Rector’s Reflections
Friday 7th March 2025
The Temptations of Christ
We have now reached the final temptation recorded in Matthew’s account of the Temptation of Christ in the wilderness: “Again, the devil took [Jesus] to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me”. Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him”. Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him” ( Matthew charter 4, verses 8 to 11).
As in the previous two temptations, Jesus quotes from the Book of Deuteronomy. In this case, Jesus is referring to a passage in which Moses reminds the people of Isarel that the time will come when they have finished their travels through the wilderness, and finally arrived at the Promised Land. They will then enjoy a much easier life, and they will be tempted to forget God, and all that God has done for them. How true this is to human nature! When life is tough, we tend to offer up earnest prayers to God, and promise God all manner of things if He gets out of the particular hole in which we find ourselves. But when the crisis passes, we tend to forget all about God – until, of course, the next crisis comes along. It can be like that in our relationships with our friends and family – we can easily forget friends and family until there’s a crisis and we need their help.
And in terms of our relationship with God, it is not only that we can forget him when life is going well. It is more serious than this. In times of prosperity, we can start to replace God with a whole series of false Gods – the false Gods of wealth, fame and worldly success. And so we compound our ingratitude towards God with the sin of idolatry.
Moses was well aware of this danger, and so he warns the Israelites accordingly: “ When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Issac, to Jacob, to give you – a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant- and when you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. The Lord your God shall your fear; him you shall serve, and by his name alone shall you swear. Do not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who are all around you, because the Lord your Lod, who is present with you, is a jealous God. The anger of the Lord your God would be kindled against you and would destroy you from the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 10 to 15)
The reference to the kindling of God’s anger might sound a little severe to modern ears, but the point is being made that idolatry has its consequences. If we worship the true God, we can expect a blessing. If we forget the true God, so be it. But if we choose to start to worship a false God, we have chosen to start on path that will lead to destruction. The worship of the idols of this world will lead towards destruction : the destruction of our relationships, of our world, and of our true selves. We know this to be true from our experience and from the history of the world. And yet we still choose to forget the true God, and to enslave ourselves to the idols of riches and power. How silly we are! God has rescued us from the slavery of Egypt and given us the Promised Land. And yet we willingly choose to sell ourselves back into slavery, bowing down before the idols of wealth and power.
The season of Lent can be a time for us to think once more about what God wants for us in our lives. God wishes to bless us and to work in and through us in the power of His Holy Spirit, so that we may be a blessing to our families and our communities. For this to happen, we need to think about our priorities in life. Where are we putting our focus? Are we focussing on putting our trust in God, and trying to serve Him with all our heart and mind and soul?
Perhaps the fundamental question is this: who or what are we worshipping? Are we worshipping the God who loves and cares for us? Or are we bowing down to some idol? Are we too focussed on material things and worldly success? These questions are not easy questions for us to face, but the more we face them, the more fulfilled our lives will be. And Lent is an ideal time to face these sorts of question, knowing that God loves us and cares for us, despite our many failings. We are human, after all.