[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 1A

[Joe Parrish]

Forwarded:

Dear Friends,
Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “Yield Not to Temptation” or “The Devil
Made Me Do It!” and deals with the gospel (Matthew 4: 1- 11).  Here it
is:

We just heard the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert
(Matthew 4:1-11) and we know the feeling of being tempted all too
well, because temptation is a part of our lives.  In Lent it gets even
worse as we try to stick with our Lenten commitment of giving up
something that keeps us from being the best we can be or taking on
something to deepen our spiritual lives.  You know as well as I do,
even good change is hard.  On top of it, we human beings are a
disobedient, stubborn lot!  Did you hear the story of the husband and
wife who got in an argument?  Each was giving the other the “silent
treatment.” Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would
need his wife to wake him at 5:00 A.M.. for an early morning business
flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE),
he wrote on a piece of paper, “Please wake me at 5:00 A.M.”  He left
it where he knew she would find it.  The next morning, the man woke
up, only to discover it was 9:00 A.M., and he had missed his flight.
Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him,
when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.  The paper said, “It is
5:00 A.M. Wake up.”  Do you see how stubborn and rebellious we can
be?  All we have to do is know there is something we should do, and we
don’t want to do it.  Sounds like Adam and Eve all over again.  What
did you give up for Lent?  If it’s doughnuts, I know your car just
happens to drive by the doughnut shop.  If it’s smoking, I know you
look at those cigarettes when you pay for your gas.  It’s no accident
that Jesus taught us to pray: “Lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil,” better translated: “Save us from the time of
trial, and deliver us from evil.”  Jesus came to give us life, allow
us to live our lives to the fullest.  What is the opposite of “live?”
Sure, “E-V-I-L”- what the devil wants to trick us into choosing.

As we live through Lent, 2011, here are three useful facts about
temptation and how to handle it:  (Each one comes with a story to help
us remember the Biblical concept.)
4)	THE DEVIL CANNOT FORCE US.  ALL HE CAN DO IS SIMPLY TRY TO CONVINCE
US.  Remember, Jesus is Lord.  When we’re under huge assault, it’s so
easy to forget that Jesus has overcome, so the power to overcome is in
our hands.  The trouble is- he’s a master at tricking us and we get
convinced all too easily.  Did you hear about the woman who just loved
to shop?  The problem was- both of their credit cards were maxed out,
and she had promised her husband that she would not buy anything that
was not absolutely necessary.  Well, Lent came soon after she made the
promise, and her Lenten commitment was that she would exercise every
day.  Since it was pouring rain, she couldn’t walk outside; so she
decided to go to the mall to walk and get her exercise.  “Don’t worry,
dear,” she told her husband before leaving.  “I won’t buy anything- I
promise you.”  Her walk in the mall started out just fine, but then,
as she strode past one of her favorite stores, she saw this beautiful
dress in the window.  You know what she did- stopped walking to look
at it.  She noticed that it was in her favorite color and would match
the shoes she purchased the week before.  “It won’t hurt if I just go
in the store to look.  They probably won’t have my size anyway.”  When
she checked out the rack, there was that gorgeous dress; and it was in
her perfect color and correct size.  “Wow!” she thought.  “It won’t
hurt to just try it on.  Trying it on is not the same thing as buying
it.”  You know what she did- took it into the dressing room to try it
on.  After it was on, she looked at her image in the mirror, and she
really did look good.  All of a sudden, she came to her senses and
remembered her promise to her husband.  “Get the behind me, Satan!”
she ordered.  “I’m not buying this dress!”  From behind her came a
soft voice that said- “Gee, that’s a shame.  It looks really good back
here too!”
5)	OVERCOMING TEMPTATION IS NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF EDUCATION.
ALTHOUGH WE DO NEED OUR FACTS, BUT THE REAL PROBLEM IS ONE OF THE
WILL- CHOOSING LONG-TERM WELL-BEING OVER SHORT-TERM HAPPINESS. The Old
Testament Genesis lesson of the temptation and sin of Adam and Eve is
a good example of this fact about temptation.  Their problem was not
education.  They knew the facts- don’t eat the fruit.  If they did,
they would die.  They understood what God wanted them to do.  Their
problem was not education- it was choice.  They WANTED to eat the
fruit.  It looked good, so they did what they wanted and went against
God’s teaching.
6)	BELIEVING THAT “I CAN GET AWAY WITH IT.  NO ONE WILL CATCH ME.  I
CAN OUTSMART GOD AND EVERYBODY ELSE!”…not true!  The Bible (Numbers
32:23) reminds us: “Be sure your sin will find you out.”  Do you
remember the story of the two lovers?  It was Valentine’s Day, and the
young couple was in love.  The problem was- they were college
students, and they had an important test scheduled for that morning.
They decided to forget about the class just this once, make a good
excuse, and hope the instructor would let them make up the test; so
they took a long drive.  When they went to class the next day, they
told the instructor that they had a flat tire, so they couldn’t get to
class.  She replied with sympathy and said they could take the test
right then.  As soon as they were ready to write, she said, “Now the
first question: which tire was flat?”  (i.e. short term happiness over
long term well-being.)  The Rev. Dr. Anthony Evans reminds us: “Used
improperly, credit cards operate a lot like sin: enjoy now, pay
later.”

What should we remember about temptation this Lent, 2011?
4)	From the wife trying to overcome the temptation to buy the dress:
THE DEVIL CAN’T FORCE US.  ALL HE CAN DO IS TRY TO CONVINCE US.”
5)	From Adam and Eve and the first sin: THE OVERCOMING TEMPTATION IS
NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF EDUCATION.  ALTHOUGH WE DO NEED OUR FACTS, THE
REAL PROBLEM IS ONE OF THE WILL- CHOOSING LONG-TERM WELL-BEING OVER
SHORT-TERM HAPPINESS.
6)	From the lovers trying to out-smart their teacher: BE SURE YOUR SIN
WILL FIND YOU OUT.

May God bless us as we keep a holy Lent full of life-giving spiritual
growth.

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American
wisdom statements are posted on our NEW PARISH WEB SITE. The address
is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.com .

Blessed preaching.
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan


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