Scripture Passage

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon Text

That was a wonderful song. I learned that first, when I was in junior high and the choir, at an old, old church, and I said, we should do this as our communion song too. And I think that’s what they decided they’re going to do. So I think during communion time, the choir will start to sing. So, they’re not going to come up first. So on this side, you guys will start to come up. Sounds good? Thank you, Reverend Kim for, that note. I think he basically said the sermon, right. Don’t be anxious so I can go down, but I guess I’ll try to elaborate a little bit. So I have, I’ve been almost getting six, seven months into full time ministry now. And people ask me once in a while, how are you enjoying it?

I’m very honest when I say that I love it. I’ve loved pretty much every moment of it. My job requires me to reflect a little more deeply on what’s going on with people and in this world. And it’s a joy, but it can also it can be a little bit of a burden in the sense that the more I learn about people in this world, the more deeply I start to feel what people are going through. And one thing as I’ve gotten further into it, one thing that I sense is there’s a lot of anxiety in people everywhere we go. A lot of anxiety. The thing with anxiety is it’s not attributable to one thing that’s really causing it. Right? It’s just there’s a prospect, maybe, that something might happen to me. It’s generally related with an unknown future, right?

The Instinct to Survive

It’s not necessarily rational. And that’s, what’s kinda going on with this Corona virus thing, right? I feel like it’s a battle right now between irrational fear and sober assessment. So as Reverend Kim talked about, yes. You know, we should have proper knowledge of the facts and proper precautions should be taken. But the fear and anxiety is about what could happen, right? Especially as we see headlines of another new case that was discovered. There’s so much anxiety about what could happen with our health, our wealth, our children, our parents, and our future. And I think anxiety hits us when we feel vulnerable and not in control. If we delve even deeper, it’s an anxiety about our very survival. I think it comes down really to our survival. That’s why we worry about our health and the health of our ones, or about having enough money to live a decent life. We worry about physical harm that might come to us in dangerous circumstances. Or maybe it’s about social survival because we’re all social beings. It’s almost as serious as physical survival sometimes. When it comes down to our survival, we are very easily shaken.

Here’s the thing when it comes to people, when we feel safe and when we feel secure, we can all be nice. We can all feel generous. There was a great line that I really liked from that movie parasite. The husband goes, even though she’s rich, she’s nice. And this is all in Korean, right. But the wife then responds. She’s nice because she’s rich, right? Yeah. We can all be nice when things are good. When I used to run my own little law firm, I was a very generous boss times are good. We would order sushi for lunch and for our staff. We had Christmas dinners at nice restaurant. Oh, life was good. I was a great boss. But I’m not proud to admit it when times got a little lean or rather when I started to worry a lot more about money, I was like, this is not enough.

My personality changed. I started to become a little more resentful of all this money I’m spending on the employees when, from my hard labor, even though there’s less money coming in. I became more small minded and my heart changed. I have so many regrets. I do wish I can go back and just kind of say, sorry guys, for being the way I was, you know, like when our survival’s at stake, we’re not very nice people sometimes. We do whatever it takes to survive. You know, the author of Genesis writes that we were made in the image of God. The Imago Dei. That picture. But too much of what we see around us, it’s not the image of God. It’s the image of people doing whatever they need to do to survive. I meTan, we see today around the world, strong men leaders have been able to tap into people’s anxieties to garner support. I mean, we see unkind language and actions and grievances that pit one group against another, but you know what? People will accept this way of behavior, if it eases their anxiety and makes them feel a little safer in a very complex world.

But I wonder is this the way life is destined to be, are you and I, are we simply captives to the survival instinct that’s been baked into our human DNA. Is that animal side of our nature, more powerful than the Imago Dei that has been created in us? The image of God reflects the way of love, truth, justice, mercy, and grace.

But are these things just nice options when life is fine and dandy? I think these are the questions at the core of today’s passage, right? Today’s passage takes place right after Jesus’ baptism and before his public ministry begins. And I think it takes place before his ministry begins because some very fundamental questions must be asked and tested about Jesus. His baptism ended with God’s affirmation of Jesus’ identity. This is what the author says, “And when Jesus had been baptized just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were open to him and he saw the spirit of God, descending like a dove and a lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my son, the beloved with whom I am well pleased!'” (Matthew 3:16-17). What a grand affirmation of his identity. God’s own son, a lighted by the spirit of God.

Put to the Test

But this identity would be put to the test. Would being the son of God, mean anything in times of vulnerability? You see, you got to understand this. I think this was the grand drama where so much is at stake in these temptations. Up to now, the history of humanity has been one that’s always succumbed to the animal instincts of survival. And you see that even in the history of God’s own chosen people. From the very get go, when it came down to their survival, they did not trust God. After God told Abraham and Sarah that in their old age, they would have a child, they resorted it to their own power through their handmaiden to have a child. Even after God miraculously led the Israelites out of Egypt, as soon as they got to the wilderness, they grumbled about the lack of food. They did not trust God.

