Tempted and Moving On – Mark 1:12-15

Lectionary Readings for Jan. 17, 2021                 2nd Sunday After The Epiphany, Year B
1 Samuel 3:1-10 v10 Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 v17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
1 Corinthians 6:12-20  v19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?
John 1:43-51      Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

But this week we’ll focus on Mark 1:12-15, Jesus’ temptation and the launch of His ministry.

Peace Quotes

“Change can be frightening, and the temptation is often to resist it. But change almost always provides opportunities - to learn new things, to rethink tired processes, and to improve the way we work.” ~ Klaus Schwab

“You get a new year, you get a new start, you get a new opportunity.” ~ Billy Butler

Combining these two quotes, as we start this new year, let us resist the temptation to be intimidated or overwhelmed by unusual or undesirable circumstances. Instead, let us work to keep ourselves open and alert to new opportunities to create peace within ourselves share that peace with others.

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

Today verses are so familiar to many of us that it’s easy fall into the temptation of nodding along thinking, “Yeup, I know this part. Everybody knows this part. How about something new and interesting?”

Fair question! How’s this for interesting:
Remembering from last week’s reading, Mark opened his gospel leaping directly to Jesus’ baptism. Everything happens quickly in Mark, thus immediately after last week’s wonderful baptismal experience of God showering Jesus with affectionate words, immediately God’s Spirit – the Holy Spirit – drives Jesus out into the wilderness so He can go head-to-head with the big loser (aka Satan). Well, that doesn’t seem like something a loving parent would do to their beloved child. Hmmm…

Remember that in Jesus’ time, the wilderness was a very scary place filled with all sorts of creatures that could kill you: lions, tigers, and bears to name a few. Definitely not somewhere you want to spend 40 days alone.

And the temptation… Mark describes the entire experience of Jesus’ temptation in only one verse. That’s it; barely more than a passing footnote. Hmmm…

Some time passes and Jesus launches His new ministry with an announcement. Much like God spoke the universe into being, Jesus speaks His ministry into being. But pay attention to His first words because they have nothing to do with Jesus Himself. Rather, Jesus positions Himself as a messenger sharing Good News – the best possible news – with anyone who will listen.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we listen to today’s readings.

Read Mark 1:12-15.

Several years ago, a good friend of mine told me that she became frustrated with herself because she seemed to be wrestling with the same issues over and over. For as much of her life as she lived with overflowing grace, love, and humility, there were always a few issues that just kept coming back. She told me that she confessed all of this to her pastor who wisely replied, “What would you like God to do, give you new and different temptations to battle?” Much like the mythical thorn in Paul’s side, my friend realized that some of her struggles would likely be life-long companions and would be best dealt with if she invited God to join her in her efforts to acknowledge and resist unhealthy desires.

Temptation seems to be a universal experience of humanity. How many of us have experienced temptation in hundreds of different ways? The word “temptation” carries a negative assumption in our culture. How often have you heard someone say they were tempted to do something good? No, our culture and our language assume that temptations are internal OR external pressures to do something that is ultimately “bad” for us. Personally, I’m tempted to have bacon, brownies and milkshakes with every meal; those are definitely good in the moment, and God wants me to be happy, right?!? But long-term, such a diet would not be good for my body in a variety of ways.

The Apostle Paul addresses this tension between desire and health in his letter to the people in Corinth; Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?” Paul urges us to treat our hearts, minds, and bodies with the respect due a sacred space and a sacred gift.

For me, it’s brownies and milkshakes, but how did Jesus experience temptation? According to this passage from Mark, we really have no idea. So how do we understand these short verses?

One option is that Mark thought Jesus’ experience was not significant enough to expand upon. Jesus was tempted; He didn’t take the bait; no cosmic battle occurred; no harm – no foul; moving on. From this perspective, we can emulate our role model Jesus by not letting ourselves overly focus on temptation. When we’re tempted by something, we can acknowledge it, reject the temptation, and move on to continue our faith journey as we strive to love God, love ourselves, and love others. The phrase “easier said than done” immediately comes to mind. Nevertheless, we can still embrace Jesus as our ultimate role model, our spiritual hero.

