How Did He Do That?

How Did He Do That?: <-- Audio file of sermon based upon Matthew 4:1-11


Good morning. We missed you if you weren’t able to be with us on Ash Wednesday. It was a lovely service full of the Spirit’s moving. We joined in soup and salad supper with one another, watched as the kids bore in the elements to the table for communion, and sought to understand where and how God wants us to experience the holy during this time of Lent. But it’s not too late. Just because you might not have been here, doesn’t mean that the fruits of retreating into the wilderness have passed. We’ve barely gotten started in seeking the holy so keep coming back… we’re on a journey together.


Okay, that sounded more like a sales pitch than I meant but the essence is the same. We’re on a journey and a worthy one at that. And the main origin of that journey is part of our scripture passage today. We read in Matthew about Jesus retreating to the wilderness to fast. He did this just after his baptism and just before he set out on his ministry.


See, we have to remember that prior to this point, we know very little about Jesus other than a few stories of his childhood. We can guess that he was a good Jew who worshiped and kept the holy days. We also can guess he was in the family business as a carpenter. He was in his early 30’s so that makes all this more interesting. You see, the average life expectancy for folks in his time was only 35 because the infant mortality rate was so high. But if you made it into adulthood, you would likely die by age 50. So, in the scheme of life and in his community, he would be seen as well into or past mid life. Now a days we say we might call him a young man but then, he would have been a master carpenter with nearly 20 years under his belt.


But I didn’t start down this road to fill the room with all that we don’t know or understand about this man from Nazareth. I actually want to point to what we do know and can understand from his life. I want to point to what we can know in our own lives from this because Jesus sets a wonderful example for us to follow. The fact of the matter is that by the time we get to the end of this passage, he’s going toe to toe with Satan and wins. So, I think it bears some interest on our part to find out how he did this since most of us have a hard time resisting the little things let alone the offer of the world.


So, how did Jesus do it? What does this passage tell us? First of all, we can know that good decision making and preparation are important.


We don’t know exactly why he suddenly at age 30 decided that it was time contemplate a career change but we know he did not enter into it lightly. He was diligent in his decision-making. How do we know this? Because he listened to the Holy Spirit and went on a retreat into the wilderness to fast and pray.


Now you may ask what that has to do with it since it only takes up one verse in this passage. Well, the answer is a lot. This is more than what anthropologist Joseph Campbell would call the typical retreat of the hero archetype before a journey.


Jesus chose retreat to isolate himself so he could consider what was happening. He did not want distractions of his work or community life to get in the way. This gave him the space to understand what was going on more fully.


Also, he fasted. Now, fasting is a somewhat lost spiritual discipline in the modern era but it is an amazing tool for digging deep into ourselves. The process of fasting is more than just an act of self-discipline. It is an act of therapy.


Theologian Richard Foster wrote a book some years back called The Celebration of Discipline where he shares the practices of several mostly lost spiritual disciplines. In it, he talks about fasting in a way that has always stayed with me and informed my own attempts at fasting. He said that when we fast, there is a tendency to dismiss our feelings but that the feelings are precisely the point. If we are agitated or short tempered or sad when we’ve not eaten, it’s not because we have not eaten. We have those feelings because the spirit of anger or sadness lives within us and without food to cover it up, those feelings come to the surface. So, fasting provides an amazing opportunity to look our un dealt with feelings and issues in the eye and do something about them.


I imagine Jesus stared down a lot of fears and doubts during this 40-day period of fasting. It was probably a period of great growth with the combination of fasting and isolation. There would have been nowhere to hide from his inner angst.


But what does Jesus’ example of decision making and preparation mean to us? We all have times in our lives that we are about to do something big or make decisions that are life changing. Many of us have even contemplated and changed careers too. But it’s unlikely we went to the wilderness to make those decisions.


Well, the model of Jesus is a sound one here but I think we can learn more than just how to imitate his actions. The point is that he clearly took it seriously. He did what he could to consider what setting out on ministry would mean and to prepare himself. Likewise, when we are in that place, we must take steps to hear the Holy Spirit and to make good decisions and prepare ourselves.


This looks different for different people. Some of us are helped by engaging in various spiritual disciplines like fasting. In fact, if you’re ever interested in learning more or practicing it or other disciplines, I can suggest some books for you. Others of us make decisions and prepare through equally spiritual means of prayer, consulting loved ones, and careful analysis of the situation. Regardless of the decision, how serious we take it will be clear by how intent we are to seek God’s guidance and gifts in making that decision.


And speaking of gifts, that has bearing on the second point I want us to see in this passage. The bulk of this scripture tells of Jesus resisting temptation. How does he do this? By quoting scripture and standing firmly upon it. Each and every time Satan temps Jesus, he comes back by quoting scripture.


So, what does this tell us? Well, it’s unlikely that Jesus had lugged up the sacred scrolls from the temple so he could study them in the wilderness. First of all, the Rabbi probably would have attacked him at the door since scrolls were not only expensive, they were sacred. But more to the point, Jesus would have already known these scriptures because his culture was much more imbedded in the use of scripture for stories and cultural references.


So again, what does this tell us? Well, much like the example of Jesus on retreat, I don’t think the answer is necessarily to mimic Jesus outright. We can learn from his example. The point is that to resist temptation, Jesus used the skills and gifts God had given him. He tapped into what he already had.


You see, in a general way we often talk about becoming more Christ like. But we mean that in terms of our the likeness of our heart, mind, and spirit. But when it comes to gifts, we all are in different places. To resist temptation and do the right thing, we don’t all have to become bible scholars and quote scripture with ease. The key is to find, cultivate, and use the gifts and skills God gave each of us. To me, this is one of the most crucial pieces of spiritual truths we can ever internalize.


Jesus stood on a foundation of faith he knew and supported him. It didn’t feel empty to him to quote scripture. It felt empowering and fortifying. So, what is it that each of us have that helps us do the right thing? What foundation is our faith built upon that empowers and fortifies us? What blessings has God given us to make us better people?


We all have something to tap into. Some have the gift of scriptural study and knowledge. Others have a strong moral compass reinforced by rigorous attention to growth and love. For some of us, our families and friends are the fortress that makes us stronger. Reading, persuasive speech, compassion, learning, fasting, quite time, journals, prayer, retreats, holy days, volunteering… whatever it is that God has given each of us, it will help us to become better people… fuller members of the body of Christ.


And that’s the point. This holy season of Lent can be like a time of retreat to consider what God has fortified and empowered us with. It can be a time when we emerge with a stronger understanding of the tools God has given us so that we are able to do the right thing when we are faced with temptation.


So, this is where we are… Lent, on the journey. We know how Jesus emerged from the wilderness stronger. What can we apply from his example so that we can do the same?


Last week pastor and theologian Peter Gomes died. It is a loss of a theological giant. But his words live on and I think he completely understood what we’re talking about here today. He said, “The question should not be ‘What would Jesus do?’ but rather, more dangerously, ‘What would Jesus have me do?’ He came to ask human beings to live up to their full humanity; he wants us to live in the full implication of our human gifts, and that is far more demanding.”


Sisters and brothers, Peter Gomes, just like Jesus, knew that it is by living into our God given gifts and skills that we find the tools we need in situations. That doesn’t mean that we have to do things alone. In fact, sometimes our biggest gift is our community. But it does mean that we have to be rigorous in finding and cultivating those gifts. May we use this season of Lent to do that work so that we blossom into the creation God calls us to be. Amen.