Lent 1

An increasing number of pet owners have now “micro-chipped” their dogs and cats. A small “chip” is injected under the skin and when a special scanner is run over the chip, the creature’s whole history is made available—-pet’s name, owner’s name, home address, home phone, vet’s name, vet’s phone, medications taken. It’s all there. Most animal shelters now have these scanners. When a lost or wandering animal is brought in, “scanning” is the first procedure. Often the “lost” is “found,” immediately.

Parents of teenagers have gotten the message too. An increasing number of parents “bug” their kid’s car or cell phone to keep track of where they are at all times. These apps can also keep an eye on driving habits and vehicle speed.

But wait a minute: If we’re as concerned for our children’s safety and welfare as we are for Rover’s, shouldn’t we micro-chip our kids as well?

We could even add on a tiny electric zapper.

See Maddie starting to get in a car with someone who is unsavory? Give her a little zap.

Note Billy’s car going over the speed limit? Give him a reminder zap.

Detect the presence of alcohol on your teen, anywhere, anytime? Big, big zap.

But think again. Even in such a “Big Brother is watching” world, the truth is there is just too much temptation, and too strong an urge to misbehave, to ever keep track of everything.

We are surrounded by temptations on every side.

The beauty of the Internet? . . .It contains everything.

The curse of the Internet? . . .. It contains everything.

At the touch of a button, good information is available.      

At the touch of a button, there is an endless supply of garbage, gossip, pornography, violence, and hate.

Cell phones keep us in touch no matter where we are.

Yet cell phones tempt us to never be anywhere except on the phone.

A first car gives its recipient freedom, responsibility, and great possibilities.

But a first car also tempts a young driver to head to the mall instead of school, to drive too fast, to show-off at the wheel.

The temptation or “tests” that the devil flung at Jesus after his forty-day-fast in the wilderness weren’t just challenges to do something he wasn’t supposed to do. They were challenges tempting Jesus to be someone he was not born to be.

Did you hear that difference? The ultimate temptations in life are NOT those that push you to do things you aren’t supposed to do, but to be a person who you weren’t made to be.

The devil wasn’t tempting Jesus to take the edge off his hunger by turning stones into bread. He was tempting the Son of God to replace his table relationship with God with fast food.

The devil wasn’t tempting Jesus to jump off the temple roof. He was tempting the Son of God to demand God take action based on the Son’s desires and preferences.

The devil wasn’t tempting Jesus with the power and prestige offered by the kingdoms of the world. He was tempting the Son of God to intentionally orphan himself from the Father.

Have you ever considered how stacked the deck was against the devil succeeding in his temptations?

For forty days and forty nights Jesus had been alone with “the Spirit” who had led him there. For forty days and forty nights he had been away from needy crowds, mundane concerns and tiresome commitments. For forty days and forty nights he had been in communion with his Father in ways we cannot imagine.

After forty days and forty nights Jesus may have been “famished,” but his spirit was strong. After forty days and forty nights, Jesus was more truly himself than he had ever been before.

The devil fails miserably not because Jesus refuses to do the things offered. The devil fails miserably because Jesus will be no one other than his own true self, the Son of God.

The temptation to be less than you are, to be less than what God has made you to be, to be other than you were born to be, is the Great Temptation that underlies all other temptations in life.

God has called us to be God’s beloved, to be God’s sons and daughters — redeemed, re-dreamed, re-created, re-born.

God calls us to be this true self — to be the Body of Christ on earth.

During this season of Lent, instead of “giving up” some indulgence, some temptation to “do” something (eat, drink, party) . . . What if we were to “take on” something?

What if we were personally to “take on” the identity of Christ?

What if, instead of “giving up” criticizing others, we “took on” the blessing of others?

What if we were to resolve that, with every person we would encounter this Lent, we would find some way to bless them, with a smile, with a compliment, with some word of encouragement?

What if we were to seek out and “take on” those who have fallen, those for whom temptations to be other than what God intends for them has claimed a triumph? What if we were to “take on” the mission of blessing certain people ignored by others? What if we were to become a blesser to embolden others to be what God created them to be? Or a blesser that empowers others not just to feel an emotion, but to “own” it and take responsibility for it?

Or maybe you need to spend this Lent “taking on” your true identity?

Rich Mullins was a contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter.  Mullins lived humbly among the Native Americans and was killed in a car accident at age 41. When admirers would ask him to sign a picture or a CD, he simply penned these words:

“Be God’s, Rich.”

This Lent, instead of giving up a Snickers bar, take on a mission. And the ultimate mission in life? The mission that Jesus fulfilled in the Scripture text for this morning:

“Be God’s.”