Good
morning! To start off this morning I have a rhetorical question for you: what
does it mean to be a child of God?
Now,
like I said, this is rhetorical for now, but you are always welcome to stop in
and chat with me about it if you want!
What
does it mean to be a son or daughter of God?
To
be honest with you this line of inquiry has taken me many places in
conversation, in prayer, and in thought because it’s not easy for me to put my
finger, precisely, on one particular answer. I am thankful for the text we have
today because it offers some insights worth exploring as we ponder this
question.
Undoubtedly
we can agree that Jesus is the Son of God, the Word incarnate, and all of those
things. Just as we know this the tempter in our text does too! In fact the
Tempter makes a statement to this effect 2 times: If you are the Son of God…
Some
read these statements as a condition of Jesus’ position, “If you are really the
Son of God, then you can do great feats and nobody would care! If you are the
Son of God, go ahead and prove it, show me your power!”
Others
would read it as a statement of fact, along the longs of “since you are the Son
of God you… you would have no problem doing these things—you are above creation
and can act as such.”
In
either case the audience waits with bated breath for Jesus’ response, kind of!
I
say, “kind of,” because Jesu was at the end of a 40 day fast when the tempter
arrived on the scene. There is no indication that Jesus fasted in community, he
was all alone with the lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
Right
from the get-go we have Jesus being led into the wilderness to be tempted by
the Devil, but not until after he is nearly wiped out by not eating for forty
days and nights—he was famished, then the test begins.
I
guess the assumption the Devil made was either Jesus wasn’t the Son of God and
could be tricked into his own demise, or Jesus was the Son of God, but was more
interested in self-preservation and power displays than reconciliation.
Needless
to say, the Devil was wrong three times:
- Since Jesus had been fasting, he is tempted to make himself a meal (Stones into bread)
- Since he is the Song of God he has command of the angel armies who will protect him (throw yourself off the temple)
- Maybe Jesus wanted to part with his heavenly kingdom and rule Earth (worship the Devil to gain said power)
Nope,
no way, not going to happen!
Jesus
did not deny that he was the Son of God, but he did something very powerful. He
placed himself squarely in our shoes!
He
came down on the side of humanity.
Let’s
remember that Jesus is fully divine, but also fully human.
We
have just exited the Christmas season where we hear the story of the birth and
lineage of Jesus. The whole story is a very human affair: the parents had to be
registered for the census; the magi took a vacation to the west; the family
tree of Jesus was explored; etc. All of this stuff is in the wilderness fasting
for 40 days and nights. All of these experiences: the hunger, the heat, the
wind, the pain.
It
was a fully human Jesus who was being put to the test.
It
was a fully divine Jesus that pointed right back to the power of God.
Fully
diving; fully human; Son of God… that’s pretty powerful imagery there, but who
are we kidding? We are not Jesus! We may be children of God, but we most
certainly are not THE son or THE daughter of God.
So,
what’s the point?
The
point is we don’t have to be Jesus. We are not fully divine, but we are beloved
children of God and Jesus, in his temptation, gives us hints as to what it takes,
or what it looks like to live into that beloved position:
We
do not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
We
are not to test the LORD our God.
We
are to worship the LORD and serve only God.
Even
when we are at our lowest we worship God; we trust in God; we read, pray and
meditate on the Word of God, because the Word became flesh and knows the aches,
pains, glories and celebrations that come with this life.
Being
incarnate allowed God, in Jesus, to enter into every possible space where we
might find ourselves, even death. And bring us to new life!
Jesus
was lead into the wilderness to be tempted.
Jesus
fasted for 40 days and nights.
Jesus
was baptized.
Jesus
was born into a family who loved him.
Jesus
made friends.
Jesus
made enemies.
Jesus
died and rose again, for you, for me, and for absolutely everybody!
So,
even in our darkest moments Jesus is there.
You
can worship God, you can trust God, and can live into the promise of
resurrection found in the Word of God, because God knows the pain and joy!
In
closing this morning, I want to share with you a poem that I wrote several
years ago that brings all of this home for me. This is a piece I called “My
Father’s Son” and it goes something like this…
I
look back at my life and wonder, “What do my parents think of what I have
accomplished?”
When
my dad’s friends ask about his sons, doe she stand up proudly and proclaim his
oldest is working on changing the world, while his youngest is a thriving
family man?
I
hope so!
When
my mom’s co-workers ask about me does she stand up confidently and tell them
all about the adventures I share with the kids at work; and how well my brother
is doing in raising his own?
Do
they tell our stories with a smile, with joy in their hearts at their ability
to call us their sons?
I
hope so!
I
want my parents to be able to look back at my life and be able to say, “That’s
my boy!” I want to be my father’s son! I want to be my mother’s little boy.
Are
they proud of me?
Do
they proclaim these things, letting the world know?
I
want to know, but sometimes these things remain just outside of our reach.
However,
I know for certain that my parents don’t fully comprehend what it is I am doing
with my life. My path has taken me through unorthodox relationships; I have
studied things that haven’t produced jobs; and I’m thinking about walking aay
from a well paying job.
All
of these things just don’t add up in their minds, but I’m still their son.
My
dad might not be able to explain, fully, what it is I’m doing.
My
mom might not be that interested in my struggles to save the world, but they
know that I’m their boy and they got my back no matter what!
That
is what it means to be a child of God. ~Amen
