“TAG TEAM MATCH”
A sermon by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, February 21, 2010
Deuteronomy 26: 1 – 11; Psalm 91: 9 – 15; Romans 10: 5 – 13; Luke 4: 1 - 13
We begin this first Sunday in Lent as we do every year, hearing the gospel reading which recalls to us Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
As we enter into this holy season, we would do well to recall that this forty day period is the model for the season of Lent itself, which is forty days long, minus the Sundays (which are always Easter celebrations).
This year, we hear Luke’s version of Jesus’ encounter with the devil.
As we hear this text, the image that comes to my mind is that of a wrestling match….The devil makes a move, testing Jesus to find his weak spots, and Jesus responds, parrying the move and neutralizing it.
We would do well to look more closely at the devil’s moves. Then, we would do well to look at the entire history of humanity’s wrestling match with the forces of evil as we find its prototype in the account of the Fall in Genesis, chapter three, which continue to our own day.
For knowing one’s opponent and his tactics is key to claiming victory.
So, we turn now to the text before us today:
Notice that the devil appeals to three areas of human need. All three areas are vital to human survival. They are:
- The need for food. The devil tempts Jesus to take some food, by turning a stone into a loaf of bread.
- The need for power and control. Next, the devil offers Jesus all authority over the kingdoms of the world.
- The need for safety. The last appeal is to safety. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here (the pinnacle of the Temple), for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you.’ ”
We said a moment ago that Jesus’ opponent appeals to basic human needs. Notice that the first
appeal focuses a particularly weak part of Jesus’ condition at the time of His temptation. Jesus had not eaten during the forty day period that He was in the wilderness. At Jesus’ greatest moment of weakness and need, the appeal which is launched is targeted to His weakest, most vulnerable spot. An appeal to the need for food is the avenue of which seeks victory over Him.
But we are called to hold in view the entire sweep of biblical history as we consider this encounter between the forces of evil and the forces of God, a cosmic wrestling match – if you will – in which we human beings enter the ring of life and partners with God, a part of a tag team.
I think that’s a good way to look at the forces which are arrayed against each other, and it’s a good way to see how we fit into the equation of power between good and evil.
In truth, human beings have entered the ring of life, and have struggled with the opposing forces of evil since the dawn of time, ever since the time of Adam and Eve’s stay in the Garden of Eden.
Adam and Eve’s struggle against temptation and evil, as it turns out, is remarkably similar to Jesus’ wrestling with the temptations which are put in front of Him.
To shed some light on this struggle, it is to the account of the Fall, found in Genesis 3: 1 – 19, that we turn.
Recall with me that the serpent’s first appeal is to the matter of food. He says to Eve, “Did God say, ‘You shall no eat of any tree in the garden?’ ” Now, we know the rest of the story, for we read a few verses later that Eve saw that the tree “was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes…”
I can’t resist pointing out – at this juncture – that the serpent’s appeal to Eve begins at the same point as the devil’s appeal to Jesus: with food.
Food is a requirement for human survival.
Next, notice that the serpent’s appeal to Eve is to power, control, and thereby, it is an appeal to safety. He says to Eve, “…God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
With knowledge comes power, control, and safety.
This appeal is also remarkably similar to the devil’s appeals to Jesus, which offer power, control, and safety.
Biblical scholars have long noticed the similarities between the temptation of Eve and the temptation of Jesus.
But there, the similarities end.
Eve failed the test. Knowing her vulnerabilities and just what approach to take, the forces of evil exploit those weaknesses to their advantage. Eve is in the ring with evil. God is in her corner, but she ignores Him, choosing to wrestle with the opposing forces alone.
Here, we would do well to notice another similarity between Eve’s temptation and Jesus’: Evil seeks to isolate us from our partners in this struggle. “Divide and conquer” is the strategy that is often used against us.
But here, we notice another aspect of the two temptation accounts: God’s word is twisted, in an attempt to cause doubt. Allied to the tactics which seek to divide up the team we are part of, this tactic also seeks to further isolate us from God, on whose team we fight.
In each case, the forces of evil seek to twist and misuse God’s word. “Did God say?” the serpent says to Eve. Likewise, the devil quotes Psalm 91 in his last attempt at tempting Jesus.
You and I, by virtue of our births into this world, enter the ring of life.
By virtue of our baptisms, we enter the ring as members of God’s team, for we have been claimed by Him as His own for ever.
And oftentimes, we may feel as though we are all alone in this struggle with temptation and with evil.
We may forget that God is in our corner, ready to assist us whenever we engage the forces of evil which beset us, day by day.
Satan would love for us to think just that way, that we are all alone down here on earth.
We become easy prey that way.
Appeals to our basic human needs will be the avenue of probing, as the evil one seeks to find our weakest areas, our most vulnerable pressure points. Appeals to the need for sustenance in some way – or, put another way, appeals to our basis needs for survival – or to the possession of power and control, will be the avenues of approach, in many cases.
We will be tempted to doubt the truth of God’s word, for doubt can separate us from the power of God which is in our corner of the ring, if we do not forget.
Knowing our opponent and his tactics is the key to victory.
Knowing our opponent and remembering that we are part of God’s team is key to victory.
Jesus remembered both of these strategic points in His victory over the devil.
Jesus’ victory in the wilderness begins to turn the tide of defeat over the powers of evil that had been present from that day in the Garden of Eden until that encounter in the wilderness.
Jesus will go on to seal the victory over the powers of evil on the cross on Good Friday. For, you see, it turns out that the devil had overreached himself this time by taking on Jesus, seeking to claim yet one more human victim. But, the devil failed to see that Jesus is one with God the Father, inseparably united. The devil had no power over Jesus, for as the devil reaches out to claim yet one more human victim, like a fish going for the bait, Jesus baits the devil into defeat, using the devil’s own weakness, his desire for power and control over humanity, as the means of defeat.
Jesus’ victory is our victory. We are on God’s team, and Jesus is in our corner, ready for us to simply call Him into the struggle with the powers of evil and death.
Knowing that we are part of God’s team, knowing the tactics and the weaknesses of our opponent, and claiming God’s overwhelming power, are keys to claiming victory over Satan and all his works.
May we claim victory with the Lord this Lenten season.
AMEN.
