Matthew 4:1-11
Transformative essence of wilderness

Every year on the first Sunday of Lent we begin with the narrative of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. It is interesting and totally anti-climactic to note that Jesus’ experience of the temptations happen right after his baptism when God declares him the beloved son. After such a phenomenal declaration by the voice from heaven, one expects Jesus to ride into the city with great pomp and glory into the midst of an adulating crowd ready to give an inaugural speech as the heir and king of God’s New Kingdom on earth. Instead, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. I must admit that it sounds rather weird that the Spirit of God should lead Jesus very deliberately to be tempted by the Devil. In early Jewish understanding, the devil or Satan was seen as the one who stirs up evil impulses in human beings, the one who seduces people into sin, and denounces people before God, finally bringing on the punishment of death. The important thing to note here is that the evil impulses are in or within human beings; it is not something that gets imported from the outside. So, for those of us who may be inclined to blame the devil, circumstances, or just friend and relatives for our not very commendable actions and thoughts, maybe Lent is a good opportunity to search a little deeper into our hearts and souls.

I want us to notice that the understanding here is of evil as impulses. In other words, we have a choice, the evil within us can be controlled or even eliminated and that freedom of choice is a gift from God. Jesus too had that freedom of choice, very much like us, and that is what his struggle or temptations were about. The dramatic nature of the narration is an indication of the intensity of Jesus’ struggle of whether or not to obey and trust God the Father. When we read the passage, it comes across as if the temptations come after Jesus had fasted and prayed. But I am more inclined to believe that the fasting and prayer were a direct result of Jesus facing the temptations as soon as he was affirmed by God as His beloved son. This is not to say that he was not tempted before or after, but the temptations at this particular time was closely linked to the declaration about his identity. Let us never doubt for a moment that Jesus’ struggle was as real as any temptation we face in our own lives. His struggle to understand and embrace his identity as the Son of God was so intense and real that he was forced to go into the wilderness with fasting and prayer to seek God’s will for him.

Not in quite the same way as Jesus was called and sent, but in a sense we are all called to be God’ children. And when we become a part of Gods’ family we may think that our journey has somewhat come to an end, that we can now settle down to enjoy our privileges, but, in fact, it is just the beginning. Temptations become even more pronounced, and our struggles can become even more intense because as God’s children we must intentionally seek God’s will and trust in His wisdom and purpose for our lives. What is not overtly evident in the questions is the devils’ actual intention, which is to plant seeds of doubt in Jesus so as to the question of whether He is truly the Son of God, called to a very special mission. The first two temptations begin with, “if you are the Son of God…” one would think that since God Himself had proclaimed that Jesus is the beloved son, there should be no further questions. But there he was, in the wilderness struggling with the desire to find more proof about his identity and calling. I am not saying that doubt is wrong or evil. Doubt is an integral part of our growth, and is in fact a necessity to keep us in the process of discerning God’s will for us. But doubts can become the poison that finally destroys us if we allow it to take control of our lives. The call to Jesus is clearly to trust and obey God, and when He listened to God we, along with Jesus begin to see the great redemptive plan of God for all His creation unfold through Jesus’ life. And today, God calls us too to join and become a part of that which Jesus had began and truly inaugurated in his life, death and resurrection.

After two thousand years we have the tendency to think and believe that Jesus was some kind of a super hero, immune or protected from experiencing the pain and suffering, the uncertainties and disappointments of human life. But, when we look at the three temptations of Jesus, they were very distinctively reflective of what human beings struggle with daily in that it touches at the very core of basic human desire to be never in need, the desire to miraculously escape or overcome suffering and finally the desire for status and power. All of these desires in and of itself are not evil, but as God’s children we are called to look at things very differently. It is human inclination to view the fulfillment of these desires as the meaning and purpose in life. After all, who would not want to turn stones into bread and feed all the hungry, who would not want to be saved from suffering in a miraculous way, and who would not want to be in control with power and status? But having struggled with the same things I suspect all through his life, Jesus has won the victory for us. He has shown us that there is more to life than filling our stomachs, that suffering need not overcome us, that power and status are not the solution for life’s struggles.

The reason why every first Sunday in Lent is started with the reading of Jesus’ temptations is to remind us that the struggle to obey or not to obey God is very real. It is to remind us that we cannot seek and understand God’s will without undertaking some intentional steps. And finally it is a reminder of the intense love of God for us, which led Him to send His only Son into the world to live through the weak and painful experience of human beings in order that through Jesus we might live transformed and victorious lives. If anyone thinks that he or she does not really have to deal with the struggle of doing God’s will, this is the time, the church’s prescribed season to examine and re-examine our every intention and choice. Are we really in the center of God’s will? Are we making choices that fulfill only our immediate desires and feed only our egos? Or are we seeing things from God’s perspective, which is; the redemption, restoration and transformation of all His creation into that which brings life and not death?
In this extremely busy and crowded city, maybe we need to take that deliberate journey into the wilderness. That place where nothing grows except God’s own wild flowers and shrubs, the place where you cannot help but hear every whisper of the breeze and every tiny critter. The wilderness of our souls where we can be naked and vulnerable before God and our desires, where we have no mirrors to help smoothen our hair or hide our wrinkles. That place where we are forced to feel the power and intensity of our carnal desires.

About six years ago, I came to a point in my life where I was faced with the choice of having to make that decision of whether I should pursue the call that I felt toward ordained ministry. I came up with all sorts of excuses as to why it might not be a good idea to be ordained. I shared with couple of my dearest friends about my struggle, I expected them to tell me something concrete and tangible, but instead they suggested I go away to a monastery way up on one of the dry hills of Colorado. They made the arrangements and I went away for two days and one night of silence and nothing much to do but pray and walk the wilderness surrounding the monastery. Early the second day, as I stood on the dew drenched mount overlooking the city of Denver underneath me, as I stood there admiring the view, a herd of deer walked right pass me, they even turned back to look at me as if to apologize for not having noticed me. I could not imagine where on that arid wilderness they could find anything to eat or drink, for all I could see was just miles of more dryness and just dry twigs. And then all of a sudden, the only thing I could remember and see clearly was the Psalm where it says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” And at that moment I knew that God had already found me, had already started leading me, and that there is a stream, all I had to do was follow.
My dear brothers and sisters, temptations are always about taking the easier road, the more spectacular road, and they always boil down to being able to have things within our control and power. But God has a greater plan for you and me, what He requires from us is trust and obedience. And sometimes the wilderness is the only place to recognize God as Lord and Master.