Wandering
Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Luke 4:1-13

February 25, 2007


Today is a Sunday of Deuteronomy, veiled and unveiled. One of the great creedal declarations of Judaism is proclaimed at the moment when Israel has finished its wilderness journey and is about to enter the Promised Land. Then Jesus is confronted and tempted by Satan at the conclusion of his wilderness wanderings and to each seductive invitation, clothed satanically in Scriptural language, Jesus responds with a passage from Deuteronomy.

Most of us have trouble simply pronouncing Deuteronomy - which in Greek means “the Second Law.” In some ways it is a repetition of the Torah and Ten Commandments from the Book of Exodus, but at the end of the 40 years wandering not at the beginning. Where you start from does make a difference in what you see and hear.

As the Israelites are about to enter Canaan Moses instructs them regarding what they should do at the start of their new life. The first thing you should do is offer God praise and thanks and remember who you are, where you have come from, and who you might become. Then say it out loud, recite the story that is your story.

“A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty and populous. And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. Then we cried to the Lord the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our afflictions, our toil, and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” Many can recite this like the 23rd Psalm or Lord’s Prayer.

“A wandering Aramean was my father” sounds a little unstable for the revered ancestor of God’s own people. People who wander don’t know where they are going. They lack focus, to use the phrase in favour today, and wanderers tend to be open to greater temptations. We are still wanderers, sojourners in the grand term of the King James Version, resident aliens, strangers in a strange land. That’s at our best, because as sojourners, wandering Arameans, we are citizens and servants only of God’s country and that makes us truly free.

Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is as free as any person has been, but he is led by that same Spirit into the wilderness for forty days, and it seems his business there was to be tempted by the devil. The Israelites didn’t have anything to eat in the wilderness until God sent the manna daily to supply what they needed. Jesus ate nothing and was famished, in the same way that Moses spending forty days on Sinai waiting for the Commandments ate nothing (Deuteronomy 9:9).

It’s long been recognized that people who are desperately hungry are not going to buy any idea you promote, including the Gospel, until their stomachs are filled. The devil knew he had Jesus cornered in the right frame of stomach, so he prodded him hard with a little popular theology, “If you are the son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Everybody knows that is what a real God can do.

“A person does not live by bread alone,” cites Jesus out of the Deuteronomy (8:3) passage that speaks directly to the Israelites about what God tried to do with the manna. Jesus was not going to allow his stomach to give away God’s kingdom for a clump of bread. God doesn’t have to prove that He can do anything. Hunger is always tempting, though.

Then in a move made for modern cinematic special effects, the devil took Jesus somewhere and in a moment of time showed him all the kingdoms of the world and offered it all, the power and the glory, if Jesus would only worship him. The devil knew that the world’s power had been delivered to him for his discretion, but Jesus could think only one thing - “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” Again it was Deuteronomy (6:13) that Jesus recalled. Temptation’s middle name is worship. Every time you are genuinely tempted you’ll find yourself being seduced into worshiping something or someone other than God. Happens all the time.

None of these worked for the devil, so in a third special effects move, he transports Jesus to the top of the Jerusalem temple and goes back to popular theology, “If you are really the Son of God, throw yourself off this roof and the angels will catch you. It’s written in Scripture, don’t you know the song, ‘And I will raise you up on eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of my hand’?” They sang it in that church just a few minutes ago. Jesus has Deuteronomy (6:16) to counter, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Ironic, isn’t it, trying to tempt God, but here Jesus knows he would be trying to control God, expecting God to worship him. God doesn’t do that.

A postscript often blipped over here that the devil finally left Jesus alone “until a more opportune time.” These were the remembered or publicized temptations, but that did not mean temptations stopped for Jesus. In Gethsemane Jesus was sorely tempted to run away from all this Passion stuff, and while no mention of the devil, you know “that man of wealth and taste” (Mick Jagger’s characterization) would have been darned pleased. Hate to tell you, you cannot eliminate temptations as long as you remain human. What you can hope for is to be able to reject temptation each and every time. Temptation never operates according to a formula.

William Willimon, now a United Methodist bishop, remembers with a wince the mid-week Bible study he conducted in one suburban pastorate for women of the congregation. It was a good time generally and he was gratified when one of the women brought as a guest, a younger woman Shirley, who was obviously from the wrong side of the tracks. The two had met at the Valu Village of the town. But Shirley was well received and became part of the circle.

Then the week came when this story of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness was on the docket. After rereading the text, the minister asked a predictable open-ended question, “Would anyone like to share a time when you faced temptation but were aided by God’s strength?” One kindly older woman spoke up first.

“Last week I was in the IGA and there was a lot of fuss and confusion around the checkout counter because they were training a new cashier, and next thing I knew I was in the parking lot with a loaf of bread I hadn’t paid for. My first thought was, ‘It wasn’t my fault and it’s only 99 cents.’ But then I thought again, No, that would be wrong and I went back in and paid for it.” All the ladies around the circle smiled and nodded.

Then another woman started, “Last week too I overheard a couple of folks sharing some gossip about someone. It just so happened that I, too, had recently heard a few juicy tidbits about old so-and-so and this was right on the tip of my tongue to say to these other people when something stopped me and I decided, no, I won't share in this rumour mill.” All of God’s children said Amen.

There was a slightly long pause before Shirley decided to enter the fray. “A couple of years ago my boyfriend and me - he’s the father of my youngest child but not of the older two - anyway, him and me were big into cocaine. Well, you know how that stuff messes with your head! So one day we’re in the pharmacy and my boyfriend all of a sudden decides to tell the cashier to give him all the money in the cash register. And she done it. It was like takin’ candy from a baby. So we ran out of there real fast. Then we see this 7-11 down the street a ways and he says to me, ‘Let’s knock that over, too.’ But something in me kinda snapped and I told him no. I robbed that pharmacy with you, but I’m not doing no 7-11. I was glad I resisted. Made me feel like somebody.”

By this time, the Reverend had been sitting in the corner fidgeting with the cover of his Bible for a few minutes and barely getting the words out, “Well, that’s rather what we’ve been talking about today. Shall we close now in prayer?”

My God, what kind of strength is that? That’s God’s strength that at other times we call grace. Grace is the response to temptation, because it is not your knowledge or virtue that makes you change your mind, but God’s unpredictable grace that along with the Holy Spirit throws you into the middle of chaos amidst checkout mayhem and delicious rumour mills and not robbing the second store and enables you right then to survive and feel like somebody.

There are no fool proof methods for resisting temptations even for true-blue saints, but each time the devil tries to make you do it, there is the real possibility that you can say to yourself - and you are the only person really talking - I am more than my appetites; I have to pay attention to what I am worshiping; I don’t need to waste my time trying to tempt God. Besides I have the Book of Deuteronomy to fall back on! You heard those desperate housewives: something inside you will stop you, and it won’t be comfortable and you may want to resist it, but then that’s God’s strength, God’s grace, and today in your wanderings you have conquered temptation. We’ll work on tomorrow’s temptation tomorrow.

Preached by Robert Kitchen
Knox-Metropolitan United Church
Regina, Saskatchewan