Meditation for September 24, 2008

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Luke 4:1-3; Psalm 82:3-4

 

Luke 4:1-3

 

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.  He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.  The devil said to him..."

 

Psalm 82:3-4

 

"Give justice to the weak and the orphan;

    maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.

Rescue the weak and the needy;

    deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

 

Seeing Beyond Ourselves

 

This is what I read on the front page of The Denver Post this morning, in an article entitled, "Critics out to put holes in golden parachutes": 

 

"Some of the biggest financial firms that could benefit from the government's rescue plan also have handed out some of Wall Street's biggest paychecks to their top executives.  Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein, for instance, took home nearly $54 million in salary, perks, bonuses and other stock awards in 2007.  J.P. Morgan Chase chief executive James Dimon collected $30 million in cash, stock and options.  And Wachovia chief executive G. Kennedy Thompson received total compensation of about $15.6 million... At a Senate banking committee hearing Tuesday, panel Chairman Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., insisted executives be held accountable for driving their firms into financial turmoil, should they seek federal help.  He said the Bush administration's plan would do "nothing to stop the very authors of this calamity to walk away with bonuses and golden parachutes worth millions of dollars." (pages 1A and 13A, September 24, 2008)

 

I am not an economics expert, but I know something about "the seven deadly sins", and greed is one of them.  And greed is one of the core issues in the midst of this financial institution-Wall Street-mortgage crisis mess that our country is in right now.  Greed - "excessive desire for getting or having, esp. wealth; desire for more than one needs or deserves" (Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition).

 

When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, and a voice came from heaven that said, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."  (Luke 3:22)  Immediately after this happened, we are told that Jesus "was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." (Luke 4:1-2)  He was led by the same Spirit that descended on him at his baptism, out into the wilderness, to be tempted.  It's as if God says to Jesus, "You now know the deep, deep truth - that you are my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.  Now, to help you keep this in perspective, and to keep you from getting a really big head, here comes the forty days without food, and the face-to-face test wtih Satan."  You can read Luke 4:3-13 to remind yourself of the rest of the story - of the three different ways that the devil tempted Jesus.  You'll recall that Jesus passed all three tests.  He passed the test because he stayed connected to God and remembered the teachings of God, revealed in Scripture (all from Deuteronomy, in this case).

 

It seems to me that Jesus also passed the test because he saw beyond himself.  Sin, at its core, has to do with self-absorption.  You and I are at the biggest risk for succumbing to temptation when we start to believe that it's all about us, that the world was made - somehow - to satisfy every one of our desires, no matter how insatiable those desires might be.

 

The antidote to succumbing to temptation is to look up, look inside, and look around us.  In doing so, we allow the Spirit to remind us that the world is a communal place.  First of all, God is at the center of that community.  Even when standing right next to the devil, Jesus remembered that God - a much more loving and powerful force than the devil - was with him.  Jesus also remembered that it wasn't about him receiving fame and glory - one of the things that the devil tempted him with.  Jesus remembered that God was sending him to "the least and the last and the lost", that his coming to earth had to do with other people and their plight.  The antidote to succumbing to the self-absorption temptation is to see beyond ourselves, to the needs of others.

 

We believe in a God who sees the needs of every single person.  We worship a God who says to each of his children, "Your are my beloved daughter (beloved son); with you I am well pleased."  This God asks us to look beyond ourselves, and give of ourselves.  This God asks us to be generous, as He is generous.  This God says to us, "Give justice to the weak and the orphan... rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." (Psalm 82) 

 

The Son of God taught us to pray, and part of that prayer is "Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil."  We are saved from the time of trial and delivered from evil when we listen for the guidance of the Spirit, and allow ourselves to be reminded that we are not the center of the universe, and that God gives us lots of opportunities to serve others, so that His kingdom can come, and His will can be done - on earth as it is in heaven.