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A Sermon on Luke 4:1-13 for Lent 1 (RCL, Cycle C) - 29. February 2004
By Samuel D. Zumwalt, St. Martin's, Austin TX
(->current sermons )


Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting. Jesus spent one day for each year that the people of Israel spent wandering in the wilderness after God's prophet Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt . Because Jesus spent 40 days of fasting in the wilderness while being tempted by the devil, the Church has, for centuries, observed 40 days of Lent (excluding Sundays) prior to the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

That's what most Christians have done for centuries. They've had their Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday – a day to get rid of the carbohydrates and the alcoholic beverages from the house by having one huge party. Then on Ash Wednesday, they have gone to God's house to confess their utter brokeness before God. They have been marked with ashes and heard the words, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return."

For the next 40 days, Christians have denied themselves the pleasures of desserts, breads, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, one meal each day, etc. During Lent they have worshiped more frequently, prayed more often, been more generous, and have sought to be less selfish. All the while the Church has reminded itself that Christ was tempted in every way but remained without sin. He denied himself, took up his cross, and was crucified for the sins of the whole world.

Lent was a time to go into the wilderness with Christ, a time to resist the temptations of the devil with Christ, and a time to die and rise with Christ at the end of the 40 days. In short, Lent was a renewal of baptism – a time to renounce the forces of evil, the devil, and all his empty promises. Lent was a time to lose the old selfish life and find a brand new life in Jesus Christ.

But, I ask you, has Lent outlived its usefulness? Is it outdated? After all, hasn't Mardi Gras or Carnival become a weeklong celebration of unbridled selfish pleasure? How sorry are most people going to be that they went to the parties? Come on, not very many! Hasn't Lent, if it's observed at all, become sort of a catch up for broken New Year's resolutions to lose weight before the season of swimsuits, shorts, and sundresses?

Who wants to be reminded that we're going to die? Who wants to feel guilty about the pleasures of our lives? Who wants to feel guilty about breaking promises and not keeping vows? Who wants to feel guilty about hanging on to vices? And why are they vices anyway? Why should we have to examine how much of a foothold alcohol or drugs has in our lives? Why should we think about giving up something we like? And when preachers talk about money, isn't it just a ploy to get your money for their own use?

Come on, use your brains. Isn't all that talk just a tired old bourgeois morality? Isn't it just a sad attempt to get people to act like Puritans for a few days? What's the use in giving up things and denying oneself? Wouldn't it all be better if everyone paid more attention to politics or economics or something useful? Maybe Marx was right. Maybe religion really is just an opiate for the masses. Maybe it keeps us distracted from what really matters – making sure that we all get what we really want out of life! Now that's a worthy goal. What if the Church spent 40 days helping people to be more self-interested?

I ask you, why observe Lent? You have to admit that Lent is based upon what most people would consider to be a ridiculous premise. Come on, who believes in devils and demons anymore? Sure, Martin Luther threw his bottle of ink at the devil. But wasn't that just another sign of mental illness? A battle between Jesus and the devil would make a great video game or a blockbuster movie. But that's just entertainment.

Yes, I'll admit the world has its share of mean people. But today we know all about psychoses and chemical imbalances and poor role models and abusive parents. As dysfunctional as most families are, isn't it a wonder that there aren't more mean people? Isn't it amazing how civil most people are despite coming from really sick families?

So wouldn't it be better for the Church to spend 40 days encouraging people to celebrate themselves? Isn't that really a better way of telling the story of Jesus' time in the wilderness? Jesus wrestled his personal “demons” (we really need to come up with a better word than that), and he emerged a more self-confident and goal-oriented person.

Of course, there's more work to be done with Jesus. He does need a 21 st century makeover. We need to forget about all those quotes about denying yourself and losing your life. What we really need to say is that Jesus meant we are to let go of anything that gets in the way of getting what you want out of life. That's why the Church really does need to get rid of the cross as its brand. That's so negative. Bleeding and dying to save the world, who needs that? That's not what made Jesus historically important. He became more, shall we say, “godlike” (we really do need to come up with a better word than that), and he became his own person. Jesus is really a metaphor for self-fulfillment.

Remember if Lent is going to sell the Church is going to have to appeal more to a person's self-interest. Personally I think most church music runs the gamut between dreary and sappy. If only the Church would get rid of themes like sin, guilt, death, self-denial, God, and the really stupid ones like devil and demon, then it could capture more imaginations. If Lent is going to sell, the Church is going to have to focus more on what a person can get out of Lent. Remember it needs to be 40 days focused on yourself.

Imagine the power of 40 days focused on yourself. If only the Church could get everyone to be more self-interested and more self-fulfilling, then imagine a world like that. Everyone would try to outdo each other in getting what they really want. I tell you I think the Church could take a greater share of the market. All that's needed is to give Jesus a 21 st century makeover losing all the negative stuff, and people would buy!

I have to tell you the Church is well on its way. You've got Bible scholars that say Jesus is just a metaphor and not really God's Son. You've got Bible scholars that vote on which words Jesus really said and which he didn't. You've got churches that have no crosses and insist on helping people to get what they want out of life. And any number of preachers (if you didn't quote them on record) would say that Mary wasn't a virgin, that Jesus' body is still in Palestine , and baptism is unnecessary. Yes, by the middle of the 21 st century, Jesus could at last be just a great man that spent his life demonstrating the importance of getting what you want – personally, politically, and philosophically. I tell you maybe by then the Church can finally go out of business.

Oh, by the way, you really shouldn't read too much of Luke. He tells stories about how people that are self-interested lose their land by killing the owner's son (Luke 20) and people that drop dead for lying about keeping some money for themselves (Acts 5). It just keeps on reminding you that Jesus and Christianity and Lent really do need a 21 st century makeover. Folks don't want crosses and denial. They want what they want!

Samuel D. Zumwalt
St. Martin's Lutheran Church
Austin TX
szumwalt@saintmartins.org

 

 


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