Sermons

Praying with Jesus”

Luke 4:1-13; John 1:28-39a – Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn

Vista La Mesa Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), La Mesa, California – March 10, 2019

 Holy God, bless the speaking and the hearing of these words that we might always seek to walk alongside Jesus as we journey through the valleys of life and death. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

We used Matthew’s version of the story of Jesus in the wilderness at the Ash Wednesday service this week, and in some ways, I like it better.  Where Luke says “for forty days he was tempted by the devil.  He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished,” Matthew says “He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.”  Mentioning that there was no eating during the day or the night emphasizes just how constant the no eating was.  I find it a little funny that they both, in the New Revised Standard translation at least, say he was famished at the end.  I’m pretty sure I would be approaching famished by about day three.  How long would it take you to become “famished”?

It’s not a word we use very often, is it?  We live in a society where food is seemingly everywhere.  There is a large population of food-insecure people hidden in our midst for whom this isn’t as true.  But for a lot of us, food is kind of a constant presence, and hunger is usually only a brief passing moment.  Famished isn’t something we experience very often, and certainly, most of us haven’t experienced the related word “famine”.  It’s an interesting thing to consider as we enter into the season of Lent and try to unpack the spiritual discipline of fasting.

Many of us have preconceptions about Lent as a time of self-denial and deprivation.  We look at the fasts and abstinence practices that some take on and see only efforts at punishing or controlling the body, as if it’s a shameful thing to have one.  But in truth, Lent can be a season when we honor our bodies as an important tool in our spiritual development.  Fasting is a reminder of our creatureliness, our dependence upon our Creator and the rest of creation.  Lent is a season for contemplating our vulnerability as mortals and considering what it means to admit that we are not self-sufficient.  It’s not about humiliating the body, but about humbling our spirits by giving special notice to the needs of our bodies.

The true reason we give things up during Lent is to make room for connecting with God.  When we fast for religious reasons, each time we notice a hunger pang, it becomes a call to prayer.  Each time we catch ourselves craving the comfortable habit we’re abstaining from, it becomes a chance to turn back to God.  This is, of course, also the point of adding something into your day rather than giving something up.  The point is to make more room in your life for connecting with God, and often, our bodies are gifts that can help us do that.  This story of Jesus in the wilderness that is the inspiration for Lent doesn’t mention that he was “famished” for no reason.  It’s a reminder of his creatureliness as well, and if he can use it as a spiritual tool, you can too.  There is another way in which this attention to our bodies and our bodily needs can help us grow spiritually, and that is through connecting to others and their bodily needs.

So often, we think of Lent as a time to focus on our individual spiritual journeys.  But the anthem the choir sang today got me thinking.  We don’t use a lot of Latin around here, and I’m not interpreting it in the traditional sense, but I was struck by the phrase “Angus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi” which translates to “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”  Again, traditionally, we would think of the “sins of the world” as being the sins of all the individuals in the world.  But putting the emphasis on individual sins leaves out a lot of the brokenness of our world.  It got me thinking what some of the bigger sins of the world might be, the ones that are baked into our systems, the ones that are bigger than making a confession and striving to do things differently next time.  Thus it was that this phrase from the “Pie Jesu” led me to design a congregational Lenten discipline for us that calls us to have a “we” Lent rather than a “me” Lent.

I have selected six issues that are pressing, depressing, and seemingly intractable for us to pray about during these six weeks. In Bailey Hall, on the sign-up table, you will find all the supplies you need.  There are facts & prayer cards for each issue, along with cards with images of Jesus on them.  I encourage you to select an issue and take that card home with you and pray the prayer on it every day.  If you prefer variety, there are some sheets with all the facts and prayers on them, and you can switch issues each day of the week.  We will also be emailing articles and posting them on Facebook each day, one issue for each day of the week.  You can sign up to receive articles about whichever issues you want to be in prayer about.

