In the Desert With Jesus

Devotional Reflection, Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Proper 20, the week of the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:

4:1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where 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. . . . .13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

You will find the full text of today’s Gospel at the end of this reflection.

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 985)

AM Psalm 119:97-120; PM Psalm 81, 82

Esther 6:1-14 or Judith 10:1-23; Acts 19:1-10; Luke 4:1-13

Today we celebrate the Feast of Sergius of Radonezh.  (See below.)

David’s Reflections

Baptist scholar-pastor and sage the late Dr. Herschel Hobbs once observed:  "No one knows the power of temptation like one who has endured it fully and won the battle." *

Christ endured Satan’s enticements after a forty-day fast and after existing in the privations of the wilderness environment.  Satan tempted him, not to gross evil, but to lesser forms of good, lesser ways of fulfilling God’s mission.  Those types of temptations can be quite insidious and much more difficult to identify and counter than inducements to evil.

The last sentence of today’s Gospel bodes ill for us all.  “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.”  Just when would that opportune time be?  It surely would NOT be when Jesus was well fed, well clothed, and well loved by his companions.  Rather, it would be in a moment of vulnerability, a moment when the possibility of a successful temptation would be far greater.

Our lives go through seasons of relative ease and alternate into seasons of almost unbearable strain, resistance, adversity, and temptation.  When we face ordeals of adversity and despair, the tempter seeks to turn those trials into temptations to abandon our faith.  Then, at times, he launches a frontal attack on our faith with a recurring temptation to evil or to a lesser good.  Or, as in Jesus’ case, the attack may come after a significant moment of spiritual intensity.  Jesus had just experienced John’s baptism and an anointing with the Spirit of God. I think of the line in one of the collects in Compline, “shield the joyous” (BCP, 134). Moments of ecstasy or joy can be preludes to wilderness wrestling.

Hobbs’s statement counters the dark notes of that last verse.  We never endure temptations alone.  The risen Christ drained the chalice of temptation to the bottom because he never yielded, thus shortening the temptation’s duration or intensity. That Christ greets the tempter with us.  That Christ sustains us through ordeals and tests and prevents them from becoming tests of our faith. We flee to that Christ when the tempter beckons.  We trust in that Christ’s strength of will because our will power will only ensnare us in futile struggle and failure.

(Note: James 1 says we are tempted when our desires draw us from God. He does not mention Satan. Belief in a personal Satan is not required to underline our vulnerability to temptation and evil.)

* Herschel H. Hobbs, Hebrews:  Challenges to Bold Discipleship (Nashville:  Broadman, 1971), p. 49.

Collect of the Day, Proper 20, the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 233-234)

Today we celebrate the Feast of Sergius of Radonezh, abbot of Holy Trinity (died 25 Sep 1392 CE).

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Sergius.htm

Collect of the Feast of Sergius of Radonezh

O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we, through his poverty, might be rich: Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world, that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant Sergius, may serve you with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Grace

Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)

For stewardship of creation

O merciful Creator, your hand is open wide to satisfy the needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (BCP, 259)

Prayer to the Spirit.

Welcome Holy Spirit, come and set us free!  Let each one catch the living flame and be ravished by your love!  Let our souls glow with your fire.  Help us overcome our forgetfulness of Spirit. [Clark H. Pinnock, Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit (Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1996), p. 9.]

A Prayer for Light

O Lord God Almighty, as you have taught us to call the evening, the morning, and the noonday one day; and have made the sun to know its going down: Dispel the darkness of our hearts, that by your brightness we may know you to be the true God and eternal light, living and reigning for ever and ever. Amen.  (BCP, 110)

A Collect for Mission

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen. (BCP, 101)

Daily Office Gospel, Luke 4:1-13

4:1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where 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. 3The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ 4Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.”’ 5Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ 8Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’ 9Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,” 11and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’ 12Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Daily Offices in the Book of Common Prayer

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer

Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer

Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer