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What is the cost of our faith? Rom 10:8b-13 and Lk 4:1-13 1st Sunday in Lent.
St Paul makes it sound simple: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Confess the Lordship of Christ and believe that he was raised from death. As Paul goes on to say, the two go together: if you believe in your heart you will confess it with your mouth. There is the simplicity of becoming a disciple of Christ. It’s free but it costs everything you have. Much like a marriage commitment. The Dean and I recently met with five engaged couples preparing to make that commitment in this church later this year. They believe in their hearts this is the new life they want (well I hope they do!) and will confess it publicly with their lips on their wedding day. Then they will make promises to each other, ‘till death us do part’. For a baptised person promising to be faithful to Christ it is similar, except that you could say that is ‘till death us do join you – fully and finally!’ These couples are freely entering into a commitment, but it costs everything they have. And we were sharing with them something of what the cost is: a life-long work of taking the wishes and needs of your partner into account; learning to listen, to adapt, to compromise, to forgive and be forgiven. Much like the work of living as a baptised Christian. Confessing the Lordship of Jesus is not a one-off thing at our baptism – we will do just that shortly in the Creed. But how does it work out in our daily lives? What does our faith in Christ cost us? A good question to ponder in Lent. As with a marriage partner, it means learning to listen to what Christ might be saying to us (even if it’s uncomfortable) and being willing to adapt to any changes He may be nudging us to make.
Let’s first consider the Christians in Rome Paul who was writing to. What did their faith in Christ cost them? Every Roman citizen was to proclaim ‘Caesar is Lord!’ – allegiance to the all-powerful emperor was expected. So to declare ‘Jesus is Lord’ was dangerous. It was treason, punishable by death; and many Christians were martyred, usually by cruel methods. Making Jesus your Lord was a free choice but it cost everything, even your life, because (as Jesus says) you cannot obey two masters. And maybe a question for us in Lent is this: ‘Are there allegiances in my life that compromise my allegiance to Christ?’ I.e. are there things, things which have power and influence over me that are not compatible with following Him? This was a question that even Jesus had to face as he began his mission. (Here you may like to refer to the Gospel passage again from Luke 4).
For Jesus to be Lord, he needed to establish his Lordship over the forces that might deflect him from His Father’s will.
Firstly there were the pangs of hunger, tempting him to use his power to meet his own needs. Turning stones into bread is not a temptation I face, but I am tempted all the time to use my resources for myself rather than ask how they might be used to build God’s Kingdom, a kingdom of justice and plenty for all. Yes I know the squiggerly logo on the pack tells me that the food growers have been paid a fair wage and can provide better for their families, but the product costs more than the others on the shelf nearby, without that Fairtrade mark. What does my faith cost me?
Then there is status. Like us, Jesus also had the desire to be recognised, to be honoured, to make a difference. And working with the earthly powers of this world could bring that about. No, said Jesus, my allegiance is to the Father; my commitment is to serving Him so that His will may be done on earth in the way it is in Heaven. It’s about letting the values of God’s kingdom transform the way things are done on earth, rather than allowing corrupt earthly values to weaken the work of God. What does my faith cost me? Maybe my pride, my personal ambition and acclaim in favour of humble foot-washing.
And the final temptation, for Jesus to throw himself down and see if God will save him. Yes, I too am tempted to doubt God’s care for me, and may ask him to prove it. Lent is a time to remember that we’re called to live by faith, to trust the Love God has for us. Yes, believing that can hard at times, especially when we are going through testing times; we naturally want some evidence of His love for us. That’s when we can allow God once again to direct our gaze to the Cross and ask if we still want more proof of His love.
And so in these three tests, Jesus proved His Lordship. He made good his commitment to His Father’s will. In the wilderness he established his authority over his own appetites, his desire to be effective in influencing others and his longing to be sure of His Father’s care. Jesus is Lord over these forces and as my Lord can help me do the same. And something has struck me about the way Jesus wins his tests. It’s different from how I often approach challenges.
Let’s see if I can explain… think for a moment about the person you are closest to. It may be your husband/wife or partner but it may not. Here’s the question… do you always feel like taking them into account? When it’s your turn to do the dishes, feed the dog, put out the rubbish (or whatever) do you jump up and down with uncontrollable joy and delight in the task? Possibly not. But you do it. Why? Because you have made a commitment and it’s the right thing to do. Love is about a decision of the will to act in the interests of the other, whether or not the feelings of love are there. I don’t suppose Jesus felt like turning down each of the three offers Satan made to him – they were highly attractive. But he did. He drew on his knowledge of the Scriptures and then he acted. It was precisely because he WAS the Son of God that he did what His Father wanted, even though he felt like giving way. In any relationship it is the way we act which expresses our commitment to it. So I want to make a suggestion. If in the past during Lent you have found it hard to be reflective, to meditate, to pray, to hear what God is saying then let me offer you a way forward. The aim of all that is to bring our will more into line with God’s. So how about acting in accordance with allegiance to Christ whether or not you feel like it? I believe that as we set our will to doing the right thing and act, we rob the forces of evil of their power over us. I would like to finish by offering three ways of doing this. None of these may appeal to you and you may find your own. But these are in line with the mission of Jesus, which he spells out in the passage that follows in Luke 4. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.’
So here’s the first suggestion.
In your small envelope is a tea bag and a leaflet. The leaflet explains ‘The Big Swap’ – the theme for this year’s Fairtrade fortnight which starts tomorrow. So the challenge is to find a least one product that from now on you will buy as Fairtrade. It may be tea or one of 3,000 other products.
Second suggestion. Because climate change damages the poor most of all, make one change to reduce your carbon footprint. The C of E and Tearfund have produced this leaflet “…” offering over forty ways to cut carbon this Lent; copies are on the Fairtrade Stall.
Third suggestion. Take the ‘Count your blessings’ challenge from Christian Aid. You may have read a disturbing letter from CA. Because of the recession, which of course is a Western failing, the poorest people of the world are suffering most. CA has had to make over one hundred of its staff redundant and cut back on the life-saving projects they support. Using this calendar/book-mark is a simple way of avoiding further cuts. I have ordered enough for everyone here, so please sign the list at the back if you’d like one.
So three possibilities: The Big Swap, The Carbon Fast and Count your blessings. ‘He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor’. Jesus is Lord. By taking some action this Lent I am saying ‘I will not let money lord it over me, I will not let my convenience or comfort, my likes or dislikes lord it over me; I will allow Jesus to be Lord over me, not just on my lips but in my heart and in my actions. May the Spirit of the Lord be upon you and I this Lent to transform us and to transform the world. Amen. |