Lead Us Not Into Temptation
Rev.
Finley Schaef, preaching
Park Slope United Methodist Church, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday,
February 25,
1996
First Sunday in Lent SCRIPTURE
The appointed lessons for this day are Genesis 2:15-17 & 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11.
Today's story from the Gospel is about Jesus being tempted by the devil. The story from the Hebrew bible is about temptation too: being tempted to eat forbidden fruit. That's a fairly common type of temptation, isn't it? We're always tempted to do precisely what authorities tell us not to do. Forbidden fruit is more delicious by virtue of its being forbidden.
This story about Adam and Eve is commonly referred to as the story of "the Fall" -- the fall from innocence into original sin. Without looking again at the printed word, how many of you think this story blames Eve?
...blames Adam?
...blames both of them?
When Nancy went to the Re-imagining Conference, she came back with a new story to replace this one -- she read it to us in her sermon. This story has been re-imagined by women because it places the blame for the Fall on Eve -- not entirely because the scripture does say that Adam was
"with her, and he ate."
Adam witnessed Eve's transgression and participated in it, so he must take responsibility for being a co-conspirator and a co-author of the Fall. That's why the old catechism says,
"In Adam's fall,
we sinned all."
But the overall impression is that Eve was the culprit: she lusted after the forbidden fruit and she seduced her husband into doing the same. She was a bad girl! And she -- or rather, her kind -- has been getting us into trouble, one way or another, ever since!
Don't think that these stories have no effect on human consciousness and conduct. It used to be standard for Orthodox Jewish males to pray daily, "Thank God I am not a woman." How does an attitude like this translate into real life? Not happily, I'm sure.
Men in western civilization see women as guilty for the original sin, and they often lend a hand in meting out the punishment.
The only reason you have this story before you is because it is an illustration of temptation. Otherwise we would have read the one from this book: "Genesis and Exodus According to Women" by Miriam Winter [CrossroadsPress 1995].
But before going further, let us state very clearly and emphatically, in the Bible story both male and female yielded to temptation and ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Both share equally the guilt for the fallen human condition. Nothing spoken in this sermon should be interpreted as a condemnation of women.
* * * * *
The more I thought about temptation, the more I realized that temptation of one sort or another is a common experience. This sermon is not meant to make us feel guilty for what are ordinary feelings after all.
Every moment in our lives is a moment of decision; not some times -- every moment. Therefore every moment is an occasion for yielding to temptation.
Every week in church we receive a warning. The phrase in the Lords' Prayer-- "Lead us not into temptation" -- warns us: Be aware of life's dangers! By now all of us should be aware that life is dangerous. We can get hurt-- real bad. "Lead us not into temptation" cautions us and tells us to be careful. Wrong decisions can cause us lasting injury, and hurt others as well. So whenever we make major decisions, we should make them prayerfully and not alone; we should consult with others about all major decisions.
I have come up with 2 classes of temptations: (1) the ordinary everyday kind and (2) the temptations that test the soul in the depths of our being. Here are a few examples.
Everyday temptations
to procrastinate by watching TV,
to put off doing a necessary task,
to avoid a painful situation that is important to engage,
to sedate our feelings with alcohol, and
to fall back into old prejudices (such as not liking somebody because of
his or her color or sexuality or ethnicity).
added by the congregation:
eating too much
putting the kids in front of the TV
(& many others)
"Soul" temptations are are felt day after day, sometimes year after year; they are the depth temptations, the complicated puzzles of our lives.
Despair. (Story of man at Methodist Hospital by his dying mother'sbedside).
Ignoring warning signs: being blithe and cocky and over-confident (pride goes before the fall).
Losing faith in hard times.
Being satisfied with the status quo (personal or social; not realizing thatspiritual growth happens until the day we die).
Becoming antagonistic to human beings because of overpopulation.
(At this point, the congregation was invited to write down how they are most prone to temptation. Then they were passed around and some were read aloud. They were not signed to protect confidentiality.)
Decisions make the world go round
Temptation opportunities abound
Be of pure heart and conscience sound
You may be lost but you will be found!
Amen.
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