Temptations

From today's reading:  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came. . .  Matthew 4:1-3 

Jesus is lead out in the wilderness. . .  I'm not sure why we think that we can live our lives without temptation.  Satan comes at the lowest point in our lives - that time when we are the weakest - and his offers are oh, so attractive.  The truth is that temptation is a part of life.  It's going to happen - now how we respond to it is a different matter.  

The first temptation in Matthew is to use his power to satisfy the desires of the flesh - Jesus is hungry - turn these stones into bread so that you might eat and satisfy this need for food.  It is about using the power and skills God gives us for our own benefit rather than for the purpose God intended. 

The second temptation is a desire to control - to attempt to control God - bending God to do your will.  Some people think that's what prayer is for - to get God to do what you want him to do.  That's a common one for us - 'God, take care of this person. . . or God, take care of that situation.'  Too often people approach God with an arrogance - if I want it, God's got to do it.  That is a result of misreading or prooftexting scripture.  They forget the temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus says, 'yet not my will, but yours be done.' 

The third temptation is to gain power and wealth through ungodly means - all these will be your, if you bow down and worship me. . .  It is asking the question, 'will we use any and all means available to get what we want.'  For a lot of people in the world today, the answer is yes - they don't seem to mind stepping on people and destroying others to get what they want.

Most loving God, when I am faced with the daily temptations that come my way, let me remember that your love will be with me and sustain me and you will be my help in resisting those temptations.  Amen.

Mark the Evangelist

From today's readiing:  The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way.  Mark 1:1

Today's reading is from the Eucharistic Lessons for the celebration of Mark the Evangelist.  No one really knows who Mark is - supposedly John Mark from the book of Acts and mentioned by Peter in his first letter.  He is also believed to be the son of the family who owned the house where Jesus and the disciples had their last supper.

Mark is a messenger - proclaiming Jesus Christ as the Son of God.  There have been messengers in your life - people who told you about Jesus - who shared his love with you.  There have been messengers all the down the centuries and they have kept the name of Jesus alive.  Who is the messenger who will go today to proclaim Jesus Christ?  It is you?  Is it me?

Treasured Possession

Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.  Exodus 19:5-6

I love the idea that we are a treasured possession.  God is speaking to Moses and acknowledges that all the world is his, but God's love rests with us in a very special way.  He's speaking to the people of Israel, but as Jesus ministered to Gentiles and later Paul and other disciples began to preach and to baptize Gentiles into the family, that includes us.  We are a priestly kingdom, each of us with our own ability and authority to preach peace to the world.  As we strive to keep God's covenant and to obey the voice of God, we are a holy nation, the treasured possession of the Lord.

Shared Ministry

Moses' father-in-law said to him. . . "You should look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain. . .  Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you."  Exodus 18:17,21-22  

Now here's a concept - shared ministry.  Moses was just like so many of us - he was trying to do it all himself.  For most people, that's the easiest way to burn out in whatever the task is.  Moses was sitting in judgment, listening to all the people who came to him with complaints and disputes. The thousands of people who were traveling with him were overwhelming him with their needs.  He couldn't do it all by himself.  

There are times in our own lives that we feel this need to be self-sufficient, and that's okay up to a point.  But when the tasks of life or our job become overwhelming, then it's time to step back and allow (or invite) others in to help.  There is the old saying, "If you want something done right, do it yourself."  But what we sometimes forget, is that we can teach others how to do things the right way - and yes, that does take time and effort.  And sometimes, just maybe - someone else might have a new way of doing something that's even better than the way we have done it all along.

Just remember that we don't always have all the answers, and God has given us companions on the way who can help us and support us in whatever we do in His Name.

When we have no control

From today's reading: If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:20-21

Well, here's something we don't want to hear. I remember when I was in Rockdale as the lay vicar of St. Thomas in seminary. This was the inspiration for my great yo-yo sermon - the one about being in high school and those of us who were seniors would get punished for "yo-yoing" in the halls. This was the result of an assembly when the "yo-yo man" came to town and after his exhibition, he sold yo-yos which most of us bought. The school quickly had to devise a new rule - no yo-yoing in the hallways between classes. The penalty was detention - and if we violated the rule, we had to suffer the consequences.

But there are people who suffer - from things they have no control over. And as Americans, or even just as human beings, we think it's unfair for good people to lose their homes to tornados or hurricanes or flooding or whatever, or it's unfair for people to suffer from cancer or copd or any other of the numerous diseases that make life so difficult, or to lose their jobs or means of support. But it happens all the time - it's part of the fallen nature of humanity.Whether we chalk it up to the fall in the garden or the opening of Pandora's box, or whatever, it's part of life in the here and now.

So what do we do when it befalls us? Or how do we help those we love when it happens to them? Christ gave us an example of suffering - without condemnation - accepting what came his way - forgiving others - living close to the Lord - never forgetting where his help came from. Why? We don't always know why. We simply trust the Lord that He will bring something positive out of our experience.

Lord, regardless of what happens in our life, hold us close and keep reminding us of your presence and your love for us, because we can forget so easily. Your promise is to be with us through everything that happens in our life - to never leave our side. Help us, remind us to call out to you in our hour of need that we may ever live in you, and you in us. Amen.

Of First Importance

From today's reading: For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

I received as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins and was raised on the third day. . . Why is that important? Because it means death no longer controls us. It means that sin no longer controls us. It means that we have the ability to consider first the love that God had for us in providing for our forgiveness. It means that we can live in the sure knowledge that God loves us and we have the opportunity to share that love with others. Everything else falls by the wayside compared to love. When love is the driving force in our life, we are more fully human, more present to those around us, both emotionally and spiritually. When love is our driving force, we are more able to live life to the fullest with the assurance that God is right there with us. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your love and presence with us today. Amen.

He lay in the tomb

From today's reading: So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. Matthew 27:59-61

I remember the day we buried my mother. As we drove from the church to the cemetery, the sky clouded up and as we arrived at the cemetary, the clouds opened up and poured down on us. One of my great nieces said, "It's like God is crying for Aunt Jimmie Lea." It was one of those summer showers that builds up fast and goes away quickly. The sky was already clearing as we left the cemetary.

My mind's eye sees the darkness that lays over the earth two thousand years ago. The body of Jesus lay in the tomb. The earth stood in silence because the light had gone out of the world. This was the darkest hour - when it seemed that even God turned away as He mourned for his son - for the earthly life he had lived and the death he had suffered.

And we sit and wait and watch.