May 26, 2016

“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.”

Matthew 4:1-11

As soon as I start to think they might run out of names for the coffee drinks at my local coffee establishment, with the assistance of the secret menu, I discover that more and more types of coffee concoctions actually exist. For example, we have the “Undertow”. The Undertow is a different little coffee drink — a sweetened coffee with a splash of milk sitting at the bottom of the cup, to which you then add two shots of Espresso on top. The Undertow is set to be drunk like a shot. The Undertow is definitely a new and different experience if you are adventurous enough to try it.

Immediately after his baptism, Jesus is driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted and tested by the devil. It had to feel like a dangerous undertow to Jesus. Here he was on the biggest high of his life, hearing the voice of G-d saying “This is my son, my beloved”. Now, he is being swept into a hunger-fuled battle with the devil. But instead of being pulled down, he gathers his strength and is buoyed by both scripture and the holy angels. Life will try to pull us down, or at least we will feel as if we are being pulled down by the undertow of threats, losses, disappointments, diseases, and other calamities. Like Jesus, we need to know the word of G-d so we will be able to fight off the devil, and sustain our lives through the words of Jesus – words of Love, Mercy and Grace.

Pastor Dave