"Pre and Post Love" February 14, 2016

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Luke 4: 1-13 There is something eloquently simple, that we begin the first Sunday in Lent on Valentine's Day! More than a commercial event when we are to buy chocolates and cards and take one another out on a date, Valentine's is the reminder that if you have not done so “We are supposed to love!” with the kind of love described in I Corinthians 13: Patience, Kindness, Compassion, Lacking Jealousy, Boasting... Valentines was my Mom's Birthday, and she had married into the family when there were already three children under 7, so she celebrated this as her day to name and witness that being part of our lives made her who she was. There is a confusion, between Relational love and Romantic love which is filled with immediacy, pre-occupation with this other person, dominating all our thoughts and actions. When, our passages this morning from both Testaments, serve as a kind of PreNuptial Agreement throughout our lives. This is Not to be confused with a Pre-Nup, as this has come to be known in our culture, legally planning that when the relationship fails, as we assume, who gets what, so that the Other takes nothing more than they were entitled to before the relationship began. Instead, this Pre-Nuptial Agreement takes place BEFORE we have experienced anything of life, and also AFTER we have settled and received the blessings of life, Before and After Love. The Gospel of John assumes that all of Jesus' life and ministry was facing Temptation, so John jumps from the Baptism and Call by John to A Wedding at Cana. The Gospel of Mark narrates two sentences: The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness where he was for 40 days. The Tempter tempted him; the Creatures kept him company; the Angels waited upon him. But Luke and Matthew provide a more full account. I love the Greek of Luke which begins Jesus still Wet with the Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. As if Baptism were another experience of Birth, Jesus is Still Wet with having been born, having not yet experienced anything of human life. To appreciate these Before and After Tests of Love, we need to remember another Biblical passage, a Scripture basic to everything in faith. “In the Beginning, Adam and Eve were told to Trust God.” Adam and Eve were told they could enjoy anything in life, except the fruit of one tree at the Center of the Garden. That story has been twisted and interpreted to mean Knowledge is Evil; Science is Evil; Eve was more easily seduced than Adam; and that humanity was created corrupt and fallen; NONE of which is what this Scripture says. The basic point was that in the beginning, before humanity knew or experienced anything else, we were created to Love and Trust God. Love and Trust are inextricably woven, such that while it would seem you cannot have one without the other; even though humanity destroyed Trust, still God Loves. So here, before Jesus is invited to heal or teach or act as our sacrifice, Jesus is given the same Test of Trust and Love the First Adam had faced in the Garden. When faced with Hunger, Power and Prestige, what will this Second Adam, who is both both God and Human do? We could insert any three temptations, so long as they are real temptations. I like chocolate and flowers and paintings and sculpture and design, but these are not life and death questions of our trust in God. For Jesus, the devil offered Food when he was hungry, Power over all the Nations of the Earth, Invincibility that you could test God and Live; all three of which are very real temptations for differing people; all of which are proof that being able to quote the Bible does not make you spiritual or loving because even the Devil can do so. What occurs to me, is that for the couple in the Garden they had alternatives to eat, and for Jesus while the Bible says he was Hungry it does not state that he was starving to death at that moment. While Religion and Faith have far too often been used by the Rulers of the Earth as Power and Religion & Power have been joined since Constantine; Trust is God undercuts that power, as throughout history nations have risen and fallen in power, but trust in God has carried on. What Jesus demonstrates here that will be repeated again and again and again, is that he is Not Invincible, Jesus is not Superman for whom bullets bounce off and he cannot die; Jesus can die, Jesus can and will suffer, and rather than focusing upon invincibility, Jesus love and vulnerability, his humanity and compassion and empathy are what unite him with God and those who love him. If anything, the Temptations of Jesus by the Devil were Temptation to believe and act as if there were No God, as if you alone are God. While these are explanations to Jesus' Temptation Test, our temptations will be different. SO why does the Gospel state that he was without food for 40 days and he was hungry? I think that that 40 Days inspired in Jesus reliance on what really matters, a comparable to measure life and death, what he knew he had to trust. He was hungry, but could he last another hour, or another day? He was hungry, but would being worshipped by people around the world make him any less hungry? Would having absolute power over other people, the ability to make them happy or to afflict suffering make him any less hungry? Then all of these are distractions from what matters. As Mark described, he was Tempted by the Tempter; he was a Creature among the Creatures of Creation; he was ministered to by Angels. I know people who have given up using their Cell phones for Lent. Those who have given up Chocolate. Those who have fasted for the 40 days. All of which compared with people of other nations who have no choice, those who do not know if another meal is coming, seems quite silly. We each have our pacifiers: Reading Murder Mysteries. Sex. Shopping for Shoes. Pulling up the covers in Bed. An episode of Gray's Anatomy or Downton Abbey. A glass of Wine, a pill. Ice Cream. Dare I say, even an SU Game. There is nothing wrong with any of these, but for many of us they are a distraction we reach for – when we are too sad, or too tired, too angry, too anxious or too afraid to be able to live in the Wilderness. Choosing to give up a Temptation is hard. It requires a conscious choice and commitment. But after you have reached for your pacifier and found it No longer there, you begin a predictable conversation with yourself. Did you want something? I want something to eat or drink! Does it matter which? Not really. Are you hungry? I am famished! Is there anything wrong with hunger? No Can you stand being hungry another 20 minutes or an hour? I guess so What else? Are You lonely? Terribly lonely. What is wrong with being lonely? I don't like it! Are you completely isolated? Who are you with? Myself Anyone else? I guess I cannot get away from God. Then this is a pretty good time to talk to God, or if you can risk it talking to yourself. The Wilderness is the reality where we live. There are times when the world is too much with us, when the pressures of life too much and we need to seek a place apart. It is permitted and good to have care for our loved one for an afternoon so we can carry on with life. It is appropriate to have a retreat where we can look ourselves in the mirror. The difference being whether what we seek is an escape from reality, a pacifier to make us ignore what is really going on, or whether we seek a time and place apart to be present with God. And when you have been in life for a time. When you have settled in a place and have the fruits of your labors. Then there is a POST LOVE Test. Not that Love is over, not that Trust is ever DONE. But that when we are not just starting out, when we are doing what we normally do, we stop and recognize your place in life, in this wilderness of Creation and all the good and bad that has come of it. Intentionally, come to the Church. I am delighted this morning was so cold people who are always here had to question, do I need to be? Faith is not a Cerebral exercise, not a Philosophy. The rituals of Baptism and Marriage and Confirmation, and Confession and Memorial are Vitally important to our humanity and our trust with God. So come, and create a basket of your blessings which you make as an offering to God. Wherein begins the most marvelous part of all, Celebrate with the the Levites (that would be all of us in the Church) and the Sojourners (Strangers like you once were) because your ancestor was once a wandering Aramean who after suffering was set free and searched for identity and trust and love.