Glory, Kingdom, Power

First Sunday of Lent
Luke 4:1-13

I saw Mel Gibson's movie this week. Today's text is an example of why I like the book so much better than any movie I have seen about its subject. First of all, in the book, the devil is not some skinny boy-toy with a black hood and worms going up his nose. (What the heck was that?) But I'll write about the movie elsewhere.

Here's a character study of the devil, courtesy of Luke's temptation account:

The Devil & His Temptations

1. He arrives when Jesus is hungry, with an idea for how to get food. If this were all we knew about the devil, we could imagine him as anyone's mother or grandmother. "Look, you gotta eat." Or, more diabolically, those people who keep trying to convince us that we need three-course meals at Applebee's, or something from the late night menu at Wendy's. Put more into yourself, more fatty foods, more purchases, more horsepower, more.

2. In Jesus Christ Superstar, Simon the Zealot shares this advice with Jesus as they both look over the crowd Jesus has gathered.

There must be over fifty thousand
Screaming love and more for you.
And everyone of fifty thousand
Would do whatever you asked them to.
Keep them yelling their devotion,
But add a touch of hate at Rome.
You will rise to a greater power.
We will win ourselves a home.
You'll get the power and the glory
For ever and ever and ever
You'll get the power and the glory
For ever and ever and ever
You'll get the power and the glory
For ever and ever and ever
You'll get the power and the glory
For ever and ever and ever
Forever Amen! Amen! Amen!

"Add a touch of hate at Rome. You will rise to a greater power. We will win ourselves a home." The devil makes a similar pitch to Jesus. All the kingdoms of the world are his; he can give them to whomever he chooses. He offers a name, a place, enough power that no one can hurt you again, whether you are a peasant in an occupied state, or a kid ridiculed at school, or someone the boss calls stupid. The devil knows kingdom, power, glory.

Or does he? Hearing Simon's advice, Jesus replies,

Neither you, Simon, nor the fifty thousand,
Nor the Romans, nor the Jews,
Nor Judas, nor the twelve
Nor the priests, nor the scribes,
Nor doomed Jerusalem itself
Understand what power is,
Understand what glory is,
Understand at all,
Understand at all.
If you knew all that I knew, my poor Jerusalem,
You'd see the truth, but you close your eyes.
But you close your eyes.
While you live, your troubles are many, poor Jerusalem.
To conquer death, you only have to die.
You only have to die.

3. Like all others who are preoccupied with God, the devil can quote scripture to his purpose. Neither acquisition, nor power, nor even piety can provide a safe haven from the evil one. In this text, the devil quotes what has become a favorite funeral hymn (though for some reason, not a favorite of mine). "God can bail you out of anything," the devil tells Jesus. Jesus does not dispute this, but merely says, "Just because God can bail me out of anything, that doesn't mean I should make it necessary," or words to that effect.

From the Devil to Jesus

1. Jesus loves to eat. He especially loves to eat in Luke's gospel, if the number of table scenes is any indication. But "life is more than food and the body more than clothing" (Luke 2:23). Refusing the first temptation is a way that Jesus says, "My life will point to the truth of the "more" that life is than bread alone.

2. Kingdom, power, glory: Whose are these? What do they look like? When Jesus moves from the temptation to his ministry beyond the wilderness, what will he teach about these?

• Kingdom | That "it is among you" (Luke 17:21) and that "it is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
• Power | That the "power from on high" (Luke 24:49) that clothes Jesus' little band of disciples will give them the courage not to take up arms against Rome, but to be witnesses of Jesus' kingdom, power and glory "to the ends of the earth."
• Glory | That there is more glory in a day lily than in Solomon or any of the rest of us all dolled up (cf. Luke 12:27).

3. As much as Jesus loves to eat, he also loves to pray, especially in Luke's gospel. Piety is not the problem. Jesus will give his disciples parables about prayer. He will teach them the Lord's prayer. He will ask them to stay away and pray. Nonetheless, he will not cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and hope for the best. Quoting scripture and praying is not a complicated way of ringing for a cosmic bellhop. It is a way of being in a relationship with One whom we do not need to "put to the test."

Comments

[Ray Ormand]

Mary--Week after week, I find your musings to be a great help as I try to prepare a sermon. Thanks.

Ray Ormand