“At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.”
Jesus is led away from family, friends, even physical sustenance and he is hungry. Yet Jesus has been led by the Spirit to this deprivation, to this demon and its temptations. Jesus engages with the demon having only the power of the Spirit. It may be Jesus’ first demonic engagement but it will not be his last. The journey from Jesus’ first demonic engagement to his last is called Lent. The priestly class mistakenly enhances the devil during Lent. They emphasize our being tempted toward personal sin and our need to personally resist. In truth, Lent is our being encouraged by the Spirit through life’s personal and social challenges which we deal with though are tempted by them. The first temptation: “If you are the Child of God, command these stones become loaves of bread.” Do we live by our appetites alone, tempted toward sugar or screens or anger and willing to use any social resource to satisfy our personal appetites? The Spirit encourages us to engage with any demons that act against one and all. The second temptation: “If you are the Child of God, throw yourself down… angels will rescue you.” Do we use the priestly class’ God and his angels to support our privilege, protection, and salvation while believing he denies, attacks, and damns others? The Spirit encourages us in the wisdom that our whole human family is led by the Spirit without favoritism. The third temptation: “All the kingdoms of the world… All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” Do we live in reference to the kingdoms of the world and thus prostrate ourselves ourselves before devilish rulers and reject the Spirit? The Spirit encourages us to engage with the devil that are the kingdoms of this world. The worldly kingdoms are so appetitive, so presumed, and we are so incessantly tempted to bow down before them as holy. To consider the kingdoms of the world as devilish, meaning adversarial to our humanity, is likely a difficult truth for people who identify as citizens of the U.S. Empire. Can we consider that the U.S. kingdom tempts us? It tempts us to normalize demonically depriving common people of needed resources; to normalize demonically providing privileged people with favor; to normalize demonically coercing us all to worship those who kill for it – all the while we call ourselves Christian.
Being “led by the Spirit” means confronting worshipers of the U.S. kingdom who may tell us to ‘love it or leave it,’ or that we don’t belong here and to ‘go back to where you came from’. Some may tell us ‘it’s the sacrifices of men in the military that defend our freedom to speak such tripe.’ If so, we can remind them that it is the men in the military who prostrate themselves before the devil’s “kingdoms of the world,” and willing kill for them. We know how that Lenten journey ends – with soldiers killing Jesus on the cross.
Prayer: Spirit, lead us through this Lenten journey.
Question: How ready am I to be led by the Spirit to face the adversary, the devil that is this U.S. kingdom?
March 01, 2020 Gospel Matthew 4:1-11 First Sunday of Lent