Sermon Prepared for Messiah Lutheran Church
8:30 & 11:00 AM traditional services – 02/17/02
by Gregory S. Kaurin
Associate Pastor for Spiritual Care and Development
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
The Sermon:
PopTart®
Temptations
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So, we have begun: this is
the first Sunday in the season of Lent.
Last week, if you were here for Ash Wednesday, our service spoke briefly
about the “disciplines of Lent,” which are repentance, prayer, fasting and
works of love. We set these six weeks
aside, these forty days, to focus our attention on these disciplines.
It is true what they say,
of course, “If it’s good enough for Lent, then it’s probably good enough for
the rest of your life!” That’s part of
the struggle I have every year with these Lenten disciplines. I hear a few people talking and comparing
what they’ve decided to “give up” for Lent, or what they’re doing,
and—honestly—it makes me cringe a bit.
But then I hear another person criticizing and putting down the idea of
giving up or doing anything just because it’s Lent…and that makes me cringe,
too! Who’s right? Both?
Neither?
I heard one young woman
even chuckle a bit at herself after talking about the things and foods she’s
giving up for Lent. She said, somewhat
jokingly, “Well, considering all that Jesus did for me, I guess I ought to be
able to give up my PopTarts® for six weeks!”
…Well, she is
right! Considering what Jesus gave up
for us, it seems there are plenty of selfish indulgences we should be
able to set aside…to, instead, focus on him.
And yet, next to Jesus (God) dying on the cross for us, whatever
personal sacrifices we might try to dream up—they will always sound a bit weak
next to his: Jesus death on the cross on the one hand, giving up PopTarts® for
six weeks on the other. It does seem
rather weak.
But is there a
point, then, to the Lenten disciplines, like this discipline of fasting? Yes, there is! But before that, let’s talk about what the Lenten disciplines are
not.
First, the fact is that we
are not trying to match Jesus’ sacrifice.
He has already paid the sacrifice in full; we cannot add to it. We do not need and can neither match nor
repay him …ever. The whole point of
Jesus’ death and resurrection was to obliterate our debt with his
forgiveness. So, the Lenten disciplines
should not be used to “repay our debts.”
Second, the Lenten
disciplines, especially fasting, are not a diet plan. Believe it or not, many people use Lent for the purpose of giving
up sweets and lose a few pounds for Jesus.
It’s not bad to shed some weight while fasting, but it is not the
purpose. The problem is that we tend to
remain focused on the food. Instead of
burying ourselves in the food that we would eat, we fuss over the food we
aren’t eating and continue to fuss over our self-image. Really, fasting has very little to do with
the food at all; it is about using the food, or the lack of it, to focus on
something else…on some-One else.
Third, the Lenten
disciplines aren’t really to be used as guilt-busters. Some seem to have the idea that we can be
“normal” people most of the year: maybe a little neglectful of our prayers,
worship and generosity (like anyone else), because we have Lent to make up for
it each year. It’s almost like the
adult version of a child who tries to be good because Christmas is coming.
The problem with all of
these ideas is that they are still focused on the self…fussing and worrying
over me. 1) We don’t use Lent as a time
to repay Christ because that’s like saying his sacrifice wasn’t quite enough to
really clean and claim me. 2) We don’t
use Lent as a diet plan or an image booster because that’s still focused on
me. And 3) we don’t use Lent and its
disciplines as a lame excuse for the way we live the rest of our lives because
that makes God’s love for us cheap and manipulated.
So… what good is it,
then? What good are the disciplines of
repentance, prayer, fasting and works of love?
It is good—they’re all good—when they pull us out of ourselves and turn
us toward God, or toward God through other people, in a way that trusts him to
listen, forgive and love us.
Let’s talk about these
PopTarts® and other sweets. One friend
of mine offered this thought: you might decide to not only give that sweet up,
but to take the money, or the value, of that personal indulgence and give it
away. Or, use that time, that breakfast
or lunch hour when you normally eat, to study your Bible, or to read a
devotional book, or spend it in prayer.
Now we’re getting
somewhere! Maybe you are used to eating
your PopTart® or drinking your coffee (or, if you’re like me, drinking those
five cups of coffee) or puffing on your cigarette. What if, instead, during this Lent you decide to use that
urge and craving to remind you to turn to God?
You turn to him, not just to ask for strength against this temptation of
coffee, but to go beyond that. You can
use the craving like an alarm, a trigger to simply turn your thoughts away from
your stomach and self, and toward your God to give him a quick thank you, or to
pray for the last person you saw, or for strength and vision to see him and
hear his voice during the rest of this day.
Then, when a friend offers
you a chance to ignore your Lenten resolve—like a sweet, or whatever you’ve
given up—there’s no need to toot your horn about it; you might politely say
that you’re avoiding those things for awhile.
You might just say, “No, but thank you!” And internally, you are already turning to God again—thanking him
for this friend and this chance to talk to him.
See, it’s something like
what Jesus did during his temptations in the desert. The devil came whispering and tempting, but Jesus took each one
of the temptations and turned it into an opportunity to give God his praise and
allegiance. His temptations were turned
into moments that worshiped God!
So, it is not just about
cravings and food temptations; Lent is an opportunity to move a little deeper,
or mature more, in our faith. It’s a
time to learn a little more. We set
aside these forty days’ time to act a little different than we normally do, and
a little different than the rest of the world: a little quieter, more
respectful, kinder, more patient and listening and curious about others. Hopefully, we can let whatever we learn and
experience this Lent to deepen our whole lives.
But, finally, why set aside
a specific period of time to do this?
If it’s good enough for Lent, why not skip the forty days and expect it
of our whole lives? Honestly, I
personally don’t care when you might choose to set time aside…but I do think we
all should.
Jesus modeled and set aside
time for fasting and praying. He spent
forty days in a desert where he used every temptation to turn himself away from
his stomach to God’s Word, from his fears and self will to God’s Will, and from
his desire for power to God’s Rule.
Jesus set aside time for prayer and fasting on mountains and in
gardens. He set aside the time so that
he could then live out those prayers in his life and ministry.
You might also realize that
the season of Lent is not arbitrary.
These forty days before Easter are a perfect chance for all of us—even
in the middle of our busy lives—to retreat a bit, emotionally and spiritually,
from the mere busy-ness of life. We
take this time to concentrate on a few things that we claim are more important,
and on the One that we claim is Most Important.
This year, I encourage
every single one of you to choose and focus on one or two of these disciplines
of Lent: repentance, prayer, fasting or works of love. Whether you decide to do them only for
Lent—or perhaps to change your life from here on—do them quietly, meditatively;
let them turn you constantly toward Jesus Christ. After all, he is the voice who calls you to join his
journey, not me, not your peers, not even your Church. Ultimately, it is only Jesus Christ who
calls you to come away and spend time with him.
So, pick up a
discipline. Walk with him these forty
days …toward Jerusalem …toward his cross …through his death …and into his new
Life.
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