Monday, March 10, 2014

First Sunday of Lent; Choosing to Be Less or to Be More.



We are lucky because we are always in a state of becoming.  We are not static, we are process and potential. God has given us the gift of reason so we can choose and the gift of time to give opportunities. We are formed by the endless stream of choices we make. Each good one builds us up and each poor one weakens us.  Each choice brings us closer to God or further from Him. It is always our choice. But, rarely do we have to make- the choice – that would define our lives, once and for all.
But, today I have two re-imagined stories of a fundamental choice to tell you, stories about righteousness, our right relationship with God, sin, and the insidious of evil.
The Garden
In the beginning the first human beings, Adam & Eve lived in right relationship (that is in righteousness). They were in right relationship with God.  They walked with God.  It was that familiar and natural. They were in right relationship with each other.  Scripture says they didn’t even know they were naked.  They had nothing to hide.  There was only selfless love and the common good. They were in right relationship with the environment.  It was described as a garden.  Every plant was good, all their needs were met and they were good stewards of God’s gift of the garden.
And the sign and symbol of this righteousness, this right relationship of confident trust & loving obedience was the tree in the center of the garden, the tree of knowledge of good and evil which they were forbidden to eat from. 
One day Satan, in the shape of a serpent comes by.
 “Adam what’s up”
“Nothing Satan, what’s up with you”
“Not much, just going for a walk.  How’s the garden?”
“It’s great. Things are really going well for Eve and me.”
“Glad to hear that. Take care, See you around”
Sometime later Satan comes back (evil seems to always come back)
“Long time no see, you two”
Adam & Eve looked up from their gardening  “Hi Satan, what bring you here?”
“Well, I am glad you asked.  I have been thinking about you both and that tree over there”?
“the tree of knowledge of good and evil?” Adam says as he gestures towards it.
“Yah, that one”
“What about it?” Eve says
”Correct me if I’m wrong.  You can eat anything in the garden, but not from that tree, right?”
“Yah, God asked us not to eat from that tree and it seems reasonable to us’
Satan steps closer
“But, that is what bugs me Adam. I think you and Eve are getting a bum deal”
“Really, how so”
“God has given you everything”
“Yes”
“Everything for your benefit”
“Yes”
“Then why are you not using God’s gift of reason?  You know, to think for yourself?”
“Adam & Eve look at each and then back to the serpent
“What do you mean”?
“Let me ask you a question. Do you love God”?
“Absolutely, more than anything”
“Well, if you loved God, as much as you say you do, then why wouldn’t want to know what was good or evil?  If you knew what was good and evil, you would never do anything wrong and God would love you even more than he does now”
“You both would be perfect, like him, and we know how much God loves perfection” He hisses.
In their immaturity, foolishness, and misplaced love this seemed reasonable to them, they were of course, only human. . And so they ate from the tree a “choosing” to be like God (self-sufficient) rather than choosing a trusting dependence on God. They lost their righteousness and perverted their relationship with God and for the first time they hide from God, because now they were afraid of God.
They lost right relationship with each other.  Scripture says they realized they were naked, because now they had something to hide “You made me do it”  “No, you made me do It”. The Self and Ego (with its pride, jealously & fear) took hold of man. The selfish impulse replaced the selfless.
They lost right relationship with the environment. They lost the garden and now had to farm semi-arid desert, deal with drought, famine, and plague, nature was no longer a friend.  Their bodies turned against them in aging and sickness and their spirit was confronted with the dark mystery of death.
This new human condition is the result of turning from God, when Adam & Eve unknowingly released Sin (in all its forms) into the world, and for the individual the new susceptibility to the alluring insidiousness of sin.   Evil always, ready to use whatever is at its disposal to turn us away from God, to sin rather than to love.
The Desert.
After his baptism Jesus was led into the desert, a place of testing, by the Spirit.  After 4o days and 40 nights of fasting scripture says simply “Afterwards he was hungry”
Perhaps, as Jesus has a little water in the cool of the evening watching the sun go down, Satan “The Tempter” shows up.
“What going on? After 40 days you must be starved”.
Jesus answers “I am hungry”
“Me too, what do have to eat”?
“Nothing.” Jesus replies
“No problem” Satan says
“If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread”
Jesus looks at the stones and then at Satan “I don’t think so”
“Why not?  We’re both hungry”.
“Is not life more than the body”?  Jesus replies.
“one does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God”
Satan shrugs, “Ok, forget about the food, I have a better idea”.
“If you are the Son of God throw yourself down from the highest tower in Jerusalem and let His angels
save you.”
“Are you asking me if I am the Son of God or are you asking me to test God”?
“Both” Satan replies.     
“ I know myself and I know God. I need no proof of God’s faithfulness and do not see why you do”?  “You know it is written “you shall not put your God to the test”
Satan smirks “So you won’t feed us or entertain us.” 
“How about this” Satan turns to look out over the darkening horizon.
“ I have some influence over all the kingdoms of the earth.  All their wealth and power is at my command and I will give it all to you.”
“I can make you the greatest king that ever was, worthy of who you are.  Then Satan plays his last card. “You can rule as you please, do good, for all I care.”
“If - only, between you and me, right here in the desert, with no one watching you worship me, just once”
Jesus says, without looking a Satan “I will not sin. I will not forsake God.
 “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
“The Lord your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve”
Jesus chose love of God over love of self, right relationship over a sinful relationship.
The devil left him, we are told, but only for a time because at Jesus’ crucifixion, Satan again appears in the guise of an onlooker at the foot of the cross and using the same words to for the same temptation
“If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross”
What is this all about?
Satan didn’t give a fig for a cheap trick.  He could do cheap tricks galore. He could change stones to bread, he could have his demons catch him in a fall, and he has princely power in the world.  But, he knew who Jesus was and what he was to become and this frightened him. Satan wanted Jesus to claim equality with God that day, wanted him to give into pride, anger and selfishness. Satan wanted to be chastised by a show of power. Satan wanted to be beaten! Satan wanted Jesus to use his will rather than the father’s will. Because, if Jesus had poured forth his glory to banish Satan, that would prove that anyone and everyone could be turned by sin. It would have been of been victory for Evil.
But, Jesus choose powerlessness, humility, and righteous over power, pride and sin. Jesus chose to ”be less” then he was, in the face of every temptation, a foreshadow of the cross, which would  open the door to our redemption and our salvation, which Adam, in choosing  to “be more” than he was had closed.

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