Temptations and Gravity 2014-03-09, 1st Sunday / Lent

Sunday 9 March 2014,  / 1^st Sunday Lent (A)

•• Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 ••  Psalm 51 ••  Romans 5:12-19 •• Matthew 4:1-11 

[__01__]  In this Sunday’s Gospel, the first Sunday of the 40 days of Lent, we read about the temptations of Jesus in the desert.

In the 2^nd temptation, Jesus is taken to the top of the Temple building, to a high-altitude spot.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we read the suggestion of Satan, the evil spirit, to our Lord Jesus Christ, something about defying the law of gravity – the law of gravity -  from this multi-story look-out point.  “What goes up must come down.”

Is the law of gravity = good news? The evil spirit gives a hypothesis … a theory…about this gravitational force… In other words, what goes up need NOT come down… Jesus is told --

“If you are the son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, he will command his angels concerning you and with their hands, they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”  (Matthew 4:6)

[__02__]  Gravity.  Gravity is an attraction.  Gravity is a law.

“that is… near the surface of the earth or the moon or any planet … this gravity is responsible for keeping objects and  people stable…. But this gravity is also a force … it is imposed on us… gravity causes objects to move toward each other” (Merriam Webster)

In common language, we refer to gravity as a law….

[__03__]    Is this “law” good news or bad news?

This is our judgment – our opinion – of laws, of legislation, of the actions of the U.S. government, the IRS … Washington DC or Trenton.

Will a particular law be

·        Good or bad

·        Beneficial or harmful

·        Constitutional or unconstitutional

·        Promote freedom or inhibit freedom.

For example, are not some our laws about “restrictions” and limits …also a way to promote freedom for everyone…

There are limits to how heavy my suitcase can be – on United Airlines…or how fast I can fly up Eagle Rock Avenue…. These laws promote freedom for everyone.  They are Good News.

[__04__]   Perhaps, the evil spirit suggests this law is bad news.

Or, at least, the Satan is suggesting that a strong person, a powerful person, a person loved by God, would  not be subject to this law. Or, this person would have – or  should have – special protection.

For example, do not ambassadors carry in their wallets special identification and “diplomatic immunity”from prosecution. They can drive as fast as they want up Eagle Rock Avenue or up Capitol Hill. They are “above the law.”

Satan, the evil spirit, implies that Jesus should be above the law … above the law of gravity.

[__05__]  Avoiding – and rejecting -- this particular temptation, Jesus tells us that we do not learn about the will of God or the ways of God – exclusively -- through spectacular actions… or free fall… or even miraculous rescue.

Certainly, there are some of us for whom a miracle or a miraculous turn of events has increased our faith …or strengthened our confidence in God.

This is wonderful… however, for many of us, we might not necessarily experience a miraculous rescue or come from behind victory in the final seconds … as  we see on ESPN SportsCenter. Check your local listings.

Satan, the evil spirit, is suggesting that such miracles or  quote-unquote “fireworks” are the way to know the ways of God. Or, to know that we are loved by God, known by God, forgiven by God.

But, isn’t it also true that we can learn the ways of God more gradually…just as we learn the ways or the  will of another person?

We accept the will of God or the will of another person when this is revealed with love, tenderness, sensitivity…over time.

For example, even in God’s love being shown in the “spectacular”…there are still many smaller revelations and contributions to the Body of Christ, to the presence of God in the world.

Consider…

·        2013 Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines

·        2010 Port au Prince, Haiti earthquake

·        2001 – 9/11 in  our country and in New York

God’s love was revealed many individual efforts, many donations of food and water, many shovels in the rubble, many….

[__06__]  God is not revealed in the miraculous halt – or arrest – of a person or object in free fall …an object otherwise accelerating toward the earth’s surface.

God is revealed by our commitments, by our love… which keep us grounded.

God is not revealed in the halt (stop) of  a free fall… or  even of a disaster.   God is revealed in our efforts to recovery from this disaster…and to recover from our own brokenness and sinfulness after the fall.

Gravity is  not defied. The law of gravity still applies.  The  law of  gravity, of God, is good news.    [__fin__]