Lent 1 sermon

Here is the sermon from yesterday's service.

Lent 1
Feb. 21, 2010
Luke 4:1-13
The war we wage

In the name of Jesus, amen. Talk of war has been common among people even though it is unpleasant. We wage war against all sorts of maladies. War on poverty, war on drugs, war on illiteracy, the global war on terror, the Cold War, class war, race war, the battle of the belly, the fight over finances, war of the sexes…war talk is all around us. If you are a sports fan, the war talk continues, especially if there is a particular rivalry you follow. The games become clashes, battles, and the athletes become gladiators on the battlefield.

But all the war talk is unpleasant because the reality dwells with us that in wars, people get hurt, maimed, and killed. Talk about war is serious, and within the Church of God, talk of war is relevant.

Our Gospel lesson for this first Sunday in Lent presents Jesus going off to battle, led by the Spirit into the wilderness where Satan would tempt and torment him for 40 days. We begin our Lenten journey by remembering that this journey is a rigorous one, engaging us in a life-and-death struggle against the forces of death itself. We are only foot soldiers, marching behind our champion. Our Lenten journey is a journey to war.

And what you and I do in this warfare is a replay of what our Israelite ancestors did in the past. God acted mightily in Israel’s past, and the Exodus event is the greatest example of God’s mighty, saving activity. Often Israel failed to trust and yet God acted on their behalf. With God’s outstretched arm and mighty hand, He fought for His people.

Jesus’ battle against temptation does perfectly what Israel failed to do when attacked: trust.

Like Israel, we are a people under attack. What are the attacks? God’s plan for marriage is under attack by those who favor the sin of same-sex marriage. Life issues are under attack by forces that are opposed to the protection of the unborn, protection of those who are disabled, and protection of the elderly and infirm. Christian morals, values, and ethics are attacked by opposing forces who continue to scream from the mountaintops that there are multiple truths, there is no objective right and wrong, and that what is true for you may not be true for me. Truth is relative and the only thing we can say with certainty is that everyone should be nice to puppies. The Church is under attack by those who look at the abuses of the Church and then think that the whole thing ought to be abolished.
Like Israel, we are people who struggle to believe. The opposing forces can speak so convincingly, so reasonably, yet so deceptively. Our minds get twisted around and we find ourselves getting tripped up. We let our guard down and we find ourselves in peril. Attacked on so many sides, we turtle, that is, we hide under our shell because that is the safe thing to do.

But we cannot escape the warfare of our journey, our journey through Lent, our journey through life. Very soon we’ll mark memorial services for two faithful soldiers- Dick and Sam, Christian soldiers who were also US soldiers. These two men followed after their champion Jesus.

For Jesus, there was no avoiding the battle. Not even Jesus could short-circuit the suffering.

Jesus is tempted by Satan to doubt his identity. If you are the Son of God, prove it by turning these stones into bread.

Jesus is tempted by Satan to bypass the road to the cross. If you want glory, simply worship me. Glory without pain. Glory without suffering. Glory without bloodshed. All of that can be yours if you only worship me.

For us, Jesus did not take the easy way out. God the Father had not promised to protect Christ Jesus from the cross and suffering. We could not anticipate Easter without the glorious gore of Good Friday. Jesus clung to the Word and trusted God.

And so the Church of God must follow Christ to war. This is such a great conundrum for Christianity, the great paradox of Christianity. Christ’s greatest glory was in dying in battle on the cross. Christ defeated Satan by allowing himself to be killed. Imagine that, glory through death, victory by being killed. Never is Christ more victorious than when he is viewed as a loser, as he hangs on the cross. Never is Christ more victorious than when he triumphantly marches out of the tomb. Never is Christ more victorious than when he offers himself to us in the body and blood of Holy Communion.

We share in this paradox of Christianity. In Holy Baptism we receive the sign of the cross from the hand of the Father. Daily we drown the old Adam and rise in the new man, for Christ is within us.

The Christian, saved, redeemed, and loved, marches into battle. And as you march, you sing, for you see victory. Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness foreshadows victory over Satan on the cross.

Psalm 91 is the soldier’s psalm, and it enlists us in the battle of Lent. The battle is raging, but we fear nothing. “I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’”

With abiding trust we live our Christian life, we march into battle, under the cross.

This Lenten journey has a goal. It is into the battle, it is to the cross, it is also to victory. The battle and the war we wage is our participation in Christ’s death, struggling daily against Satan’s slings, arrows, and assaults. And the victory is our share in Jesus’ resurrection, won for us when he overcame Satan’s temptation and suffered death. We have this victory in the new life of Holy Baptism. And we have the armor to fight on to this victory in our communion with Christ and all His saints in His Supper, the heaven on earth that we live in the Divine Service.

The war we wage is a war of love. It is a war of service and compassion, a war of fidelity and integrity to our Savior. It is a battle that ends in the victory of Christ our redeemer. SDG