Mark
1:12-13 The
Spirit drove him out into the wilderness where he stayed forty days,
tempted by Satan. He was with wild animals, and angels waited on
him.
There
is a group of around thirteen "mature" men who gather on
the third Thursday of the month to study scripture and drink a brew
or two. As a text for study, they use the scripture from the worship
service on the previous Sunday which provided the basis for John's or
Amy's sermon that morning. It has been my privilege to join them and
provide some leadership. Recently we got onto the subject of
temptation.
Jesus
was in the woods to sort out questions about how he would do God's
work, whether there was a way to present good news without getting
killed over it. Could he avoid the pain of taking on the powers of
the empire and losing the battle? He was faced with hard choices.
How
are we tempted? We good faithful church people try to live lives in
accord with the Gospel. We, too, face hard choices. Does the end
justify the means? Do we confuse Christian faith with American
nationalism? Do we follow a good idea so long that it becomes a bad
idea by thinking too highly of it?
We
attempted to integrate our discussion with John's sermon which was
titled Even
Heroes Need Help.
What rescued Jesus were the animals, which were good animals
protecting him from fear of the unknown, and the angels who supported
and guided him. When we listen to other faithful voices we become
corrected from falling into the excesses that turn good motives into
bad tactics.
Creator
God, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Help us
to keep our faith at the center of our lives, and keep it there.
Amen.
Hank
Borchardt
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