“Then the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ … Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’” (Matthew 4 3-10)
“Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.” (Proverbs 22:6)
Yuch!!!
Since Matthew is the lectionary gospel for this year, we almost certainly will be hearing his version of the temptation story of Jesus. When I think about this story, I want Jesus to spend lots of time looking at the temptations offered him, weighing pros and cons, and then doing the right thing. But, as I’ve paid more attention to the story, I’ve decided that Jesus just doesn’t do that – Jesus turns them down flat.
This is a little hard for me to really get, but it says a lot about his family and community and how he was raised. Jesus was not dealing with temptation as something to be regretfully avoided but something to be fled from.
Can you imagine a kid saying, “Why would I want candy when I can have vegetables.” Hard, but possible – yes? I know that a kid could feel that way if he or she were properly trained that way, if they really experienced their home and community to be totally saturated with those values, so maybe it isn’t that strange after all.
Maybe God is counting on our communities to train kids to be like Jesus, not dealing with temptations as something they are denied but something to be fled from. Of course, that means that we have to set that example.
Prayer: God, may we be the community where your children learn to be saturated in you. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Marcie B. Chaney
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