Temptations - Matthew 4 - Lent 4A

Temptations 

Tony E Hansen

Reflections based upon Matthew 4:1-11

Opening prayer: May the words of my mouth, my thoughts, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer (Ps 19:14)

This weekend is state wrestling in Des Moines. As a guy who competed in wrestling and taekwondo, I have a history of managing (or rather cutting) weight. Trying to make a weight class, you workout and eat less (sometimes painfully less). 

I know guys whose diet would be little more than ice, gum and once in a while, tomato or watermelon because it provided both water and something tasty to chew. That has led to interesting ways of trying to lose weight today.

No matter whether for a competition or health goal today, losing weight usually involves fair amounts of temptation. For anything I have now, there are consequences. 

Do I get regular coffee or thick mocha with layers of cream on top? Do I really need the Waffle House all-star platter: (a yummy calorie-loaded feast, which is probably more like gluttony?)

Temptation is not unique to athletes but universal to all of humanity. It is not just about dieting because we see it in addictions, finances, learning, relationship/marriage, athletics itself and more.  Especially concerning topics from last time of sexuality is most intimate temptation that deserves thoughtful consideration. What I do today has ripple effects well past now. 

Further, we could take easy routes for now, but those are usually deceptive in their own ways. We know that following Jesus is not easy because that involves challenges in a world that constantly celebrates winners over losers, whoever has money gets toys, and whoever has access can do big things.

That might give us some context into the passage that we read this first Sunday of Lent. 

Jesus goes into the wilderness: a mysterious place invoking curious with anxiousness, fear and awe juxtaposed together. Walking along a desert road from the mountains of Palm Springs, there were plenty of beautiful trees, mountains, and brooks - but also what lurked around the bush, birds eating dead, and isolation - all mixed together. There is something open and inviting but also unmistakably unforgiving here. (You realize quickly how much we are a part of the Earth and how much she can take.)

The devil taunts “if you are …,” and deceives with visions of hunger, power and glory. 

My temptation for morsels when trying to manage health has little consequence to humanity vs that presented here.

We understand Jesus is human with temptations like us, however for people with great power and ability, there is responsibility to those we serve and respect for boundaries. Knowing when, how and where to use such. Knowing when ego is being massaged is when we have to look deeper into what is proposed.

This passage is a lesson for all of us, especially those in power. For Jesus’s power is a different kind of power than what the devil devises - nor is there a quest for honor and status. The tricks are tests and lessons at the same time.

At the end, we see the devil leaves but is assuredly not done. We know that temptations don’t just last few days but happen over a lifetime. This isn’t the last. We witness it in the words of hypocritical elders, anxious kings, careless governor, taunting soldiers and common criminals on crosses. These were situations that could have begged more response.

Temptations don’t lurk around corners causing mischief and raising anxiety. They arrive in quiet stealth or sometimes overtly and unquestionably.

What do we do when they arrive? Will we recognize? When we fail, what do we do?

For Jesus, who embodies power and ability, these are tests of boundaries of using those gifts. These are testing the ego. 

To be able to change anything/anyone to get anything one wants. 

To demonstrate power. 

To have the ability to change corrupt systems. 

These could be met with well intention, but they are deceptive traps that turns ethical change into manipulation, coercion and greed for more, ultimately becoming that which we despise.

The fog of hunger (whether physical, mental or spiritual) can make most people very susceptible to suggestion - I know.

These are false pretenses, and Jesus recognizes these impostures.

The power that Jesus embodies can do majestic feats. Yet, there is reason, a how and a when for them to be used. 

What I eat is my doing, but when I interact with people, lead or consult, I have responsibility. I have to consider boundaries what I can vs what I should do.

I personally have failed to recognize that, and subsequently, I paid a price for it. Once is too often, but more means we aren’t learning the lessons. A price is little bit of our soul, how people see us, and more. 

Ignorance of that turns into arrogance and mocking.

Even then, there is a path.

Lent can help us recognize that we do fail - help us turn. We can remember those lessons; we can change to better paths. 

When we realize we were wrong about something, we are on unsustainable path or we know should do something different, we could think, “one more for ole times sake.” 

Is temptation running your life?

Let’s not! Change today and now!

Lent isn’t just about what we exclude but also what we choose to include and the why - remembering we have agency over what we do, our beliefs and our faith in our Creator.

Remember we are not just spoon-fed algorithmic vitriol and hate, but instead seek to learn and know truth - real sustenance. That is revealed through the Spirit when we listen to God instead of ego and negativity. Leave space for God to reveal.

When Jesus chooses to use power is when people have revealed genuine humility, faith, caretaking, love, and forgiveness. That is when you witness healing a person to see, one to hear, one to walk, another to life, another forgiven and for all to bear witness to the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. More powerful than any vision portrayed here!

I can choose to eat whatever I want and I can behave however I want, but my health suggests I should pay attention to what I eat and what I throw away. I should choose respect and welcoming over rudeness and neglect; discerning and empathy over careless and apathy.

