithful means to be sent into the world to spread the love of God?
Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness struggling with questions of identity, struggling to discover what it meant for him to be the Son of God. Throughout these 40 days of Lent, we are invited to do the same. We must answer the question, “If we are the beloved children of God, what is God calling us to do?
Amen and amen.
