Today, on the first Sunday of Lent, we remember Jesus' temptations in the wilderness. I've put up a painting for you this morning, called Christ in the Wilderness, by Briton Riviere, painted at the end of the 19th century, which some of us reflected on during our prayer and fasting day on Wednesday, and I will be referring to this painting later.
First, let's set the temptations of Jesus in context. We've heard Mark's account this morning, which is very brief and gives none of the details of the temptations which we find in Matthew and Luke's accounts. In these few concise, fast moving verses, Mark presents a striking sequence of events: Jesus is baptized in the Jordan and immediately afterwards the Spirit drives him out into the wilderness. This is then followed by the beginning of Jesus' public ministry as he comes to Galilee, proclaiming the good news. Perhaps we might have expected that Jesus' public ministry would follow immediately after his baptism, that high point when he is affirmed as God's beloved Son. But first he is led for 40 days into the wilderness.
Last Sunday we focused on the Transfiguration. I pointed out how this high point, when Jesus is revealed in glory, is related to his subsequent passion and death. He is God's beloved Son, but this does not mean he is immune to struggle and suffering. The same point is made in today's gospel. The affirmation Jesus receives at his baptism - 'You are my Son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased' - is followed by a time of severe testing and struggle in the desert. But this time of struggle seems to be just as important in preparing Jesus for his public ministry as his baptism.
Having been affirmed as God's beloved Son, Jesus is then driven by the Spirit into the wilderness where he faces the hard questions: 'What does it mean to be God's Son? How should I fulfil my vocation? Does that vocation have to be difficult and involve suffering or is there an easy way? Are there any short-cuts?'
Mark's gospel doesn't tell us what the temptations are. In Matthew and Luke, we're given more details: Jesus is tempted to turn stones into bread; to put his own physical needs above his complete dependence on God. He's tempted to compromise with the Devil and follow the way of status and power. Then he is tempted to throw himself off the highest pinnacle in the temple in Jerusalem, believing that God will rescue him – in other words he's tempted to test his Father's love and to prove it to himself and others.
All these temptations could seem to be quite sensible suggestions, but Jesus recognises them for what they are: temptations to do things in his own way and his own power, rather than acting out of complete dependence on and obedience to the Father.
There are many echoes in the temptations Jesus faces for 40 days of the experience of the Israelites in their wanderings for 40 years in the wilderness. The people of Israel often complained they were hungry and demanded food; they made idols for themselves, and they tested God, demanding proof of his power. But Jesus succeeds where the Israelites failed. Jesus maintains his trust in his Father; he fulfils the vocation of the people of Israel and in his faithfulness proves his identity as the Messiah, the true Israelite.
It may be that it was the words of love and affirmation that Jesus heard at his baptism which enabled him to face the wilderness which followed. He held on to his intimate relationship with his Father, the security of his Father's love, even in the face of struggle and doubt. And the wilderness itself may have become a place not only of struggle but of grace.
We heard in our reading: 'He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.' Alone in the wilderness, he was confronted by the forces of darkness, but was sustained by the angels. Even in the midst of darkness and struggle, God's grace and light prevail.
Perhaps we see some of this in the painting I've put up this morning. The foreground is dark and barren and foreboding, but the light of dawn is revealed behind. The figure of Jesus seems to express contrasting things. On the one hand, with his head bowed and his hand propping himself up, we can recognise weariness and exhaustion. Jesus has fasted many days, he has faced testing and struggle and he looks very alone, frail and human. On the other hand, his posture can also be seen as one of submission and trust. He is entrusting himself to the Father and, although he looks alone, the light in the picture reminds us that God is present even here. Indeed, dressed in white, the figure of Jesus himself seems to reveal not only his humanity but also his divinity.
So how does Jesus' faithfulness in the wilderness speak to us as we begin this season of Lent?
Let me remind you of the words of the collect which we heard earlier in the service:
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amen
Jesus was tested in the wilderness yet remained faithful to God. He was tested as we are, yet without sin. Because of that, he can help us. Jesus didn't come to help angels but human beings, men and women of flesh and blood – as I said in a sermon a few weeks ago. He was born one of us, he was baptised as one of us, and he faced struggle as one of us. He knows our weakness, so we can know his power to save.
Jesus was 'driven out' into the wilderness by the Spirit; it was necessary for him to wrestle with the nature of his vocation and what it meant to be faithful to his Father. The wilderness may have been a time of struggle, but it was also a time of grace, obedience and growth, through which Jesus was better prepared to live the way of self-giving love to which God had called him.
During Lent, we are invited to enter into the wilderness and there, in the words of the collect, to find 'grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit', that we too might be better prepared to live the self-giving way of Christ.
How do we discipline ourselves? It is traditional in Lent to give things up, to fast from certain things. We don't do this to make ourselves feel miserable or to try to gain God's favour. We do it in order to be more open to God's grace in our lives. To give up wine or chocolate or compulsive shopping or constant internet use, is to recognise that it is easy for the good gifts God gives us – like wine and chocolate and many other things – to become addictions or idols. So perhaps the first thing is to recognise what exactly are the things which are addictive distractions in our lives. Those things may be different for each one of us. Giving them up for a time helps us restore the right sense of perspective and creates more space in our hearts and lives to turn to God in thankfulness and trust.
Giving things up is of course related to taking things on. During Lent we are encouraged to make more time to pray and to meditate on God's word. Perhaps you might want to consider joining us for the weekly lectio divina meetings on Thursday mornings, or the weekly Bible studies on Tuesday evenings, during Lent.
It is not that the disciplines of Lent, either giving things up or taking things on, make God love us more. Rather it is the awareness of God's love which prompts us to take on these disciplines in order to respond to that love more fully and grow in faith and faithfulness. Jesus knew he was the beloved Son before the Spirit drove him into the wilderness, but his temptations in the wilderness strengthened him in living out his vocation.
Can we, knowing the love the Father has for us, pray for 'grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to his Spirit' in order to grow in that love and live God's way more faithfully?
Disciplining ourselves involves both giving up some of the things which have too much of a hold on us, and taking on more time to pray and to meditate on God's word. These disciplines help us to turn more fully to God. This is what we mean by 'repentance'. In Calvin's words. 'Repentance is the true turning of our life to God.' This may involve becoming more aware of our weaknesses and our need of God, not in order to become miserable, but in order to know more fully his grace and to grow in faith and faithfulness. Of course, God knows our sins and weaknesses anyway, but if we consciously and honestly acknowledge them both to ourselves and to God, then we are more open to receive his grace, forgiveness and strength.
Lent can be a positive time of discipline and grace. Just as the 40 days in the wilderness, even though it was a struggle, was a significant time for Jesus, so Lent can be for us. The season can be a gift to us to help us grow in faith and love.
Let me end with the collect again. Let us pray:
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amen
Helen Marshall