The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, and one of the applicants – who was not known to be the brightest academically, was called in for an interview. “Okay,” began the sheriff, “What is 1 and 1?” “Eleven,” came the reply. The sheriff thought to himself, “That’s not what I meant, but he’s right.” Then the sheriff asked, “What two days of the week start with the letter ‘T’?” “Today & tomorrow,” replied the applicant. The sheriff was again surprised over the answer, one that he had never thought of himself.
“Now, listen carefully, who killed Abraham Lincoln?” asked the sheriff. The job seeker seemed a little surprised, then thought really hard for a minute and finally admitted, “I don’t know.” The sheriff replied, “Well, why don’t you go home and work on that one for a while?” The applicant left and wandered over to his friends who were waiting to hear the results of the interview. He greeted them with a cheery smile, “The job is mine! The interview went great! First day on the job and I’m already working on a murder case!”
In our Gospel reading this morning in Matthew 4 it is Jesus’ first day on the job. Immediately he is confronted with three major temptations.
Matthew tells us of the Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness where he stayed there and fasted for 40 days and forty nights. While praying, the devil came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” The devil then took him to the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Again Jesus resisted by saying, “it is written, ‘you shall not tempt the Lord your God.’’ Finally, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and he said to him, “all these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” But Jesus said, “Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.’”
Then Matthew continued to say, “the devil left him and behold the angels came and ministered to him.” Reflecting on the significance of this story it shows me some truths about life and discipleship. Let me share with you some of them.
First, it tells me that as we journey through life, there are temptations on the way. There was this pastor who said, “Opportunity knocks only once, but temptation bangs on your door for years.” Jesus who is the Son of God was not exempted from this kind of life. He too like us went through temptations and difficulties right from the time he started his ministry up to the time when he was crucified. Time and time again, Jesus was confronted with this basic question: Would he take the crown without the cross? Would he use power to gain people to God instead of love? Would he enter into partnership with the devil to get what he wants?
Temptation is a very real part of our lives wherever we are. We encounter temptations that will pull us from the values we hold very dear. We are sometimes tempted to take short cuts, to avoid struggle, to find the easy way at the expense of certain values which we hold on to. And many times, we think that the only way to handle temptation is to yield to it.
I was talking to a group of students just recently. I asked them how many of them cheated at one time or another. And all of them raised their hands. And if you read the news these days, you read government officials accused of cheating. And the worse is that it is accepted as part of the system. And they do not feel guilty unless they are caught.
One time, identical notes were sent to twenty most prominent men in London, saying, “All is discovered. Escape while you can.” All twenty abruptly left town.
Secondly, reading the story of Jesus in the wilderness, I could just imagine him, without food in the wilderness with temperatures varying from one extreme to the other. It is a place which some called as “the Devastation.” One writer describes it as an area of crumbling sand where the ridges run in all directions as if they were warped and twisted. The rocks are bare and jagged. It glows and shimmers with heat like some vast furnace.” (Barclay) However, Jesus went through all these, as he struggled with the kind of ministry God had called him to do.
There are also times in our lives when we have to go through difficulties and suffering just like what Jesus went through in the wilderness. When earthquakes, typhoons tsunamis, flooding come our way, we say, “When it rains it pours.” Sometimes it seems that way – that everything goes wrong all at once. (Actually, this was an advertising slogan of Morton Salt several years ago.)
Forbes magazine printed an interesting little item sometime back. It said, “Mosquitoes cause us trouble but not as much as they could. There are about 41,000 mosquitoes for each of us.” Imagine 41,000 mosquitoes biting you at the same time? Of course it does not happen, but there are times in our lives when we feel that 41,000 mosquitoes are ganging up on us at once. Those are moments when it seems that problems, difficulties and temptations in life are too much and there is no end to it. And we keep on asking God, “why?” “Where is the God who promised to take care of me?”
However, we are also told in this story that God sends ministering angels to us as we enter into the wilderness of life. That is the Good News for the day. God did not leave Jesus to deal with the trials and temptations alone. God did not leave him there to wrestle alone the difficulties. Instead, God sent angels to minister to him.
In times when we too feel that temptations become overwhelming, in times when we feel that there is no end to our suffering, God sends angels to minister to us. The One who created us assures us that his grace is greater than our need. When St. Paul cried out in anguish at the thorn in his flesh, he was answered with a mighty word of hope, “My grace is sufficient for you.” According to the Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, “God the Creator has blessed us from our birth. His providence has sustained us on our way. His help is all about us before we know enough to ask for it.” According to the Psalmist, “God preserves us from trouble; God surrounds us with glad cries of deliverance.” Yes, God sends his angels to minister to us as we go through difficulties and temptations in life. God’s angel may be a friend who is willing to listen to us; or a stranger who comes unexpected to us offering some help; or someone in the church who expresses his or her concern; or someone else whose presence is an inspiration. It could be members of our family who surround us with their love and care. God works in different ways. And we are assured that the One who calls us to ministry sends angels who are always there when we need some help.
A man by the name of Richard Lederer collects funny signs. Some of these are simply the result of people in foreign countries having difficulty translating into English. He says that at the entrance to a hotel swimming pool on the French Riviera there is a sign that reads like this: “Swimming is forbidden in the absence of a saviour.”
Maybe the person who put up that sign knew English better than we may suppose. Not only swimming but life itself should not be lived in the absence of a Saviour.
As we therefore journey through the wilderness of trials and temptations during this season of lent, let us remember that in times when we need some help, God will send his angels to minister to us.
