Sermon: Lent

 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness. (Luke 4.1). 

It's a long time since I visited the maze at Hampton Court. I think it was on a school trip at the end of the summer term. What I do remember is that it took us so much time to find our way out of the maze that we never really got around to exploring the house or the gardens. We were forever coming up against dead ends and paths which led nowhere. In fact, I'm ashamed to say, we only got out by climbing through one of the hedges and taking a short cut. If we hadn't done that I think we would still have been there today. 

The baptism of Jesus was followed by a journey into the wilderness, and this must have been something like a maze for him. Physically it was a maze. Many people went into the wilderness, where there were no clearly marked paths or direction signs, got completely lost and never came out alive. Going into the wilderness at all was risky. 

But for Jesus there was much more to be contended with besides the confusing physical terrain. A maze of possibilities opened out before him, false paths rolled out in front of him by the devil. How would he know which was the right path ? How could he find the way to his true vocation ? How did he know that he was not embarking upon a false trail which led to a dead end, or worse, took him so far away from God that he would never be able to find the way back ? 

The first path was marked FAST FOOD. If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread. In his later ministry Jesus was to provide bread in a way just as miraculous as would have been the production of bread from a stone. But on that later occasion the bread was provided to meet the needs of five thousand hungry people. On this occasion the devil is tempting Jesus to think only of his own needs, to be selfish, to forget his mission, abandon his vocation and seek only his own personal comforts. Jesus rejects that dead end. He will not have his life narrowed down by self absorption. One does not live by bread alone. 

The second false path was marked POWER AND WEALTH. The devil led him up and showed him in a instant all the kingdoms of the world ..."To you I will give their glory and all this authority ...If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours". Jesus is now being tempted to seek material glory and wealth by turning from God and serving other forces, other priorities. Jesus firmly turns aside from that dead end too. Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him. 

The third false path was marked, FORCE. The devil took him to Jerusalem, and placd him on the pinnacle of the temple ..."Throw yourself down from here". Instead of slowly revealing his nature to the world in God's good time, Jesus is tempted to short circuit God's intention by forcing his hand. Force often looks like a quicker way to achieve progress and unity, but its success is short lived. The only effective means of progress which results in lasting unity is the time consuming and energy consuming path of dialogue, listening, generosity and love. So Jesus turns away from that dead end too. Do not put the Lord your God to the test. God is not to be tested but to be listened to, and followed until eventually he leads us out of the maze by the right way. 

It's surprising how similar the false trails we encounter in the maze of our daily lives are to those three which the devil set before Jesus. Or maybe it is not surprising. The Gospel reading ends by commenting that the devil ...departed from him until an opportune time. The story does not end like the Lord of the Rings, with the devil being cast into the fire and destroyed, but rather with the devil withdrawing to look for his next victim. So we in these times find ourselves in a maze, not very certain which is the right path. 

There is the path of selfishness. "Look after yourself. Don't care about anyone else." There is the path of materialism. "Nothing is real unless you can touch it and taste it. Nothing has any value unless you can sell it or spend it." There is the path of force. "Never mind reasoning. Never mind trying to understand. Just fight." 

The season of Lent steers us safely past all those false trails and guides us through the longer but better and safer path which will lead us out of the maze and up to the gate of heaven. Or rather, not the season itself but Jesus who meets us as we observe the season and leads us through the winding paths, past the false entries and out into the clear light of the presence of God. Through our Lenten prayers and exercises we put our mind into his mind, our resolution into his vision and our hand into his hand.

Preached by The Reverend Canon Dr. Raymond Bayley at St Peter's Church, Ruthin on 4th March 2007.