Bishop’s Musings: First Sunday in Lent

The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb in his book, Faith in the Face of Empire (Diyar Publisher, 2014), refers to the temptation of Christ in the wilderness as an example of the lure of power exercised in military and economic might. When the devil takes Jesus to a high place and shows him all the kingdoms of the earth, promising “all this I will give you if you if you will bow down and worship me,” he presents Jesus an opportunity to join those in power, to have power over others. Pastor Raheb sees this story as a coded message not to ally oneself with the powers and principalities of this world, those who too often use violence and fear as instruments of control. To bow down in worship of the devil is to say yes to coercion and brute force and to the systems that oppress and persecute those who do not fit the empire’s mold.

The temptations of the devil take many forms, all of which encourage a focus on ourselves over against our neighbors. We are told to “look out for number one” and “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.” In the devil’s world, those who suffer, who cannot feed themselves, who lack clothing or shelter, are worthy of abuse because their weakness is seen as God’s rejection. A strong military, and economic power, on the other hand, indicate divine blessing.

Thus, when Jesus tells the devil, “Get away”—words remarkably like those with which he will rebuke Peter—he outright rejects the idea that God takes the side of empire. By refusing to turn stone into bread, by not testing God, and by refusing worldly power, Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets by once again locating God in the midst of weakness rather than power. In this temptation story, Jesus places himself among the hungry, the poor and the oppressed, just where we will find him at his crucifixion. God raising him from the dead vindicates his choice, delivering a firm statement that God indeed stands against the powers of the world.

For the many who have chosen to practice a Lenten fast, giving up something for the season, I pray your fast will bring you closer to those whom God has chosen. This is what it means to pray the words, “Your kingdom come.” We want God’s kingdom, a kingdom in which the wolf (empire) and the lamb feed together and the lion (superpowers) eats straw like the ox (Isaiah 65:25); a kingdom in which no one exercises power over another but where the command to love one another is lived in its fullness.

O God, your kingdom comes on its own without our prayer, but we ask that it comes for us as well. Grant us your Holy Spirit, so that by the Spirit’s grace we may believe your Word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity. (Luther, Small Catechism, adapted by Chris L. Halverson, Read, Reflect, Pray: A Lutheran Prayer Book (Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2013)