Our small temptations are perhaps a small way to remember our lessons. A walk on a physical or imagined desert path of discovery and uncertainty is way for some to reconcile and discern questions. Listen to God, along the way, speaking to you - guiding you.

I don’t have to include negativity, resentment, ego, selfishness, or pretense. I can be living example of welcoming, humbleness, faith, caretaking, love and forgiveness. 

Be genuine in those efforts and let God provide what is revealed rather than your ego's expectations.

We can’t avoid temptation, but we can listen to the Spirit. Whatever we think we can do doesn’t always translate to that which we should. Whatever we have in our means ought to be for the good of our neighbors and not just for personal enrichment and status. 

Whenever we use our many blessings, we ought to find the blessings in each other first and to be forgiving - even to the last.

Let the little lessons help us to learn and to have the moral courage to detect the bigger questions and choose accordingly.

That Beloved is…

Thanks be to God, Amen.

Wisdom in Dark Days - Matthew 5 - Epiphany 6A

Wisdom in Dark Days

Tony E Hansen

Reflection based upon Deuteronomy 30: 15-20, Matthew 5:21-37, Psalm 119

Opening Prayer

This week we could be walking through the mountains in Transfiguration Sunday, but I saw these texts for Epiphany and think this is a great time to walk through this wisdom in dark days.

There is much discussion here about the law and following the laws - Doing the right things and how one might reconcile when we do wrong.

For my own, you might think I am a walking paradox. It is probably because I am a Gemini and constantly having arguments with myself. Also, I am a broken person. I know that and I don’t ignore that. 

Yet to be a paradox is to do and to be contradictory .  

I do believe in God and I do my best to follow the precepts of love for all people. (Some days and some people are little more challenging than others.) I believe we ought to follow the commandments that have been laid out for us to love God and to love our neighbors and to follow the human laws that are just and fair.

I also think we ought to protest and argue laws that are unjust or worse. We ought to protest cruelty and unjust punishments handed out, especially murders.  We ought to feed the homeless, to be welcoming, to take care of the our planet and to take care of the sick. We ought to do that not just because it is the correct thing but more importantly because God tells us so.

I think we spend inordinate amounts of time casting judgment upon sexuality and sexual diversity. Lots of judgment for the wrong reasons. It is a distraction from real threats. There are plenty of vicious crimes but being human having sexuality should not be one of them. That is the way God made us and God is good - as we say!

For this much, many might call my view to be heretical for not following the teachings of the church, but I am not bound to doctrines. I am bound to the truth that God gives us in plain sight.

I have explored non-traditional ways of sexuality while I mostly met respect and shared the same. I do not identify as straight.

We know that porn abuses people, and at the same time, it is an outlet for questions. Porn reduces people to distorted expectations, meat markets or worse. We also know that people go there despite centuries of censorship and condemnation. Why do people go there ? There is a cost regardless if we think otherwise. 

I remember the movie, Independence Day, and the woman who rescues the First Lady is a stripper. First Lady’s reaction to learning this, I am sorry. Why do we give these people unfair treatment? If someone is a sex worker, I have questions for them. Jesus did. Despite an avalanche of criticism, I don’t think there is automatically something wrong with their work. Yet there are questions.

Even so…

Traditional ideas have made an unnecessary pariah about sex, human attraction and procreation standards. In the name of purity, it is taboo and unclean to even discuss. How repressive. Repression has way of perpetuating the problems it seeks to remove. Sexuality, however is a natural part of who we are, and Our Creator made us with diversity - Even too - people with sexuality. What couples want to do is between them and we need not scream hysterics .

That isn’t to say all is ok. Pedophilia, trafficking, rape and assault are wrong, destructive and punishable. Breaking fidelity promises of marriage is wrong and destructive. Consent is not possible nor implied. Those are hurting someone as well as betraying and deceiving. I personally know the costs.

I may be single but I will always respect the marriage covenant. I will respect mutual boundaries. That is basic decency. 

People have the right to be attractive, to be attracted to other people, to find other people interesting and to not have sinister judgements cast upon them. We don’t have the right to hurt others. Nor do we have to wear the correct clothes or work out everyday. (although, I could lose a few pounds). 

That is contrast to more “traditional“ ideas of righteousness and ministry. 

This isn’t just for physical but mental, emotional and spiritual as well. When I treat you with fairness, dignity, respect, love and grace, there is no blame and there is no sin. That is also no matter where you are in life’s journey. 

The moment I exceed that or lose sight of this basic principle, blame is surely to follow. That is when I need to reconcile and not seek fault in others.

Good people around us help us think and help us be better individuals in this world. Good people help us be better neighbors and help us see other people as people rather than objects or worse. Good people are examples of Christ in this world, although we are ourselves are flawed. Are you a good person?

That is the core of love, the core of God. To love God and love our neighbors - finding time to be with our neighbors, our family, whether we agree or not. 

