Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13
1st Sunday of Lent
St Barbara’s 09.03.2025
Rev Tulo Raistrick
How do you respond to an inspiring moment? The Six Nations over the last few weeks has reminded me of one for me. It came when I was 12 years old playing school nine-a-side rugby. I remember in the final of a small little tournament between local schools that at half time we were trailing by a few points. Our teacher, a passionate Welsh rugby fan, who would kick every ball and hurl every pass whilst watching on from the touchline, brought us together in a huddle and gave us an inspiring speech. “Believe in yourselves, boys. I’ve got faith in you. Go out and express yourselves. Enjoy it.” I can’t remember the final score, or whether we even won or lost, but I know that that moment gave me goosebumps. I went back out onto the field with a passion and zest, with renewed energy and a desire to do my best.
Well, in our gospel reading, Jesus has heard something more than an inspiring pep talk from a welsh rugby coach. He has just heard his heavenly Father tell him “You are my Son whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” And he has been filled with the Holy Spirit. Surely, now is the time to begin his public ministry, buoyed up with affirmation and love and power. Surely this is the moment, after thirty or so years of waiting, to begin the task to which he is called.
But it is at this point that he is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for forty days. He starts his ministry not with great fanfare or with a hectic round of meetings, speeches, and healings, rather like a politician on the campaign trail, but starts with time out in the wilderness – time to pray, time to seek God, time to deepen the inner life.
For us all there is a temptation to rush in to the tasks ahead – whether that is the pressing demands of work, or the many jobs around the house, or the need to sort out care for a loved one. There is a temptation to get things done first, and then, when things have calmed down a bit, to then set aside time to pray and seek God. I don’t know about you, but I find that time rarely comes. I find that there is always the next thing, and then the next thing. Time that I genuinely meant to spend with God in prayer has just disappeared.
Jesus sets out a different pattern. Start with prayer. Allow our tasks of the day to be shaped by prayer. Maybe that is something we want to commit to this Lent.
During that time of prayer in the wilderness Jesus wrestles with his vocation, with his calling, with what will be the nature of his ministry.
He is assailed by three very definite temptations, temptations that at first glance seem reasonable, logical, appropriate, as indeed the hardest temptations usually are.
Firstly, he is tempted to turn stones into bread, to meet his own physical needs. There he is, out in the wilderness, without food, suffering from deep pangs of hunger, his body beginning to show the first signs of emaciation. Why would God his Father want him to suffer? Surely it would be okay, the devil prompts him, to have just a little something to eat.
The temptation is more than just about his immediate hunger, however. It is about his calling. Should he choose a ministry which avoids suffering and sacrifice? Should he be the type of messiah that offers the world physical luxury and contentment? After all, Roman Emperors offered their citizens “bread and circuses”, and look how powerful they were? God’s Messiah could surely offer even more than that.
But Jesus resists the short-cut, the easy way out. His ministry will be defined by suffering. It is in the agony of the cross that the world is saved.
For us too, there may be times when we long for the easy way out, but often our Christian faith calls us to something harder – the path of love and forgiveness. Reflect on your own life at the moment – where is Christ calling you to love despite of the cost?
The second temptation is also a short-cut to something seemingly good. Jesus is offered all the authority and sovereignty over all the nations of the world. To be placed in total command. Isn’t that what God wants for his son, the Messiah? Isn’t that the vision to which Jesus is working? Jesus, God’s Son, could click his fingers, summon hosts of angels, and the world would bow the knee in submission.
But it would be submission through shock and awe, not through love and grace. He would rule over cowed subjects, not share a kingdom with loving friends. He would inspire fear, not devotion; prompt grovelling, not praise. That is not the kingdom of God. That is the kingdom of hell. No wonder the price for such power is to bow the knee to the Devil.
In recent days, we have seen how power can be abused, how those who are powerful find it easy to bully those weaker than themselves. Donald Trump’s treatment of President Zelenskyy is an example of bullying with massive international implications. It is the abuse of power by those who think they are untouchable.
But Jesus refuses to go down such a road. For him, freely given love, freely received grace, joy and life, count for infinitely more.
We too may face the temptation to achieve our ends by means other than love. To use our power, our influence, maybe our ability to manipulate or cause guilt, to cause others to do the things we want. But ultimately, our calling too is the way of love. This Lent, it may be good to reflect on where we feel tempted to neglect that calling.
And the third temptation, the third short-cut, that Jesus wrestles with is to win easy popularity, to wow the crowds, to show off with flashy miracles. “Throw yourself off the top of the temple, and angels will catch you before you hit the ground”. If Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, why not prove it in some spectacular, indisputable way?
Jesus rejects the temptation. Throughout his ministry Jesus’ miracles are inspired by compassion. They may deepen faith, but they do not wow the crowds. They certainly don’t convince people that he is the Messiah – after all, all the crowds have deserted him by the end.
No – Jesus chooses a different way. A way of gentleness and humility. In his lifetime he was never known about outside of the tiny geographical area of Israel. The most powerful and influential people of the time would never have heard of him. And yet his love changes everything.
That is the path that we are called to follow too. The way of humility, of compassion. It may not appear particularly flash or eye-catching to the world around us, but it is the path that leads to true transformation.
Where might we be tempted to over-sell our achievements to others? Where might we be tempted to make a bit of a splash – all show, no substance? Where might we be tempted to look for popularity rather than service? In Christ, we see something quite different – a life of beautiful humility, of gracious love.
As we enter into Lent, may God help each one of us to follow in the footsteps of his Son. To resist the temptations we face, and follow him in the way of love, grace and humility.
