Episode Transcript
Hello friends and welcome to this week's episode of Grits in the Gospel. My name is Reverend Katie Griffiths and it is so good to be with you here on this first Sunday of Lent a time when we come together and we are humbling ourselves before the Lord going into the wilderness taking away those things that separate us from the love of God sacrificing so we may honor that time that Jesus spent in the desert. It is good to be with you today as we come together now and this time of worship. The Lord be with you and also with you. Today's song comes from the 91st song we will start in the first two verses and go through verses 9 through 16. We see in this song that we are under the protection of the Lord no matter where we are no matter how hard life seems around us. Let us hear now these words. You who live in the shelter of the most high who abide in the shadow of the Almighty will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God and whom I trust because you have made the Lord your refuge the most high your dwelling place. No evil shall befall you no scourge come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bury you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the atter. The young lion and the serpent will trample underfoot. Those who love me I will deliver. I will protect those who know my name. When they call me I will answer them. I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them with long life. I will satisfy them and show them my salvation. The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Friends let us now come to a time and recite those things that are the tenets of our faith. What do we believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. The third day he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and siteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From then see shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of faith, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen. Let us pray, Dear Lord we come to you today. So thankful that we have this time of length, this time to reflect, this time to sacrifice, this time to go into the wilderness so we can come out with joy and love. Here now the words of the prayer that your son taught us to pray, our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Today's gospel lesson comes from the gospel of the fourth chapter versus 1 through 13. Here now of the temptation of Jesus, Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returns from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit and the wilderness. We're for 40 days he had tested, he was tested by the devil, bless you honey, bless you honey. If she is testing us, he ate nothing at all during those days and when they were over he was famished. The devil said to him, if you are the son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread. Jesus answered him, it is written, one does not live by bread alone, then the devil led him up and showed him an instant in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, to you, I will give all authority and their glory for it has been given over to me and I give it to anyone, please. If you then will worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered him and is written, worship the Lord your God and serve only him. Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you're the son of God, throw yourself down from here. For it is written, he will command his angels concerning you to protect you. And on their hands, they will bury you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, it is said, do not put the Lord your God to the test. When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. The word of God, for us the people of God, thanks be to God. Would you pray with me? Dillard, do this, let in season, let us be reflective. On the words that you have given me, may it be to others as meaningful as it was to me. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. I love bread. I love all kinds of bread. I love cinnamon rolls and banana bread. I love my grandmother's cheese muffins. I love a flaky pie crust. I love a summer tomato sandwich. Good old sunbeam white bread. I love bread toasted and I love it made into bread pudding. I love a warm mistroll with salty butter slathered on it. When people give up bread for lent, I know how courageous and brave they are. It would be a true sacrifice to give it up for lent. I've never given up bread for lent. I've given up sweet tea. I've given up dessert. But I've never been brave enough to give up bread. And I know why people do it. Jesus in the desert is tempted with bread and he resists. So if we're going to give up something for lent, it might as well be what Jesus gave up. That's the whole point of giving up things for lent, right? Sacrificing as Jesus did for 40 days, resisting temptation from the devil. And some people think that bread is the devil. It is tempting. But it's not really what the heart of the time that Jesus spent in the desert is all about. Temptations come at the end of Jesus's 40 days of fasting and praying in the desert. That is a long time to be alone, to be hungry, and to be insolitude for prayer. The scripture says that Jesus was famished. I bet he was. And when he was at his weakest, the devil shows up to test him. There are three different temptations. The first is to relieve his hunger. The second is to revere the devil and gain power. And the third is to test the protection of God. When he's seemingly at his weakest, the devil tries to tempt Jesus with three things that the devil believes Jesus would want. In each time Jesus rejects the offers, the irony of these temptations. What the devil did not understand is that Jesus didn't need to be tempted by the devil to accomplish any of these tasks. Jesus, the powerful miracle worker who banished demons and healed the sick, changed water to wine and multiplied food enough to feed 5,000 could have at any point in time even in the desert made bread. He could have made it out of a stone. He could have manifested it. He could have bewitched, twitched his nose and conjured it up. If he wanted bread, he could have done it at any time. But he had chosen to fast and pray those 40 days. I