That is choosing life and choosing love. That is allowing God to reveal to us. That is keeping God’s decrees and seeking them with whole heart.

When you open your heart to God and leave judgment to God alone, you will find no shame and not have to worry about whether you follow the statutes or whether your right eye causes you to sin.

If you are looking at people and the world with God’s love in your heart, there is no blame and no cause to be judged. 

So what is holding you back from that love and letting God truly fill you?

When we screw up (and we will), we don’t try to pass it off, lie about it or ignore it.  Own your mistakes and ask for forgiveness.  Come to terms with justice and peace. Come to terms with your Creator.

When you are offering gifts, your expectation should not be a transactional reward. Also, if you have done something wrong, be reminded to reconcile with those you have wronged where possible. 

When I walk around and talk about Jesus and following Jesus but do not embody that love and those lessons from Christ, then I am walking deception. If I say that I love Jesus and I love my neighbors but don’t offer to help them or only offer to help when they help me, then that is not Christ’s love.  That is transaction. 

We are to love not as a transaction or expectation for rewards. We are to embody the welcoming, the forgiveness and the love that is God. When we do that, there is no blame, there is no deception, there is no question or need to reconcile. 

God has set before us “life and death, blessings and curses”. We have been given a choice and the choice is clear. 

You have life and you have blessings. Let that be in your hearts. Let that calm you and nurture you. 

Death and curses are around us, but fear not!  

With God’s love in our hearts, there is so much possible. There is nothing for us to worry because our actions, our thoughts, and our beliefs will reflect that love that has been bestowed upon us and for us.

That Beloved is

Thanks Be to God.

Amen

Part 2 ish : Addendum on Epiphany 6A

Salt of the Earth - Matthew 5 - Epiphany 5A

Salt of the Earth

Tony E Hansen

Reflection based upon Matthew 5:13-20, Psalm 112, Isaiah 58:1-12

Opening prayer

I have had countless containers of salt and Lowry’s in my kitchen. I however don’t use them near enough. After a while, salt does, in fact, become like throwing dust onto good food if you don’t be careful.

We continue in Matthew the sermon on the mount and Jesus, after bestowing blessings upon us, is now calling us salt of the earth. As well, Jesus calls us the light of the earth.

This was the theme of General Synod when we were in Baltimore: to let your light shine. 

Jesus isn’t calling us to be egoists, but instead Jesus is calling us to let the blessings we have show through us. Don’t let you and I turn into dust onto good food, but rather be salt that is vibrant and tasty - even those of us who are a few more years into life.

Why? Just because you age doesn’t mean you lose the gifts God has given you. Just because you question or wonder, doesn’t mean you lose those gifts. In fact, your gifts carry on with you your whole life.

What does it mean to be the salt of the earth though? The light of the world.

These are additives and more. We are what makes life great and we are the necessary ingredient. Ways in which we enhance. Instead of stale food, we have something that delicious. 

Salt is also a preservative and curing - long before we had this thing called refrigeration. Sailors going on long journeys would have salted meat in the stores on their boats.

Jesus tells us that we are more than just spices for your next recipe or a preservative, but also, we are a light for people to see.

After telling us that we are blessed, we are to use those gifts - to be those gifts. To be the light in times of darkness. To be the light that is the follower of Christ.

That is more than simply declaring I am Christian or I love Jesus - we all do. It is more than declarations but a way of living as in the beatitudes. 

It is understanding that we don’t gain by putting people down, hurting them or casting judgments.  We gain by being humble and walking with love in our hearts and with the grace of God that has made us.

We gain by being peacemakers and advocating justice for you and for those around us. We are the mercy and forgiveness that people need. We don’t need heralds to raise us because we are the light. We are light that shines regardless and because God calls us.

We are light that does not hide under tables but as a path and as possible. 

In a world that tells us so much to not and to don’t, we are possible and we light the way for those who are lost or those who might be a bit misguided.

That isnt to say we have all of the answers or even the only answer. 

We can help people find the their answers by being the illumination they need. We can help them taste food in ways they have never thought possible.

We will screw up for sure, but we have God with us to hep pick us up and put us back on our feet. That is when our faith helps us the most. 

We live in a world that denies, restricts, takes away, and kills. We know there is plenty oof evil around us and to be the light in that feels somewhat odd.

Why me? Why does God call me to do work in this world that doesn’t care about me? Why does God call me to be a light that might get ignored?

Ask yourself, when someone turns on a light in a dark room, how many people are running away?

There is relief . There is  “I can see.” There is possible.

Thus we are to light a path for ourselves and for those around us. 

For without faith, we wander aimlessly and without answers or purpose. Without the light of God in us, we don’t really know the universe or what is possible. Without us and our spice, the salad is just a salad, but with us using our divine gifts, it is more than just sustenance. It is a conversation. It is a purpose. It is living.

Be the light, be the salt. Make life here more than just broken dreary. Spice up the recipe with you.

Fulfill your purpose and fulfill the blessings that God has given to you. 

Be the possible.

Amen