When all the nations around them start to have powerful Kings, they felt vulnerable and they too wanted their own Kings. They did not trust God. Rich and powerful people in Israel trusted in their own power and riches and clung to them at the expense of the poor and weak. They were not faithful to God’s way. They did not trust God. They trusted their own power. Even God’s own chosen people had failed time and time again. When the vulnerable time came, was there any way that humanity could be redeemed from its animal instincts? And that is what is going on in these temptations. Would Jesus be faithful to the way of his father, even when his own survival was at stake. Would he have trust in his father? See the three temptations, Jesus face touch upon things that are core to our survival. Food, protection from danger, and power that can ensure our own survival.

Jesus could have used his status as the son of God, to create food, to protect himself from danger and to obtain the power that would ensure his survival. His temptation was to turn away from God and use his power to protect himself first. See, if we’re truly honest with ourselves, we give our true allegiance to whatever gives us the power to survive. Money will do many things for us. We give our allegiance, there. Our health. We need our health to survive. So we’ll give our allegiance there. And social standing. We need the acceptance and respect from others. We trust in these things because they give us the power to survive.

The Faith of Christ

Jesus proved that his allegiance lay with God. I mean, through it all, Jesus would remain faithful with fidelity, loyalty, allegiance with the utmost trust and faith in his father, in God. Even when it led to death. And that faith and loyalty proved itself more powerful than survival. The Imago Dei in him prevailed over his animal instinct to survive. And so the temptations revealed who Jesus really was. Because from there on, in his life and ministry, we see Jesus’s loyalty faithfulness and trust throughout the journey, right up to his death. You know, one time when a great crowd had flock to the mountain to hear him speak, his disciples became afraid because there was no food. Their instinct was to send them away and take care of their own needs. But Jesus trusted completely in God’s provision. With only five loaves of bread and two fish, he fed 5,000 people.

God provided. He lived the will of God. He loved everyone, especially those who had been rejected and outcasted. He spoke truth to those in power, especially those who made life difficult for others. And he was not shaken when he received opposition. That opposition got greater and greater until death came knocking on his door. And even then, he refused to summon his status as the son of God, to escape death. He was faithful and trusting God, right to the end. I mean, he did want to survive. Yes. He asked if this cup can pass me by, please let it be so, but survival would not trump his pursuit of faithfulness to God’s way. He accepted the cup, and by the end, everyone, even his closest friends and his disciples abandoned him. And even as he hung on the cross, he felt as though God himself abandoned him too. But Jesus was faithful and loyal right to the end. And you know what? It was on the cross where his true identity was first recognized by others. The Centurion at the cross proclaimed, truly this man was God’s son.

His faithfulness to God and his trust in him were evidence of his identity as the son of God, not his power. It was like in these temptations, Jesus was saying to the devil, “You can give me the whole world, but you cannot give me my identity as the son of God.” Jesus’s trust and faith in God was unshakeable. And therefore the image of God in humanity was redeemed through Jesus. The Imago Dei could be more powerful than our survival instinct and how grateful I am that we have this pioneer of faith. We know that we ourselves do not have that kind of faith. I think we have desired to have it, but we know that if push really comes to shove, our faith grows so weak. And I think often we don’t really like to talk about our own faith because we know how weak it is. We feel kind of embarrassed maybe or ashamed. But here is the insight that St. Paul discovered.

The Antidote to Anxiety

It is not about our own faith. It’s all about the faith of Christ. The life changing discovery he made was that it was about the faith of Christ becoming our own. And that is what the spiritual journey was for him. One of living a life in union with this Christ, a life of discipleship so that we can have with Christ who overcame our animal instincts and where Christ’s faith becomes our own. And with the strength of that faith we carry on. This is what he said. I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. How beautiful that is. I mean, we have so many things to worry about. Anxiety is just a part of our lives and what surrounds us. I mean, how will we let the faith of Christ grow in us? As reflected on this one practical thing I would want us to do is to practice the spiritual discipline of gratitude. Gratitude. I realize that is the antidote to anxiety. What gratitude does is it opens our eyes up to God’s provision. Gratitude builds up trust in God’s protection.

And then gratitude builds up our allegiance and loyalty to God as the one who truly provides for everything we need. Gratitude is the antidote for anxiety.

During this Lenten season, let us commit to a discipline of gratitude. So pick a time each day. In the shower or brushing your teeth or commuting to work, pick something or even better yet, if you can buy a little journal for Lent, for this 40 day period of Lent. Thank God for, say thank you for how have taken care of me as Josh was sharing so wonderfully with us. Thank you for taking care of me now, even if things are difficult and I have all these anxieties. And thank you for how you will continue to take care of me. Gratitude will build up this faith that Christ had in us. Saint Paul said this in Philippians, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 4:6-7). Let us not be shaken by anxiety. Let us not let survival diminished the image of God in us. May the faith of Christ strengthen you during this Lenten season, and may his peace guard your hearts. Let us sing together.