Another option is that Mark wants us to focus on the bigger picture and not get distracted by mundane specifics. Rather than spending our time and mental energy nit-picking ancient details and whether or not they apply to our modern lives, Mark gives us the opportunity to explore our own personal experiences of temptation. However Jesus experienced temptation, He dealt with it. However we experience temptation, we need to deal with it.

As humans, we experience temptation in three broad categories: desires of the body, the mind, and the heart. In my experience, each person seems to have a unique combination of being able to easily reject some desires, but just as easily succumb to other desires. We all know some people who have nearly perfect nutritional habits, yet others struggle with every bite. Some people are able to overcome life’s disappointing moments, and others battle sadness or depression on a daily basis. Some of us must constantly work to restrain raging anger while others never seem to have a cantankerous feeling in their hearts. However we experience these physical, mental, and emotional temptations, we must deal with them.

Why? Why must we confront the dark, scary corners of our lives? Because God has plans for us; great plans; great opportunities that we need to be able to step into. We need to address our temptations so that we can move on, unhindered, unburdened by our fears of them. Fear is a powerful restraint. When we shine the life-giving light of God’s love onto our lives – the light which reminds us that we are loved, forgiven, and embraced – the grip of our fears and insecurities must retreat under such illumination.

In Mark’s gospel, he mentions that God’s spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness – a dark, scary place. Was God trying to harm Jesus? I don’t believe so at all. Of the three Abrahamic religious traditions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – we all agree on some core beliefs, one of which is that God profoundly loves humanity and wants the best for us. (I’ll address evil and suffering another day.) Rather than trying to harm Jesus, I believe God wanted Jesus to experience temptation so that, with the help of angels, Jesus could overcome the temptations and walk away confident in Himself and in His relationship with God. Jesus would rely on that confidence in order to succeed in the challenging ministry opportunities that lay before Him.

As individuals and as a faith community, I encourage all of us to address whatever tempts us. And I encourage us to do this with each other. By doing so, we can genuinely look out for and support each other. But this will not be easy because we must overcome an incredible cultural hurdle. You see, over the past century, mainline American Christian churches have developed a culture that places a top priority on maintaining the appearance – individually and corporately – that we’re all OK and everything is fine. But that’s not our reality.

When people do not confront their issues, those issues grow like toxic cancers until something breaks down. Abuse, divorce, and suicide are just a few symptoms of temptations gone unaddressed or poorly addressed.

If we Christians have any hopes of becoming relevant and vital forces in our communities, we must be honest with ourselves and with each other. We Christians must dismantle a culture that is quick to blame, judge and reject people (we’re famous for doing that) and instead, we must create a culture that is quick to accept, forgive, and support people. We’re good at saying we do those positive things, but I’ve spent a lifetime hearing and seeing us speak and act to the contrary more often than not.

You know who best understands the need for a culture that accepts, forgives, and supports each other? Recovering addicts – regardless of the nature of their additions: drugs, alcohol, sex, fame, money, power, etc. They get it. They understand weakness and are willing to confess their brokenness and their desire to become better people. You may find it surprising to hear me say that recovering addicts are heroes to me; they inspire me and motivate me to be more honest with myself and with the people around me about my own weaknesses, flaws, and imperfections. There is something wildly liberating when you’re able to say, “I have some issues, and I’m trying to be better; would you help me?”

So how can we, individually and corporately, do better? How can we begin to change our culture in a way that will help people experience the Good News of God’s Kingdom on earth? We can begin by acknowledging moments when we blame, judge and reject people. In those moments, we must supportively ask ourselves and each other, “Why did I say that?” and “What would be a more Christ-like comment or attitude?” This will take a great deal of work and trust because very few of us have been trained to do this. And when we do this well, we need to celebrate our growth.

As individuals and as a church, let us not succumb to the temptation to believe that we are OK as we are or that everything is fine. We are not and it is not. Let us not succumb to the temptation to embrace lives of comfort and ease at the risk of missing the new and different opportunities God has waiting for us.

With Jesus as our role model and with God actively supporting us, let us bravely address whatever tempts us so that we can confidently move on and move into new seasons of loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others.

Amen? Amen!