March 6, 2022 – Lent 1C

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”
  Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” Luke 4:1-13

We ask questions about authority all the time: “Where are the authorities?” “Who is in authority?” “Do you have the authority to do that?” The most important question for Christians to ponder, especially here in the beginning of Lent is the question: “Do we give Jesus authority over our lives?”, or “Do we try to maintain authority in our own lives?”

I remember reading a story from PennLive a few years ago—it was an opinion piece written by Bob Quarteroni. He has been diagnosed with ALS —Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He is suffering with this disease—he has lost the use of his left hand and arm—he falls often while trying get anywhere—his knees hurt incredibly and feel as if they are going to buckle every step he takes. He is angry, as well, because he is seeking a place that will enable him to use Doctor Assisted Suicide. And Pennsylvania is one of the states or commonwealths that do not allow for such a thing.

Life is hard. Period. Sometimes life is really hard. Especially when we must consider life and death decisions, in our families, or with our friends. Life is especially hard when we consider the number of times and or the number of ways we are tempted in life—especially tempted to take the easy way out in life. The Gospel lesson appointed for the first Sunday in Lent in year C is Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by Satan. Now, these were not simple temptations. In fact, Satan was asking Jesus to do what many of us are guilty of doing all or much of the time in our lives—taking the easy way out—to use shortcuts in life—especially shortcuts in the parts of our lives that really matter. These temptations that Jesus is presented with were direct—cutting—and hard hitting to Jesus while he was in such a vulnerable state. It was a surgical attack by Satan to see what kind of person Jesus was. But Jesus used his authority, given to him by his Father, to resist and rebuff the devil.

We choose what has authority in our lives. We have the freedom to choose. And we are constantly tempted to change that authority—to give G-d authority—or money our authority—or possessions, or greed, or anger, or doubt. That’s how life really is. In life, my friends, there is no easy road—there is no easy way out. A lot of things are fighting for authority in our lives—that is how life really is. Jesus wants authority in our lives—but will we give him that authority? In my opening story, Bob Quarteroni, the man with ALS – now that I have preached my sermon, what do you think about his situation? Does he have an easy way out? He has ALS—an insidious disease—with no cure. He is suffering, and he wants to die. Does he have a choice how he dies? Should he have that authority?

These are difficult choices—the kind of difficult choices we are confronted with every day. That, that my friends is how life is. One choice seems easy to me—the choice to trust Jesus and G-d’s authority—to pray for the Holy Spirit to direct and guide us through not only our Lenten journeys—but our life’s journey as well. Persevering to the end, in trust and faith, leads us to eternal life. There are no shortcuts in this life of faith—it requires ongoing work, ongoing study, ongoing prayer, and ongoing trust. But our reward in the struggle of life, as it really is, and putting our faith in Jesus, as he really is, includes eternal life.

Pastor Dave