1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
Luke 4:1-13
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
9 Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
11 and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
My sermon from the First Sunday in Lent (March 9, 2025) on Luke 4:1-13.
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Kenny Meyers is an entrepreneur, a techie, and a comic book evangelist who wants to make it easier for you to discover the next great comic you’ll fall in love with. Now I’m pretty sure only a few of us gathered today have even imagined that there might be a comic book we’d want to read. But I do think most of us can recognize when someone – or even ourselves – are so passionate about what they love, they want you and others to discover that same kind of love too. And it’s the type of energy we experience when someone can’t help but share with us that new restaurant or recipe or book or vacation spot or even a new idea that they believe will help us become more of who we already are. It isn’t about, necessarily, persuading us to think or be or take on positions of stuff we never really cared about before. Rather, they have taken the time to know us, to love us, and to be with us in ways that are life-giving and true. And they can recognize a part of us that needs a little something else to help shape us into who we want to be. Kenny, as a comic book fan working in the comic book ecosystem, is trying to do exactly that. He has intentionally been working on developing different ways for people to find comic book shops that actually cater to their wants and needs, as well as helping those who read comics discover that next book they’ll share with all their friends. Helping others discover more about what makes them who they are is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our family, our friends, and every one of our communities. And in today’s reading from the gospel according to Luke, we discover just how human Jesus – and we – get to be.
Now it is a tradition to begin the season of Lent with this specific story from Jesus’ life. Jesus, after being baptized in the River Jordan by John, was immediately compelled by the Spirit to travel even deeper into the wilderness. This movement was more than trying to form a spiritual connection with Creation by visiting a place untouched by human hands. The wilderness Jesus went to was full of danger, terror, and fear. Every wilderness in our Bible is where our attempts at having any sense of control completely break down. It’s a wilderness we cannot prepare for nor make our own way through. The wilderness is a moment in life when all we can do is lean on God. Those experiences, for us, can be pretty frightening because wanting control is the one thing that guides us through. Yet for the Son of God to be pushed into that kind of place feels a bit odd since his relationship with the divinity is a little more tangible than our own. Jesus, as we proclaim, was there when the entire universe was made and his identity as part of the Holy Trinity makes his reality a bit different than our own. But his choice to also be 100% human; to discover what it was like to grow up, to be cared for, and to be in relationship with people who have their own stories, experiences, challenges, and joys; makes me wonder if Jesus also discovered the very human desire to be something else. There are times in our life when being us doesn’t seem like it’s enough. We want to be smarter or kinder or richer or willing to take the risks that love invites us to. We desire the power to right every wrong we see and reverse the pain and suffering that our loved ones go through. Having the opportunity to change our situation into whatever feels comfortable and safe – that’s something we would do all the time. And while there are plenty of songs, hymns, poems, podcasts, and self-help books inviting us to celebrate our humanity while doing what we can to maximize our life right now – a sudden illness, a tragic accident, or an experience challenging our own sense of self, worth, and value can make us want to be anybody else. Jesus, who is one of us, might have discovered how non-human we sometimes want to become. And if there’s anyone who could transcend the messiness of life, it would definitely be the One who is always 100% divine too.
And so, I wonder if Jesus’ temptations were something more than being tempted with the power, authority, and invulnerability we want for ourselves. His time in the wilderness might also have been a kind of test to see if he was so human, he would turn his back on his humanity when things got too hard. When the evil one mocked Jesus by telling him to turn some stones into bread, the temptation was to push beyond the limits of our createdness. Next, when the devil showed Jesus the multitude of ways we wield power over others to control our world, our lives, and our neighbors – Jesus’ very subtle response revealed how being with, rather than dominating over, is what true power always looks like. The Hebrew words underneath the phrase “the Lord our God” are actually two different words for God. One of those names points to one of the primary attributes of God which is always mercy while the other name shows how justice is what makes our God, God. God isn’t in the business of lording over creation to keep everything in line. God, instead, chooses to live with all that God loves while showing that love through mercy, compassion, and hope. And, finally, when the evil one wondered if Jesus would prefer a life free from all restraints, free from our reality; and in the words of Professor Richard Swason – “to be absolutely… invulnerable,” Jesus proclaimed that He would hold onto his humanity because God’s love couldn’t do anything less.
Jesus, after hearing a heavenly voice proclaim his identity as God’s son at his Baptism, then immediately went into that moment where being human isn’t usually enough. He had, from Christmas to this moment, discovered what it means to be one of us. Jesus had learned to cry, to laugh, to question, to wonder, and argue about who gets to go first while playing with his friends in the marketplace. And when his public ministry was about to begin, his first challenge was to do the very human thing of leaving his humanity behind. Would he succumb to the desire to be something other than who we are? Would he be the One wielding power over creation rather than living with all our wants and needs? Would the Son of God embrace the attributes of God that we often want for only ourselves? Or would this Son of God and this Son of Humankind help all of us discover just how human we can become? Rather than clinging to our desire to be anyone else, we can – like Jesus – embrace who we already are. We can own our fragility, our humanity, and how hard being human truly is. We can, at the same time, learn to love ourselves – the fullest version of our humanity – even if those around us act as if we can’t be who God has made us to be. And, through it all, we can trust that the Jesus who sealed His love on us through the Cross, will transform us into more of who we are. That doesn’t mean there won’t be times we will do everything we can to be something other than who we are. But instead of hoping that our journey with Jesus will take us on a path out of this world, maybe we can see how our time with Jesus is what shows us how truly human we get to be.
Amen.