This sermon was preached at St. Lydia’s on January 10,
2009 as a part of our four month exploration of the book of Matthew. Read the text here.
Tonight we hear what I think of as a “hinge” in the book of
Matthew, a trio of stories that launches us into Jesus’ public ministry in
Judea. His baptism by John, his
temptation in the wilderness and his calling of the first disciples are all
setting us up for start of his ministry.
One of the things we’ve been talking about this year is
conflict and the gospels. As we’ve
begun to investigate the Gospel of Matthew, conflict is all over the
place. And conflict is often
paired with the movement of the Spirit – something miraculous happening. Joseph’s dreams and the visit of the
magi, followed by Herod’s slaughter of the children of Jerusalem. These pairings continue in the three
stories that make up our text tonight.
I’m intrigued by the way the Holy Spirit and the Devil seem
to almost hold hands in this passage.
Almost like they’ve agreed on a few things beforehand. The passage reads, “Then Jesus was led
by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” It’s like they’re working
together! And so often in life, in
some strange way, they are.
My pastor, Dr. Braxton, says that in order to be a really
good preacher, you have to know your “shadow side.” You have to be willing to look side of yourself you might
rather keep hidden. That’s what
Jesus is doing in this passage.
Before he tries to embark on ministry, he’s spending a little time with
Satan taking a good, hard look at his shadow side. And after those 40 days…he’s granted authority. Authority to say to a couple of
fishermen, “follow me,” and for some strange reason, they do.
I happened to be sharing this story with my the kids I teach
music to today, and one of them asked why the disciples would follow Jesus, so
I asked the class what they thought.
There were many answers. One told me that he thought the disciples were “looking for
adventure.” Then another one said
that he thought that Jesus had “some kind of magic.”
And though I wouldn’t use the word magic to describe Jesus,
I might use the word presence. Or
understanding.
We tell our children a lot that they’re meant to be like
Jesus, and by that we usually mean that they should be kind or good, or nice,
or something similarly sticky sweet.
But our impulse to place Jesus as the model of our lives is, I think, a
good one. As long as we live into
the fullness of that model. Model
ourselves after the Jesus who turns over tables in the temple, who outrages the
scribes and the Pharisees, who eats with prostitutes and tax collectors, and
who prepares for the work of his live by spending 40 days with the devil,
getting to know his shadow side.
We share our sermons at St. Lydia’s. What experiences would you like to
share after hearing the text and my words this evening? In particular, what does it look like
to follow Jesus, to be like Christ, exploring our shadow side?
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