The story is told of a young man who came to an older gentleman who was an expert in precious gems. He told the elderly man that he wanted to learn the trade and would like to become his apprentice. The older man questioned him long and hard because he doubted that the young man had the patience that was required for such an occupation. The young man persisted, pleading his case and begging for the opportunity to prove himself. Finally, the gem expert relented, and told the young man to come back to his shop bright and early the next day.
The next morning, the young man showed up as he promised, eager to begin his training. The gem expert walked him over to a chair and told him to sit down and wait for a moment. He disappeared in the back of his shop briefly and then returned. He came over to the young man and asked him to hold out his hand. The young man stuck out his hand and the elderly man placed a jade stone in it, and told him to hold it and to look at it.
Then, the elderly man went about his work for the day, cutting, weighing, polishing and setting gems in beautiful and intricate settings. The young man sat patiently and quietly all day, waiting for further instructions.
The next day when the young man arrived, the elderly man again sat him down and placed a similar jade stone in his hand and gave him the same instructions as the day before. "Hold it in your hand and look at it." Then the elderly man went about his business
The same thing happened on the third day and the fourth day and the fifth day. Finally, on the sixth day after holding the stone for three hours, the young man broke the silence. "Sir, when am I going to learn something about this trade?"
The expert replied, "Oh, do not worry, you will learn soon enough."
The ritual continued for three more days and the young man could barely contain his frustration. Then, when he showed up the next morning it began with the usual pattern. The old man led him to the chair, brought out a jade stone and placed it in his hand and said, "Hold it and look at it."
The young man took the stone, barely glanced at it and then blurted out, "I'm getting tired of this treatment. And today, you didn't even give me a real jade stone!"
A smile crept across the expert's face. "You have begun the process of discernment."(1)
The young man needed to learn the difference between the authentic and the in authentic. He needed to distinguish between the real and the imposter. And that is also the task which is constantly before us. We must discern between God's way, and the many other ways which often pose as God's way.
This is precisely what the temptation of Jesus is all about. He is put to a test, and he must discern between good and evil. According to the Gospel of Matthew, this event occurs before Jesus begins his public ministry. He has yet to preach a sermon or to recruit any followers. We are told that he was baptized and then, immediately he went into the wilderness to spend time in solitude with God. There, without the distractions of daily life, he prays and fasts for forty days. Then, at the end of this period, the devil appears to Jesus and tries to tempt him three times.
This morning I am not going to engage in the debate over whether we should understand the devil as a literal or a symbolic figure. If we take the story seriously and seek to apply it to our lives, it does not really matter whether we think of the devil as a mythological figure or a literal one. What is critical is: 1) that we take the power of evil seriously, and 2) that we do not attempt to excuse ourselves from personal responsibility.
First, we must not attempt to deny the existence of evil in our world. Even the most wishful-thinking among us cannot ignore the violence, injustice, racism, abuse, lust, greed, crime, tragedy, oppression, suffering, and destruction which exist in our world. Life is a wonderful blessing from God and can be rich and beautiful, but there is a dark side of life which no one can escape. Refusing to acknowledge the power of evil is not only foolish, but dangerous.
Second, we must not dismiss our personal responsibility for our thoughts and actions which thwart the goodness God intends. "The devil made me do it," is no justification for our complicity in evil. We are responsible for our actions and cannot maintain our innocence on the grounds that we are merely helpless victims.
Both of this morning's passages are classic examples of the tempting power of evil. It is essential for us to be aware that none of these temptations are to greed, lust, envy, anger, strife or anything else that we normally equate with evil. The temptations seem to be either harmless, or relatively good things.
In the Garden of Eden, the serpent says to Eve, "What is so bad about eating fruit from this one tree in the midst of the garden? It's not going to kill you. In fact, it will open your eyes! If you eat from this tree, you will gain knowledge."
In the wilderness, the devil says to Jesus, "You must be famished, you've fasted for forty days. You're such a good, devout person. Why not turn these stones into bread so you'll have something to eat? No? You don't want to do that? Well, how about bungee jumping from the top of the temple, and doing it without a rope? That will demonstrate God's power for everyone to see. You don't want to do do that either? I tell you what, I can put you in charge of all the nations of the world. You could do a lot of good with that kind of authority."
The temptations did not appear dark and vile and repulsive. In fact, they looked pretty attractive. And that's why evil can be such a formidable power. And that's how we can be lured into doing things we ought not do. The darkness appears to be light, the bad takes the shape of the good. Keep this in mind the next time you see some ridiculous caricature of the devil as a sinister figure with horns and a tail and a pitch fork. Such representations are nonsense. If the devil were a wicked-looking character he would be more likely to repel us than to attract us. He would be easily recognized, and thus easily avoided. The reason evil is able to lure us from the path God would have us follow, is because it looks so inviting.
Now, in any discussion of sin and evil, it is very tempting (there's that word!), it is very tempting to talk about all the problems in our world as if they are only the result of other people's poor judgment and bad choices. Let's talk about all those adulterers out there who are destroying their families. Let's talk about those lying politicians (one of my personal favorite topics). Let's talk about those greedy professional athletes. Let's talk about dishonest businessmen. Let's talk about sexually active teenagers. Let's talk about those bad people out there we can identify, and let's feel real good about the fact that we are not like them.
But if we do, we had better keep in mind that Jesus directed his sharpest language at those sanctimonious individuals who believed so much in their own goodness and integrity that they could not see the cracks in their own character.
Modern psychology has taught us that we are often unwilling to recognize the dark side of our own nature and so we project it onto others. We fail to see our own dishonesty, indifference, prejudice, impatience, egotism, envy and intolerance. If we fail to recognize our own shortcomings and do not admit the ugly things of which we are capable, we will project these onto others and accuse them of the very things that lurk within ourselves.
Rather than becoming sanctimonious people who seek to impress others with our goodness, we can seek instead, for simple honesty. Let us strive to be as honest as we can be with ourselves and with God. Let us look closely at our personal make up and identify our weaknesses so that we can understand what healing needs to take place within us. Let us not give in to the temptation to divert any scrutiny of ourselves onto others so that we escape the careful personal examination that is necessary for all of us.
That's what was going on with Jesus in the wilderness. He had to undergo an intense probing of his character which would determine the direction of his life. The temptations which were before him were intended to steer him away from God, and Jesus had to decide which path he would follow.
Temptations come to us on a daily basis, and many of them seek to lure us away from God. We must recognize them for what they really are, and then be firm in our resolve to choose the right path.
NOTES
1. From Brian Cavanaugh's The Sower's Seeds as related by Susan Langhauser in Lectionary Homiletics (February, 1999), p.21.
© 1999 Gregory Knox Jones, all rights reserved
Go to Top of the Page
Return to the Previous Sermons Page