Readings for Lent 1A:
Genesis 2:4-3:7; Matthew 4:1-11
February 17, 2002
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
Every human being worships at some altar. It may be at the altar of God or it may be at the altar of pleasure, power, or wealth. Human life always has a reference point, something that is central and determining. What is that for you? How do you spend your time, money, and efforts? According to James Fowler (the psychologist whose work we studied during last year's Lenten program), all people align themselves to centers of value and power. Whether these centers of value and power are spiritual or purely materialistic, faith in them as the ultimate concern of life drives, directs, and motivates our behavior.
The spiritual hunger in America is a reflection of "faith" relationships centered on material concerns rather than on spiritual truths. Christ's admonition that one cannot live by bread alone speaks directly to this point. The hunger that drives the search for spirituality in America has several sources. One source of this famine of the soul is the absence of a meaningful relationship with God. Another source of spiritual hunger is the deeply felt need for hope and healing. A third source of spiritual hunger is found in those who have felt, however briefly, the divine presence and want to experience more of it. There is absolutely no need for hunger is this world- either physical or spiritual. There is plenty of food on this planet. Unfortunately, it is not distributed justly. There is plenty of spiritual nourishment available for the journey towards wholeness. Unfortunately, people are looking in the wrong places to be fed.
In today's gospel story, we observe the drama of Jesus' struggle between centers of values and power that are materialistic and "the center" of value and power that is God. In this drama, Jesus is tempted by bodily pleasure, power, and wealth, the key temptations in life that plague us all. Unfortunately, these centers of value and power can corrupt and destroy the creatures of God when they become the ultimate concern of life. Let's take a closer look.
The first area that Jesus struggles with is the never-ending demands of the body. Our bodily sensations are always making demands on us to stop what we are doing to alleviate the sensation. For instance, our body sends messages to the brain when it is hungry, tired, irritated, or hurting. It is important for us to respond to those messages so that the body can remain healthy. But for many of us, these messages have become distorted and taken over our life, perhaps due to a wounded childhood, an empty void, or poor life-style choices. These bodily sensations can become hysterical, demanding more and more time and substance. This is known as "craving"; craving for what we want, not what we need. Cravings can turn into addiction and once addiction takes over, we loose our freedom to make healthy choices. We become enslaved to the craving. And while we are in this state, we are nor longer free to choose to be the person God created us to be.
I recently read an article claiming that over a third of the people in America are obese. The greatest increase in obesity in the last few years are among children between the ages of 6-12. The #1 cause of this obesity is due to poor eating habits, particularly fast food. While processed sugar, fat, and salt are needed in small amounts, they cause cravings and addictions to develop when eaten in large amounts. And once these cravings take hold, they become very hard to break. As a result, many of these children are beginning to show signs of diabetes, a debilitating disease that destroys blood vessels, kidneys, and eyesight.
There are other bodily demands that lead to cravings. They include the insatiable need to experience pleasure, the constant desire for comfort, or the need to experience a state of "being high" or drunk. The problem with being controlled by cravings and addictions is that we are no longer free to choose what is best for us or for this planet. For instance, in order for us to satisfy our ever-present demands for pleasure, we buy things that hurt the environment or spend enormous amounts of money on ourselves instead of sharing it with those in need. Jesus said: "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Mt. 4)
The second area that Jesus struggled with is the issue of power. When the drive for power becomes strong, distorted thoughts take over. Distorted thinking allows us to justify our actions to obtain a goal even if that goal can cause harm. When power is used purely for personal gains, it can lead to selfishness, arrogance, and a feeling of invincibility. We only need to look at the Enron scandal to get a glimpse of power gone awry. Sharon Watkins, an Enron vice-president, recently testified against the power hungry executives of her company. She said that those at the top were unable to sense the approaching disaster because of the arrogance and feelings of invincibility that came with their power.
But we don't have to look at the extreme example of Enron to get a glimpse of the misuse of power. Those who are in positions of power often treat those in lesser positions with less respect or even worse, do not even know they exists. Oftentimes a spouse will dominate, showing a lack of regard for the other spouse's opinions or feelings. When we turn to centers of power that are not from God, thoughts become distorted, people get hurt, and our society is worse off because of it. In today's gospel, Jesus was tempted to use whatever powers he possessed to satisfy his own needs rather than rely on the power of divine grace for nurture and support.
Finally, Jesus struggled with the promise of wealth. I believe that this is the greatest struggle in Silicon Valley. We live in a potential gold mine and like the miners that came to California some 150 years ago, that gold is quite a temptation. There is nothing wrong with gold; it serves a very useful purpose. With money, we can take care of ourselves, providing the necessary food, clothing, and shelter. But the question becomes, "How much is enough?" What will we compromise in order to get it? Jesus was tempted by all the splendor of the world. In order to get it however, he would need to turn his gaze away from God and worship the god of materialism. In other words, he would have to sell his soul. Many in Silicon Valley have readily sold their integrity, their quality of life, and their family to feast at the altar of wealth. In the beginning, its nectar is delicious. But in the end, we loose our humanity.
The spiritual hunger in America is a reflection of "faith" relationships that are centered on material concerns rather than on spiritual truths. The good news is that we can turn away from the power that these material concerns have over our lives, and allow the Spirit of God to empower us to face our trials. This is known as repentance. It is also know as true freedom.
What drives, directs, and motivates your behavior? Where do you spend your time, your money, and your efforts? Each pilgrim on the spiritual journey needs to answer this question before repentance is possible. We cannot turn away from idolatrous centers of value and power unless we are aware of their impact on our lives. Repentance is making a conscious decision to say "no" to the temptations that corrupt us. Repentance is about putting on "the mind of Christ", a mind where cravings, distorted thinking, and the selling of one's soul for money no longer have power over us.
This new life in Christ requires a life of prayer, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, insight, and discipline. For the Christian, this life of discipline is summed up in the life and teachings of Jesus. For the Buddhist, this life of discipline is summed up in the Eightfold Path: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. This eightfold path aims at promoting and perfecting the three essentials of Buddhist disciple: Ethical Conduct, Mental Discipline, and Wisdom. Either way, this desire to become the beautiful person that God created us to be is summed up in today's psalm: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Ps. 51)
| Updated 2/17/02 |
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