No Sermon for 13 March 10am - a short comment

As we step into Lent, we take a step back in the Gospel of Matthew – thirteen chapters away from last Sunday’s reading of the Transfiguration.  Whether our journey to this reading of Jesus’ temptations is liturgically – from the Transfiguration – or sequentially in the Gospel, after his Baptism – in both cases, these temptations follow an awe-filled moment of revelation. However we approach it, this Lenten journey, begins immediately after  Jesus’ encounter with the Holy Other, who names him as a chosen one and dearly beloved. 

This is no out-of-this world blissful, spiritual encounter, separated from the realities of life.  Somehow, Jesus seems to have understood the implications of what it means to be God’s dearly beloved – implications we, on the other side of Easter - know only too well.

It’s enough to make anyone run away – anywhere – even into the harsh wilderness.

It’s in this reading that we, with Jesus, encounter our deepest fears.  It’s here where our faith is tested most.  It’s here we are reminded that the One in whom we live and move and have our being – the One whom the psalmist assures us is our shelter and hiding place – does not seal us up in a protective bubble preserving us from the horror of earthquake, tsunami and the harsh rule of military junta. It’s here in the story of Jesus’ temptations, we discover that the One who loves us completely and unconditionally, is found at the heart of every human pain and challenge.  Here we remember there’s no simple fix to feeding hunger, no easy way to prevent personal injury, no quick cure to abuses of power – survival depends on worshipping and serving God.     Here we learn our calling to live that love in risky places and perilous ways – places where Jesus has walked and where we will follow.

The Gospel Reading:   Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.
The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

            This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

Praise to Christ the Word.

Hymn “Do not retreat into your private world”

Words: Kathy Galloway[1] Tune: Sursum Corda CH3 458

So let’s not retreat into our private worlds.  Let’s step out into the “rage of life” and “dance within the storm.” 

The Council has agreed that our international partnership project commitment this year will be with the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar - a place experiencing more than its fair share of the storm.    We welcome today, Angela Norton, from Botany Downs Church, who, on behalf of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand is coordinating the partnership project with the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar.

---

[1] “Love Burning Deep” Kathy Galloway SPCK 1993.