Sermons

Lent I The 3 temptations - 21 February

The 3 temptations: Bread...Authority ... Mystery

The great Russian writer Dostoevsky has a scene in one of his novels where Jesus Christ returns to earth, incognito, at the time of the Spanish Inquisition, and Jesus is questioned by the Grand Inquisitor, and, in the scene, Our Lord's temptations in the wilderness are recalled -- that story which we have just heard as our gospel today -- and the Grand Inquisitor says to Christ: "When you were in the wilderness you were offered the three things by which people may be controlled: Bread, Authority and Mystery".

BREAD. "The people have no bread!", said the French courtiers to Queen Marie Antoinette. "They have no bread ?" . She (allegedly) replied. "Let them eat cake". But the people wanted bread, and Marie A. lost her head ... lost her life ... because of her attitudes, during the French Revolution. It is a dramatic story which reminds us that Bread is what poliitics are all about. You control the people by keeping them fed, by keeping their standard of living at the level they expect. Kevin Rudd will be thown out of office at the next election if the majority of voters feel that he is not "delivering the goods", if the majority of voters feel that their standard of living is threatened. Bread is the symbol of the whole economy: goods and products, sustenance, material well-being.

If you keep people well fed then they are much less likely to rise up and protest. "Bread" is one way people control other people -- in politics, and in intimate human relationships as well. There was time when many a marriage was contracted for financial security. A mother would tell her daughter, "Marry him, my dear, and you will be well off... he's a good match.... he comes from a good family... you will never 'have to worry' ... you will be well provided for ... there will be no shortage of .... bread."

And so it was that the devil said to Jesus in the wilderness, in that gospel story which we heard this morning, "Go on! Turn the stones into bread ... go to the crowds and feed them ....out of nothing. You will be Mr Popularity. You will be able to control them that way!"

There are instances in the scriptures of the people wanting just that of Jesus -- to be the provider of material well-being. Jesus said "No".

The Grand Inquisitor, in Dostoevsky's story, says to the incognito Christ,"The devil bade Thee take bread as the instrument of Thy work. Men will follow one who gives them bread. But Thou wouldst not. Men were to follow Thee out of love and devotion, or not at all". Do we follow Jesus because we hope that being a Christian will somehow give us material well-being ? Will somehow bring us material success ? Will make us comfortable ? Or do we follow Him out of sheer love and devotion ?

AUTHORITY. There is one thing I will never understand. Why did the German people in the 1930's amd 1940's allow the Nazis to exterminate millions of people, mainly Jews ? I don't think I will ever understand that. But I CAN understand how Hitler came to power in Germany in the early 1930's. Because the people wanted authority. They had had 10 years of unstable, weak government ... the Weimar Republic -... and they were fed up with the near-anarchy which had resulted. They wanted a strong leader, and in Hitler they got one. And they obeyed him.

We humans have a tendency to abdicate responsibility at the drop of a hat. A tendency to not want to think for ourselves. We like to be told what to think. How else can we explain the importance and popularity of the "shock-jocks" on talk radio ... and the columnists in the papers. They tell us what to think.

Authority. We will trust the authorities, the experts. Authority is a way in which people control other people.

Even within Christianity there are those who clamour "tell us what to believe! ...be authoritative!" ...... "what has the church got to say about ...drugs... abortion ... homosexuality ... tell us what to believe ! What is the church saying about the economy ... the Global Financial Crisis ... the violence against Indian students ... tell us what to believe!" Many Christians want to be told what to believe about these and other matters. They want the authoritative voice that will settle the matter once and for all !

The fastest growing Christian denominations are those groups which have a clear, unambiguous, black-and-white belief system. With them, you know where you stand. You're "in" or "out". "Sorry, no grey areas". Many people want that. They feel secure. It's the demand for authority.

And so it was that the devil said to Our Lord : "Come on ... just take me on board and you can be the great authority figure, with all the answers .. .all the powers of manipulation, coercion over people's minds and lives ... you can have all the kingdoms of the world .. you will keep them under your thumb, thinking the ways you think, doing the things you ask them to do. You will be Mr Powerful, you will be able to control the world that way!" And Jesus said "No".

Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor said to the incognito Christ: "the devil bade Thee assume authority; men will obey one who rewards the obedient and punishes the disobedient. But Thou wouldst not; men were to obey Thee out of love and devotion, or not at all".

Do we obey Our Lord because He is like some Big Brother who is to give us all the answers ? like some kind of automatic pilot or puppeteer ? Or do we obey Jesus out of sheer love and devotion ?

The Grand Inquisitor says to Christ: "When you were in the wilderness you were offered the three things by which people may be controlled: Bread, Authority -- and Mystery". MYSTERY. There are many examples of this one. People are charmed and dazzled by what is new, and astounding and glittering. The latest fashion. The latest fad. That which stimulates and entertains. That which promises excitement. It is not "bread", it is not "authority" -- but it is what attracts our attention simply because we are intrigued by it, and we cannot completely comprehend what it is. We can't be blase about it because there is a mystery attached to it, and we are "hooked".

The power of the pop star. The power of the entertainer. The power of the sports personality. The power of royalty. In one generation it was Princess Margaret. In the next generation Princess Diana -- and now it's Prince William's turn. These and other "celebrities" cannot deliver "bread". They have little "authority" as such -- but people are curious and fascinated about them, because we can never really live in their world. It 's a mystery -- and yet there is "power" here: a control over the way people think, over the way they see their own lives, over the way they part with their own money.

And even within religion there is, for many people, the fascination, the keen interest in what is bedazzling, novel, modern, "alive" . Because it has not been tested by experience it still has that fascinating, un-boring, mysterious dimension to it.

And so it was that the devil said to Jesus: "if you go and jump off that temple pinnacle, with all the crowds watching, you know of course that God will not let you come to any harm -- his angels will protect you -- but just think of the impression you will make on all those people ! They will think you are tremendous ! You will be a celebrity ! You will get top coverage on the Channel 9 news .. you will get an interview with Oprah Winfrey ! If you put on that great display, and jump off the temple, unharmed, people will be talking about you for weeks ! You will be the Man of the Moment !

The Grand Inquisitor said to the incognito Christ:" the devil bade Thee show some marvel that men might be astounded and believe; they will believe in one who is wrapped in mystery. But Thou wouldst not; men were to believe in Thee out of love and devotion, or not at all."

No, Jesus rejected the opportunity to be the deliverer of material blessings; He rejected the opportunity to be the supreme, social, political & military authority; He rejected being the head of a bright dazzling personality cult. He rejected those temptations -- because He wanted people .....He wanted you and I ................to relate to Him purely on the basis of who He really was... that by seeing Him, and partaking of His true personality, we come into the full and complete presence of God Himself.