The issues we’ll be praying about are migration, climate change, gun violence, veteran & military suicides, foster care, and homelessness.  That ought to be enough, right?  Honestly, sitting with any one of these issues for six weeks could be a little overwhelming.  That’s why it’s so important that you take one of the Jesus cards too.  The point of the whole practice is not that you’re going to figure out a solution to the problem, but that you’re going to pray about it, with Jesus.  With Jesus, who knows how to go forty days without food and still have the capacity to resist temptation.  With Jesus, who is the source of our hope.  With Jesus, whose very truth is a testimony to the depth of God’s love for us and the power of that love to overcome the forces of evil and death.

One of the things we’ve learned by doing ministry here together at Vista La Mesa Christian Church is that often the best way to get to know someone is to work side by side with them.  That’s what we’re going to be doing with Jesus this season.  When you pray over these issues, don’t just read the prayer.  Read the facts and meditate on your Jesus card.  Read the prayer and meditate on your Jesus card.  Read the articles and meditate on your Jesus card.  Don’t carry these “sins of the world” by yourself. You’re not built for that.  But Jesus is.  We’re just walking alongside him for a few weeks.  He has a lot to teach us.

If we look at the things the devil said to Jesus during that temptation scene, we can easily see how it applies to our prayers for the “sins of the world.”  Being tempted to turn a stone into a loaf of bread speaks to our scarcity mentality, which is one of the biggest unnamed sources of suffering in the world. Because we’re afraid that we’ll run out, we don’t share as we are intended too.  We don’t do what is needed to ensure everyone has a safe, healthy place to live.  We give into our desire to accumulate, even to the point of ruining our ecosystems and going to war.  But what could be possible if we approached these difficult issues with our minds set on God’s abundance and hearts that trust in God’s providence?

When we hear the devil tell Jesus he can have all the glory and authority of the world, because it’s been given to the devil to do with as he chooses, we might just nod our heads and think “Well, that explains it.  The devil’s in charge.”  These complicated problems that eat babies for breakfast certainly seem like the devil’s handiwork.  We are called to respond not with resignation, but like Jesus did, with resistance.  We are called to build a world that honors God and God’s love, not give into systems that de-humanize and separate.

Finally, when we see Jesus refusing to “test” God, we are called to accountability.  How often do we let ourselves off the hook for any responsibility for these issues that cause such suffering, pretending that only God could solve those problems? Perhaps you’ve seen the internet meme that flips the question of “Why does God allow such suffering to go on in the world?”.  “I could ask you the same question,” God says in the meme.  Our hearts are weak and find it so much easier to believe in God when we’re focused on the parts of our lives that are happy.  When we look at the terrible suffering that’s going on in our world, it feels easier to say, “Well, if God exists, he really ought to do something about that.”  But how is that any different than testing God by throwing ourselves down from a tall tower?  That is not how we’re called to relate to God and it’s not how we’re called to relate to the world.

Jesus’ example of how he responds to the devil can be instructive for us on this journey.  He didn’t attempt to outwit the devil all on his own.  He turned to scripture, seeking out the wisdom of God that had been shared down through the ages.  In this way, much as he showed us how our bodies can be instruments for prayer, Jesus modeled for us another tool for spiritual growth.  Even the devil seemed to learn from Jesus’ example in this story.  On this point, I prefer Luke’s version to Matthew’s because it makes more sense to me that it would take three tries for the devil to catch onto the idea that he should be using scripture to convince Jesus to do something.  In Matthew, the scene that has the devil quoting Psalm 91 is second, rather than last, which makes less sense to me.  But either way, if the devil can learn to rely on scripture as an ally, surely we can too.

Lent is indeed a time to consider what we’re hungry for and why.  It’s a time to make room for walking with Jesus so we can learn from him how to become people who hunger and thirst for righteousness.  As we pray with Jesus, recognizing the weaknesses of our own bodies can prod us to care more deeply for the bodies of others.  As we consider these “sins of the world”, in the presence of the Lamb of God, we can learn to live in courage, hope, and faithfulness.  Amen.