This sermon was proclaimed at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Rock Valley, IA on March 1st, 2020.
Grace and Peace to you from the one who is, who was, and who is to come, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Our texts this week call on us to live in these two stories of temptation.
In one, humans are created and given a purpose. Humans are created to till and keep the land, a bit more of a literal translation would be to serve and protect the creation. Humans were given immense freedom, but the freedom was not boundless. We are told not to eat of one tree. Everything else is in our care, and everything else that is fit for eating is given to us.
We were created not to laze about doing nothing to be nothing but pretty things for God to look at and admire. Or to give God pleasure, like in many other ancient faiths. Humans were given purpose for their lives and a great deal of freedom to live into that purpose. There was just one caveat.
Then something happened, we were no longer happy with the freedom we were given. We wanted more than what had been given to us. In a human, a couple, sin came into the world when we ceased to follow God’s purpose and plan. Sin came when we couldn’t even follow a single limit on the otherwise boundless freedom we had been given.
But, even in the story of the fall, the story of human temptation and failure, even when sin entered the world, there is a hint at the gospel. God had promised humans death if they disobeyed God’s commandment. But, instead, God showed mercy. Adam and Eve were not killed, life though became much more difficult. The joy and the plenty of the garden was replaced by toil and pain. That is what separation from God is, toil and pain. Fulfilling our first command to serve and protect creation in the land of plenty would start to come into conflict with the need to work and to survive. The further we have gone from serving and protecting creation, the harder it gets to live lives of plenty, where we have enough, without worrying what we will have for tomorrow.
The other story of temptation, Jesus enters a land of want. A wilderness where meeting one’s most basic of needs is impossible. The tempter comes, offering easy ways. But Jesus knows his purpose. The tempter points out that at any time, Jesus could end his hunger. Jesus could command the angels to serve him. And Jesus could claim for himself rule and power over all the earth, but Jesus declines. It is also interesting to see in the three temptations how things change. First Christ is told to save himself. Command that these rocks turn to bread. But Christ will not do that. Then Christ is tempted to have God’s servants to save him. Christ again denies that. Finally, the tempter offers that Jesus need not even lift a finger, all Jesus needs to do is collapse at the tempter’s feet, the easiest thing to do, and the tempter will give Jesus all power and all authority, and Jesus refuses.
That is incredible to me, how hard is it to refuse someone telling you, don’t worry, I will do all the work and you will get all the credit.
We have two similar stories this week, but two vastly different results. Humans fail and fall to a simple temptation despite having all humanly needs met. Jesus resists temptation, even though he is completely lacking any comfort.
Then we have our good friend Paul, in his letter to the Romans, trying to explain the immensity and the incredible nature of what God accomplished through Christ. Paul tells us the whole of the Bible’s message in this brief, and somewhat convoluted text.
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned... But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16 And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17 If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.”
Just as the actions of one condemned all of us, and made it impossible for us to live according to God’s plan for us, in one person, Jesus, all are saved, all are redeemed, all are reconciled, even though we all continue to sin. In one-person death entered the world, and from one person we are given the gift of eternal life.
God presents us with another amazing image in the stories of human failure and Christ’s redeeming death.
The story of sin and salvation, begins and ends with a tree.
In the garden we have a beautiful tree, living, and bearing fruit that appears to be good to eat. Yet we are told do not eat the fruit of that tree. Yet, from that beautiful, living tree, sin and death enter the world.
On the hill outside of Jerusalem we have another tree, the cross. It is a dead thing, it is a tool of torture and death, but the fruit that it bears, Jesus’ body, gives us eternal life and redemption of sin. It bears fruit that Jesus himself told us to take and eat, a command we continue to remember and follow every time we participate in the sacrament of communion.
For several weeks during epiphany we kept hearing in our readings from the New Testament that God’s wisdom appears foolish to the world. Similarly, we heard that God’s strength is revealed in weakness.
We see God’s strength and power through God freely choosing to empty God’s self in the person of Jesus Christ, to become human, to live as a human, to suffer as a human and to die a humiliating death on a cross. At any time, God and Jesus could have decided, no, God does not need to do this. God does not need creation or humans. God does not need us. God could have saved God’s self from suffering and started fresh.
But instead, in choosing to become human and weak, to suffer and die for our sin, our transgressions, God affirmed God’s power by saying not that God must do this, but that God will do this for the creation that God loves. That is the good news that we must continue to remember and to hear. That God choose to suffer and die, because God loves all of creation. God gave up the benefits of being God, so that creation could truly love God and truly live into God’s plan and purpose for all created things.
Gracious God, we thank you for your Son, who was tempted, but did not give into temptation, who was free to save himself, but chose instead to give his own life, that we might have forgiveness of sin and life eternal with you, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.