It was interesting to pick this particular week in the lectionary. I have no particular sermon dates coming up at my home church or at seminary. I've already preached my sermon for the year up here, having the chance the Monday before Thanksgiving where I compared a Mexican saint by the name of Miguel Agustin Pro to James Bond in a hopefully humorous and meaningful way.
Having the chance to pick-a-text as it were, I sought out a Sunday in the not-too-distant future and settled on February 21st. The text in particular for preaching is following along with some initial thoughts:
Luke 4:1-13
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he endured temptations from the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man does not live by bread alone.'" Then the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "To you I will grant this whole realm– and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'" Then the devil brought him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and 'with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.'" So when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.
Initial thoughts:
Temptation- of Christ, of Christians, of humanity, of congregations, endless possibilities
Christ's humanity- appealing to the human side of Christ
Evil- the presence of temptation and sinfulness in the world, human evil
The individual tests- hunger appeals, owning land and selling values, prayers for imprecation
Christ's response to sin- Honoring God, standing strong in the faith, being able to articulate in the face of evil
Physicality and Spirituality- the necessity for an integrated self, needing two types of bread
Filled with the Spirit- the ongoing presence of God in our lives
Some of what I'll do now is to begin my research by going through various translations and look through some of the commentaries and lexicons. Only after that will I actually begin looking at some sites. Once I do begin that portion, I'll be looking at:
Crossmarks (http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke4x1.htm)
textweek.com
desperatepreacher.com/bodyii
From there we'll jump into further stuff if necessary.
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Have you read the Grand Inquisitor, by Dostoevsky? Maybe VH had you read it in Gospels, he assigned it to our class. It's one chapter of The Brothers Karamazov, in which the brother Ivan spins a tale about Christ returning to earth only to be arrested by the Grand Inquisitor. In it, the Grand Inquisitor interprets the temptations in a very interesting way. It may not ultimately be faithful exegesis (especially since Ivan, who is telling the story, is not a believer and is trying to destroy his brother Alyosha's faith), but it is certainly thought-provoking. What if turning stones into bread does not just satisfy Jesus' hunger, but all of human hunger? What would it mean for Jesus to reject that?
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the ongoing work on this text!
I know I am always tempted to jump to commentaries and have not gotten into the GOOD habit of looking various translations. Now that I have Bibleworks I am getting better at comparing translation. Also like hashing out some quick first thoughts as a way to get started.
ReplyDeleteYes, MVH did assign us that and I had forgotten about it. You pose some very interesting questions that I will think about. My first thought though was somewhat irreverent. If all the rocks turned into bread, where would the wise man build his house?
ReplyDeleteThe word wilderness popped out at me as I was reading this passage. Where is the wilderness? Where is our wilderness? Are we led to it as well? Are we tempted with the same ferocity that Jesus was?
ReplyDeleteAny of your initial thoughts would be great sermon starters. You should have a lot of fun with this.
Jon, can you pretend that WE are the ones who haven't eaten for 40 days and bring in some scrumptious food?! :-) I'm sure you can find time to bake while writing your sermon that you'll preach TOMORROW. Silly over-achiever, Trix are for kids.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I'd try to find a time to preach this sucker during Lent (Sunday, February 21st to be exact). Why let your Word go unheard? Peace.
I'm going to a wedding the weekend before then (February 13th actually)... maybe I could preach this then. Temptation at a wedding around Valentine's day should be a real winner, huh? Maybe I'll bring in something on Thursday or Friday since my sermon will be done tomorrow, since I am an over-achiever!
ReplyDeleteYou probably couldn't preach this sermon (faithfully) at that wedding, but the sermon I'm writing, perhaps! It's on John 2:1-11, the wedding banquet at Cana. Um, and can I just say, that you are very far in your sermon prep so far and I'm uber impressed. Way to go, Jon-boy!
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