Sunday, February 10, 2008
By pastor John Jorgenson
Matthew shares three life experiences that Jesus had and three experiences that we also know very well. One, we do not live by bread alone. Two, it is not a good idea to put God to the test. Three, we are to worship and serve God alone. What puzzles me is that we do not see the basic truths about life that Jesus taught and act accordingly.
First of all we do not live by bread alone. Now that is not new. However, it is a very practical idea, one that we can use to help give us a vision for everyday living. Now I’m not saying I do not enjoy going out for dinner. I love a good cooked meal. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy a cup of good coffee and some desert. I look forward to our coffee and refreshments as we talk every Sunday. I’m not saying I do not enjoy a visit to Shady Maple once in awhile. Those apple dumplings with warm milk are simply out of this world.
But after a few hours I know I have to find some more food of some kind. Jesus was certainly correct when He said we do not live by bread alone. Food simply lasts a few hours and then we have to go find some more. Staying alive depends on our being fed regularly. However delicious the food is, it is rather temporary and simply does not last long. And there is more to life than a cup of coffee and a donut, no matter what Dunkin Donuts says in its clever television character bouncing in the advertisements.
Rather we are to live by every word that comes from God. Certainly God is concerned that we have enough to eat. We do need to sustain the life God gave us. After all that is why God gave us access to the apple dumplings and a cup of coffee.
However, God is concerned with far more than the physical aspect of who and what we are. Yes, God gave us the body we live in. Yes, God gave us the talents and abilities we use to care for it and to enjoy sharing with one another to make a living and to express joyful feelings and satisfaction. Yes, God also gives us what we need to sustain that body throughout the life span. Yes, we are to share those gifts as well to help those who do not know God to come to know God as we do.
But the purpose, the motivation, the value for our daily life comes from God and our daily conversation in which we thank God and ask for insight into what God sees that needs doing that we have the talents and ability to do. That is another story. That is learning about temptation.
This first temptation describes a life experience we all have from time to time. Why can’t we just snap our fingers and have God do what we want? Then when we stop and consider it, we find that God is trying to teach us something that we knew from the beginning and have not considered it seriously enough. After all, this is God’s world. It is not ours. We are to care for it and we are here for such a short time. “So come on God let’s be at it,” may be our reaction. “Turn the stones into bread so I don’t have to cook. Let me impress my friends.” That may not be such a good idea. Let me explain why.
Because, secondly, it is not a good idea to put God to the test. Who in this world do we think we are and what power do we think we have over life in this world that God already has not granted us? For example, we see team members of football games praying before the game starts and returning thanks for a touchdown. Now that is fine if the prayer is for strength to play well, be fair, and not to make any mistakes. However if both teams pray to win, that puts God on the spot. Does God favor the one team over the other? What if both teams are made of devout believers and if the team members’ prayers are not answered, does that give them reason to stop believing in God? “God, you did not do as I want and as a result I will no longer believe in you or that you even exist!” I have heard that argument from time to time from a variety of people.
Now finally third, we are to worship and serve God alone, period. That too is not so easy. That depends upon our accepting the importance of faith and our acting on that faith. The actions described by Jesus in all three instances help us understand the essence of faith. We cannot survive on bread alone. We need the ideas, concepts, motivation, suggestions and purposes that lie beneath the words and actions God uses to speak to us through others as together we share our faith and what we believe through what we say and how we support what we say with our actions. Faith in God is to be shared.
Then we must also keep in mind that it is not a good idea to put God to the test. God is boss. We are here created to serve and do what God wants done. That leads us to a very close relationship with God and this close relationship is what lies behind our experience of meaningful worship. Is what I am doing what God wants done is a really difficult question sometimes. Is what I am doing what I want to do only? Hmm!
We all can recall those times when we have been awed by some event or some very significant experience. Then there are those little “aha” experiences we have that come when we least expect them, simple little understandings that lead to greater meaning for us. That is why for me anyway music is such a universal sharing experience. It can be a grand chorale in a cathedral or auditorium that simply overwhelms me with the majesty and competence. That opens the door to understand how simply Awesome our God is.
Then there are times when Megan slips in a new creative interpretation of an old familiar hymn that simply takes my breath away and I am speechless for a moment. That experience is God speaking to us through Megan as she shares with us what God has given her. There are many, many, other experiences that I have had and that you have had too where God has opened us up to new learning and sharing. I suggest that it is these events that enable, enrich and encourage a worshipful attitude on our part.
As Jesus ended His time alone in the desert away from everyone, He says to each and all of us, “Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” That we will do – together! “We serve God Only. Period!”
Amen.