Grace and Temptation

Lent 1 Sermon

February 13, 2011

I.      Introduction

I speak to you this morning in name of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

I.      Introduction: Lent - A Time for Reorientation

        Lent is upon us.  A time for repentance – remembering that to repent means in Greek (the language of the Gospels and the Epistles) to turn around, to turn away from something. Just as Jesus turned away from temptation in the desert, so too are we called to resist temptation in this world.  And just as Jesus was empowered and refreshed for ministry by his experience in the wilderness, so too does Lent offer us a chance to become ready for our ministries – centennial work, neighborhood work, fellowship work. worship and all the rest.  For our celebration of Lent, whether through giving up on special treats (a fast of sorts), or through our home prayers and private reflection, is an expression of our faith.  The faith that empowers us to overcome the temptations that distract us from God.  The faith that frees us to be servants of our Lord.  So how free are we?  Let us consider Paul’s letter to the Romans, to help us to understand how we become free through the gift of grace.

II.    Paul on Grace

The free gift of grace.  What to make of that? Have you ever thought about folks who are just naturally talented to do something – play a musical instrument, dance, play hockey.  Whereas the rest of us look on in wonder, those gifted folks wonder what all the fuss is about. Often supremely talented folks regret their talent – like Moses or the prophets who said in effect ‘Thanks God for calling me, but I’d really prefer just to be another normal person.’ Eric Clapton is (rather famously) known to have resisted fame, just wanting to be a sideman. But neither talent nor God’s call takes no for an answer.  And once the gifted understand how precious their particular talent is, many of our talented neighbors devote themselves to developing their talents, becoming concert pianists (or guitar players), prima ballerinas, and Stanley Cup champions.  And it is in their devoted commitment to acting on their talents that the talented achieve success.

So too it is with grace.  Paul reveals for us how grace is freely given to us by God. We didn’t earn it, it was achieved for us through Christ. Salvation is not earned, but once saved, we have the faithful task of living into it.  You may recall the brutal and moving film Saving Private Ryan, where at the end the hero who has led his friends to save a single soldier who didn’t really want to be saved, the hero in dying says to the soldier – ‘earn this.’  We do not earn salvation in advance – just as Private Ryan did not earn his delivery in advance.  But once saved, he was bound to act, as we are.  Our good efforts in faith are offered not as a condition for salvation but as a needed consequence of our salvation.

We do not strive to faithful ministry in order to be saved, but because we are saved.  For it is in being saved, that we are freed from the temptations of the world. And so we need not fuss about how we can earn grace, through piety, fasting, service, whatever.  Instead we are invited to accept the gift of grace and then to act on it.  Like the talented musician who practices daily, we are called to practice our faith, to act on the saving grace that has been given to us.   Grace calls us forward.  To be faithful ministers for the Gospel, resisting temptation and serving God’s Kingdom.

IV.   But What About  . . .

So how do we do this? How are we to know whether we are being true to our salvation?  How can we know when and how our faithfulness will be measured, or proven, or even noticed.  Again, Paul helps us understand – hint: it’s not about the rules.  Paul’s treatment of the relationship between sin and the law helps us to understand that while our sinful nature and our salvation in Christ unite us, the law divides. Whether the Judaic code or by extension other laws, rules and so on, the law divides people according to their compliance whereas grace and the forgiveness of sin unites us through faith.

Paul was not alone in this thinking about the difference between laws that divide and common faith that unites.  The great Chinese thinker Laozi suggested that when laws are enacted, that is when society has broken down and lawbreakers emerge. Rousseau extolled the notion of community harmony in early societies, regretting that the development of humanity required increasingly formal law.  And don’t get me started with Foucault and the discipline and punish approach to law and social conformity. Different kinds of law from Paul’s references to the Torah, but informed by the same insight – that while the law has its uses - a necessary but insufficient standard for our conduct if you will – if we focus overmuch on the formalities of the law (the formal habits, practices, and doctrines that the law contains) if we focus too much on these things, we miss the point.  For in our preoccupation with the law as a measure of righteousness, we simply create distinctions between people, distinctions that serve human rather than divine purposes. Distinctions that run counter to the universality of human brokenness.  Counter to the universality of God’s love and God’s forgiveness.  By focusing on the law, we miss the point of our fundamental equality before God – in sin and in salvation.

For Paul tells us that sin existed before the law was given and sin was not counted where there was no law.  The law is not the limit of our sinfulness nor is it the source of our forgiveness and salvation. For the sin that originated with Adam arose long before the law and is shared by all humanity.  For in trying to be like God, Adam turned away from his blessed dependence on God.  And it is that sin of separation from God that has compounded over the millennia with the tragic human consequences of war, injustice, environmental degradation and the long sorry list.  It is that sin that brings us death.

And it is that sin that is forgiven us through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  And as a result of that forgiveness, we rest assured that we can (indeed must) act on that salvation, we can (and must) respond to that gift of grace, we can (and indeed must) follow that invitation to rightousness. Our salvation empowers and obligates us to conform to the higher standards of love and faith than are required by temporal rules. A higher standard than required by the law.

III.   Grace and Resistance

        So, back to the desert.  Where we face our own special demons in the wilderness of our lives.  When we are tempted by the prospects of comfort, safety, and status – just as Jesus faced the temptations of bread, angel rescue, and worldly power – when we are so tempted, we have the strength to resist. The strength that comes from the knowledge that we have received God’s gift of grace.  The knowledge that our prosperity, our safety, our status are not measures of God’s favor but are assured because of God’s love.  Assured that Christ offers comfort and prosperity to all believers. Assured that all, even the victims of unspeakable tragedy, are secure in the love of God in Christ. Assured that all have special status as children of God.

As beneficiaries of God’s free gift of grace, we are invited to build a world where all lives are filled, not by bread alone but by the Word and words of God.  A world where all lives are secure, not by angels insulating us from physical harm but where we are delivered from evil by God’s love.  A world where we are empowered not by worldly status but through our faith in God’s grace.  The free gift of grace that is our salvation, our liberator, and our call to service.

IV.   Conclusion

        And so at this Lenten time, as we commit ourselves to self-examination, penitence, fasting and prayer, let us reflect on the power that God’s gift of grace has instilled in us.  Let us consider the temptations that face us and seek God’s help in putting them in their place.  Let us build communities governed not by differences of the law but by love and fellowship shared among grateful recipients of God’s grace. 

And now, let us pray:

Holy One, we thank you for this season of Lent, when we may reflect on those things that bring us closer to you and also on those that keep us from you.  Grant that we may turn away from the temptations of this world and turn toward a more righteous relelationship with you.  In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen