Skip to main content

Chocolates and Temptation

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan;
and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
( from Mark 1:9-15)

I am unquestionably a chocolate lover.

That’s why Snowflakes Chocolates in Jericho, Vt. gets a huge order of truffles, Santa faces, angels, and nonpareils for Christmas.

It’s why I scan the baked goods at coffee time for chocolate goodies.

So, it may seem when I announce to the congregation that I’m giving up chocolate for Lent, it’s a big sacrifice.

Temptations follow the announcement as folks goad me by adding chocolate items to the refreshment table.

Will I or won’t I succumb to their temptations?

I am also unquestionably one who “searches the Scriptures”, as Wesley called it.

In the pain and tumult of our times, I am longing for God to set things right.

So, I search the scriptures looking beyond chocolate to a non-chocolate reality to holy disruption where God is setting things right.

My first indication of God setting things right is Jesus’ baptism.

The heavens are torn open; a Divine voice speaks; the Spirit descends immediately casting Jesus out into the wilderness to confront Satan’s temptations.

This is a forty-day, life-or-death struggle in the wilderness of vulnerability.

Another indication of God setting things right is Jesus’ struggle in the wilderness, where wild beasts show up and Angels minister to him.

Emerging unscathed from that test and struggle, Jesus begins preaching the gospel of God saying: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news”

Jesus is announcing God’s purposes in the coming reign: the healings, the freedom from bondage to evil, forgiveness, and the call to transformation.

As I long for God to set things right, I keep my eyes on Jesus as live under God's reign, envisioning that future.

Think About It: The voice from heaven calls Jesus “Beloved.” What does Jesus’ belovedness mean to you?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walking with God

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. (from Ps.103:1-8 ) Thomas Merton, American Trappist monk, writer and theologian, once asked himself a question he immediately answered:   How does an apple ripen? The apple, by simply being in the sun, fulfills its purpose of ripening, The apple doesn't try to ripen faster, it simply allows the sun to do its work.   There is nothing it can do to ripen itself. It can’t do workouts, tighten its muscles and then suddenly be a red, ripened, juicy apple in the morning. The apple just hangs on the branch in the sun, naturally ripening, where it receives its daily nourishment. This is the basic plan for how Christians ripen in their relationship to God. The difference is that Christians don’t naturally ripen in their relationship to God, we have to place themselves where we can be nourished. The beginning place of nourishment I find most helpful is the Guide to Prayer For All Who Walk With God. The daily walk in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus, Deliverance, and Demons

"Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." (from Luke 8:26-39 ) Astrid is a streaming program I often watch. The plot is a basic cops and robbers action until the criminal is caught. The uniqueness of the program is Astrid, who is on the Autism spectrum, is brilliant at solving puzzles including connecting clues to solve the crime. Watching this program has given me a more profound insight to people living with this condition and their acceptance in society. My first-hand experience with children on the Spectrum was driving a Special Needs school bus for 6 years. With this experience, I can imagine the life the possessed man was experiencing, especially living among the tombs, bound with chains and shackles, having to live in the wilds. It was no wonder he cried for mercy. Jesus, with his power and mercy, cast the demons out and even...
Post a Comment
Read more