Choose Good [Lent 1C - Luke 4:1-13]
The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson
Luke 4:1-13
Choose Good
St. Paul’s, Troy
The devil in Luke’s Gospel is not the familiar cartoon
caricature. He is not a red-faced goon
in sulfur-scented cologne. This devil is
not the twisted star of campy horror movies.
He is not a demented poker with a pitchfork and a hideous scowl. The devil in today’s Gospel passage is trying
to book Jesus as a client; he wants to be Jesus’ agent. This devil sees the career path to which
Jesus has committed – one with an objectively rough ending – and is convinced
he can find Jesus something better.
The devil shows up in the wilderness ready for business. He walks into the meeting prepared to pitch;
he has some tempting offers, some ideas, some strategies that will help Jesus
really unlock his full potential. Not entirely unlike some of the more saintly
characters in this Gospel, Simeon, Anna, John the Baptist, the devil recognizes
that Jesus is truly special, a unique talent. Rather than challenge or deny that,
the devil hopes to capitalize on it, negotiate a sinister collaboration – a
mutually beneficial relationship. But first he needs to identify Jesus' “It
Factor” – what will push Jesus over-the-top; what will make Jesus great? What will make Jesus a star?
His first idea is: bread.
Now I’m not sure if the devil wrote up this particular pitch in advance or
if he was inspired by Jesus’ emaciated body.
Either way, it certainly is a timely strategy. Jesus is on the verge of starvation,
and he probably looked it. Because forty
days is about twice as long as a typical human being can live without
eating. In that moment, bread must have sounded really, really good to our
starving savior. And because the devil
is famously crafty, and to give the pitch a little extra punch, the devil
suggests food production at the end, rather than at the beginning, of Jesus'
fast. He pounces on the most tempting of
tempting moments.
While Jesus’ need was immediate, the bread idea was also a
long-term strategy. Not only would bread
satiate Jesus' immediate hunger, it would mean he would never hunger again. In
a society before supermarkets, refrigerators, and Door Dash, food security was
for most people an outrageous fantasy, simply impossible. And in that particular region, in which stones
were easy to come by and crops were difficult to grow, making stones into bread
would be akin to growing a money tree in your backyard. Who couldn’t use a
money tree?
The devil is appealing to Jesus’ empty stomach and plentiful
potential, but the idea did not have to be entirely selfish. Not only could Jesus meet his own needs, but
in the hands of a good person, like Jesus, that magical talent could be a force
for good in the world. Just think about
it: Jesus could end world hunger. No
more famine. No more starving
children. Crime would go down; happiness
would go up. People would love Jesus –
even more than when he fed thousands with a few loaves and fish. Then they tried to make him king. And that was because of just one meal. If Jesus would just give in and make those stones
turn into bread, he would never need anything or anyone, ever – not even God.
But Jesus isn't biting, so the devil pivots to Plan B. The
bread thing was strong but this, this second plan, is even bigger. Much more
than bread and the financial independence that would allow, this one is about power.
All the power. Emperor power.
To be fair, I’m not sure the devil was authorized to make
this offer. The Bible does say that the earth
is the Lord’s and all that is in it, but the devil is not exactly known for his
honesty. And even if the devil couldn’t
make it happen, Jesus could. And he seemingly
needed a push into power. The devil
could push.
The truth is, someone is always going to sit on the throne,
be the most powerful person on the planet.
In a world of jockeying, power-hungry despots, it would be nice to have
a morally upright ruler for a change.
And who better than Jesus? Now,
history suggests that it doesn’t often turn out this way, but can you imagine
the good one could do with all that power – if one were so inclined? And also, could you imagine the money and fame
one could realize with all that power? According to Tears for Fears, everybody wants
to rule the world – and they would know: they are British. And all Jesus had to do, to take over, was bend
a knee, shuffle his allegiances, switch teams, join the Dark Side. But, of course, remember, he would be selling
his soul and destiny for a good cause.
Again Jesus resists and so the devil unveils his third,
final, and most severe test. The devil sees now that Jesus is very devout. So
what better way to test that devotion, and perhaps enjoy some immediate
validation, than to step out in blind faith? And in what better place than the
Temple – the heart of the Jewish religion, the hub of the community, the house
of God? Emperor didn’t seem to move the needle with Jesus, but what about
Jewish Messiah? Imagine how the crowds would react if God's angels caught Jesus
right before he hit the ground below. Then they would get it; then they would
all know who Jesus really was. They would have to believe. The angels would
remove all doubt – from the crowds, perhaps from even Jesus’ own mind. He would
be loved, adored, accepted. And would
never, ever have to hear the shouts of “crucify him!”
Temptations are called temptations because they are
tempting. And these certainly were. Every one was rooted in the most insidious
temptation of all: to be great rather than good.
Much to the devil’s dismay, Jesus chose goodness. And he did so knowing that, in this broken,
violent, and cut-throat world, to choose goodness is to choose the way of
resistance, the path of suffering. And
that becomes immediately clear because at his next stop in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus
is almost killed for preaching about love.
Scholar NT Wright asserts that, “[Jesus'] allegiance to his
[God] overrode immediate bodily desires; it ruled out an easy but costly short
cut to his vocation [as King]; it forbade him...to challenge the word spoken at
his baptism. For [Jesus], worshiping the one he knew as Father was larger and
richer than these.”[1] His
deepest value, his greatest allegiance was revealed in that desert wilderness and
it set the course for his life and ministry.
In every situation, Jesus chose good instead of great.
In this moment, at the dawn of this new Church season, in
these desperate times, Jesus is asking us to do the same.
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