The sermon text is below the sermon audio…
Lent I, March 6 2022
Zion Episcopal Church
The Reverend Alan Neale
“Pushing Buttons”
Before addressing the Gospel for today (The Temptations of Jesus as described in Luke’s Gospel), I want to say a few words about the experience of Ash Wednesday in particular and our Lenten liturgies in general.
I continue to have a great sense, and this past Wednesday only strengthened that awareness, that in our Lenten liturgies we discover a commonality, a common experience (maybe even a camaraderie!) that we are each and all “but dust”… doing our best as best we can, in urgent need of love, forgiveness and acceptance.
I think this experience, when we come clean with ourselves, others and God, this experience is profoundly felt in 12 Step Programs; where there is an open admission that we are powerless, that our lives had become unmanageable and where there is an open celebration that we have come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity.
In this season of Lent, particularly, we sense a common humanity with each other in our struggles, failures, disappointments and (let me say the word) our sins. There is no barrier, here, of gender or race, class or politics. In AA it is often said, with a smile, we include all… “from Yale to jail, from park bench to Park Lane”.
I believe one of the most awful, tragic, crippling temptations of evil (or the Devil) is to persuade us, lead us, convince us to believe that we are irretrievably, irreversibly “alone and lonely” in our struggles – friends, this has been, is and never will be true for God is always drawing us into fellowship, union, company.
And now, I fear to tell you, and now the sermon!
A Lutheran pastor, Jennifer Moland-Kovash, writes this, “We get some biblical whiplash this Sunday. Last Sunday we observed Jesus on the mountaintop – a wonderful, Broadway-style production with costume changes, offstage voices, and guest stars brought in from previous productions of God’s glory. Now we flash back to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, encountering him immediately after his baptism, still dripping wet, and headed into the wilderness.”
Satan (the Accuser, the Adversary) races with zeal to the jugular, to Jesus’ Achilles heel. Chapter 4, verse 3 “IF you are the Son of God…”, verse 9 “IF you are the Son of God…”. As it happens, in Matthew’s account the “IF you are…” appears three times, maybe Luke was too excited by the story.
Have you ever had the experience of “having your buttons pushed?”, or maybe you live with someone, know someone well who discerns your “buttons” and when and how to push them?
With all Machiavellian insight, the Devil knows how best to cripple and disable the ministry of Jesus; with shameless connivance, the Devil knows how best to damage and harm the core of Jesus’ very being.
At the Baptism, before his public ministry begins, Jesus receives these affirming words from God, “You are my beloved Son, on you my favor rests; with you I am well pleased.” And at the Transfiguration, before the cataclysmic entry into Jerusalem and all that follows, AGAIN Jesus receives these affirming words from God, “You are my beloved Son, on you my favor rests; with you I am well pleased.”
And maybe, just maybe, when Jesus asks his disciples (Matthew 16, Mark 8, and Luke 9) “Who do the people say that I am?… Who do you say that I am?”… maybe, just maybe, this is not merely a question to plan the next stage of mission but rather an almost pathetic, doleful wretched inquiry to help self-awareness, self-knowledge, self-affirmation?
I am reminded of the story of the rather pompous politician who was visiting a residential home to canvass votes. After a few conversations, he became frustrated that the residents were not really engaging with him… so approaching the next resident, the politician asks, “Do you know who I am?”. To which came the reply, “No, my dear, but if you ask the lady at the desk, she’ll be able to help you!”
Satan (the Adversary, the Accuser) in that wheedling, finagling, cajoling manner tries his utmost to so unseat Jesus as to make him use the most awful methods to affirm his Son-ship, methods that are altogether contrary to and divergent from the authentic and bona fide behavior and demeanor of the Son of God.
These past few days, it has occurred to me (I wonder what you will think about this?), it has occurred to me that each of us, some of us, have images of ourselves which are very central to the core of our being, the definition of our person, the quintessential me.
Maybe the perfect parish priest, parent or partner? Maybe the witty bon vivant or the incorrigible curmudgeon? Maybe the saintly presence or the prophetic voice?
These images are precious to us and we will be tempted to secure them, establish them, manifest them by means of appetite, vanity, self-assurance; and/or by self-centeredness, self-pity or self-seeking – all these are found in those three temptations which are the A-Z, the Alpha to Omega of all that tempts us to behave in ways unbecoming, unkind, uncivil, ungracious…
There is nothing wrong with these self-images, psychic self-portraits as long as we can hold them lightly rather than be bound by them; as long as we recognize that most basic, most crucial, most eternal, most divine is the image of self as a daughter/son of God, chosen, well beloved and the recipient of overwhelming favor and grace.
In this profound battle between the divine and the demonic, between the beloved and the belittled, Jesus takes courage in the Word of God and the Community of God. The Word once written ever true, the Word forever tested by countless fellow pilgrims – all attesting the victory is won, that God reigns!
Friends, it is part of our human struggle or human joy (all depends on the day) to have our core image challenged and defied in grand gesture and in petty whispers; and, remember, we live with those who are enduring the same struggle so be kind, be gentle… be kind, be gentle to yourself and others.
Matthew ends his account of the temptations telling us “that angels came and ministered to Jesus”. Luke, ever the practical physician, has nothing to do with such pleasantries and presents us with this diagnosis and prognosis… it’s all over for now, until it all begins again.
Lord, have mercy. Amen