wonder even when he heard Jesus's answer if the devil really understood. One does not live by bread alone. Bread is great, but it's not what is most important. Time and prayer is greater than any sun being low for round. The devil is not deterred. He tries again, but the answer is not what he thought he would get. Jesus had no desire for the kingdoms to be forced to worship him. He also didn't need to bow down to the devil to have any of the worldly kingdoms worship him. Jesus answers him, worship the Lord your God and serve only him. The devil was not getting his wish. This temptation always reminds me of one of my favorite musicals. And if you will permit me the use of one somewhat cuss word in the pulpit, I'm only saying the name of the play Darn Yankees. And the play Joe is a long suffering fan of the Washington Senator. All he wants them to do is win a world series. So Joe sells his soul to the devil to get in the win. Ultimately, he regrets his decision and realizes that the love of his wife and his regular old life are much more invaluable than a pinnacle or kingdom. He brings about one of my favorite musical lines. The devil, better known as Mr. Applegate, realizes that he failed at tempting to win Joe's soul. And he says, wives, they caused me more trouble than the Methodist Church. Love wins in the end. The devil admits defeat temptation to give up the beautiful family in life and exchange for a win in the kingdom of the Washington senators is no match for love. Those writers weren't that far off. Now I can't say that I wouldn't be tempted to do something similar for my beloved long suffering Auburn Tigers. But in the end, it is just as much fun to win at basketball as it is in football. Sort of. Jesus in this deal that the devil is proposing didn't need any help getting the win. The devil was missing the point all together. The point of being in relationship and part of the kingdom of God is that we want to be there. We use our own free will to choose to live into the grace we are given. We worship only God and nothing else because we ourselves want to do just that. Love has always will always win. The last temptation is the most ironic. Make God send his angels to save you from death. Well devil, sir, I don't think I will. The irony of the devil wanting to make God the savior of Jesus is just amazing. It shows just how far from God the devil really is. He had no idea what he was asking. It was never going to happen. Jesus did not want or need to be saved because he was the savior. I love that the devil quotes scripture to Jesus here. Do you see the humor in this? The devil quotes the word of God to the word incarnate. For it is written, he will command his angels concerning you to protect you. And on their hands, they will bury you up so that you will not dash your footing against a stone. Jesus answered him. It is said, do not put the Lord your God to the test. Can you almost feel the abrol from Jesus? That devil. He had no idea who he was messing with. My answer to the devil's temptation was just a few verses after what he was quoting. The protection that Jesus that we all have from the evil in this world is right there for all to see a know. We heard it today in the song reading, those who love me, I will deliver. I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them. I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them. With long life, I will satisfy them and show them my salvation. When the devil comes calling, all we have to do is call on the one that will answer and truly rescue us, the one true Savior, Jesus, God the Father, the Holy Spirit. The answer was standing right in front of him and the devil did not even bother to look. Salvation was staring him in the face and he missed the chance to take it. What opportunities do we have staring us in the face? What protections are we missing because the temptation is just too distracting. I like the words of Dr. Wilde Gaffney as she describes what state the world is in during Lent and beyond. Lent is a wilderness carved out in space and time with prayer. There is more than one kind of wilderness. There is the wilderness of the soul and often lonely and aching place. There is the wilderness of the world, a place where words of love are everywhere, yet people hunger for love because the limitations of love that perfuse our society leave us empty. Haking. Hungry. Let's go out and help the people that feel empty, that ache from the deep hurt the world can give that are hungry for love. We're going to spend our Lent and season and remembrance of the time Jesus spent in the desert. Maybe giving up bread is not exactly what Jesus would suggest. Maybe there are other ways to remember that time. Fasting from social media seems like a good way to make some time to make bread to feed the hungry. Instead of standing over the kingdom and surveying what I could control maybe I should go down with people and ask them how I can be of service to them. Why not be the angel that goes out and helps save others rather than be the one testing the angels of heaven? If you've already given up ice cream or potato chips or heaven forbid bread of any kind and it is a sacrifice for you then by all means keep doing it. Your pastor is not going to tell you to break your fast but maybe this Lent. While we await the coming of the risen Christ on Eastern morning we honor the spirit of his sacrifice and the resistance of his temptation by doing good in the world. Fast from hate. Stand up to those who are trying to tempt you. Be firm in your beliefs and resist the evils of this world. Instead of worrying about turning stone to bread may be during Lent. We make a point of going out and feeding people. Let's do a little differently this year. After all it's almost summer fruit season and sacrificing my peach pies and tomato sandwiches is just taking things a little too far. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Andrew bread. Amen. As we go throughout this Lent and season let us look for ways that we can do good in the world. For ways that we need to go into the wilderness to pray and sacrifices we need to make. Because in life and death and life beyond death God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.
