{"id":2756,"date":"2019-03-10T11:34:48","date_gmt":"2019-03-10T11:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=2756"},"modified":"2019-03-10T11:39:37","modified_gmt":"2019-03-10T11:39:37","slug":"sermon-10th-march-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-10th-march-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 10th March 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sermons index<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1st Sunday of Lent – morning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sunday 10th March 2019 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lent 1 – morning
\nDeuteronomy 26. 1-11
\nLuke 4.1-13<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Maureen<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Temptations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSomething that all human\nbeings are prone to. I know I am and I am reasonably sure that all of\nyou are too! Oh, I don\u2019t mean the temptation of taking the last\nroast potato at your Sunday Lunch, or choosing the gooey creamy\ndesert over the plain fruit salad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nNo I mean the temptation to\ncut corners. To get to the end by any means possible and with the\nleast amount of effort. To do the right thing, if you will, by the\nwrong means. And when we choose this route to achieve our objectives,\nwe are very good at convincing ourselves that we have been smart or\nclever. And when things go wrong \u2013 we do anything rather than admit\nour own liability<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u2018Cheats never prosper!\u2019 my\ngranny might have said \u2013 but all too often, if our newspapers and\nthe TV are to be believed, (and it\u2019s a big \u2018If\u2019 these days),\ncheats prosper all too easily. So it\u2019s not surprising that we fall\nprey to the temptations around us in our own daily journey through\nthe wilderness of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe story in our Gospel comes\nnot long after Jesus has had direct affirmation from God that he is\nhis beloved Son and that God is pleased with him. Now the Devil comes\nalong with his \u201cIF …. you are the Son of God\u201d statements. It is\na tactic designed to sow doubt in Jesus\u2019 mind. Maybe you think that\nJesus was following some predetermined plan, but that doesn\u2019t seem\nto square with the intense self-questioning and tortured prayers that\nmark the key points in his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIt takes a real effort of will\non Jesus\u2019 part to hold to what he truly believes; we cannot be\nsurprised if it takes a real effort of will on our part to resist\ndoing things \u2013 with the best of motives \u2013 but for all the wrong\nreasons. Maybe there were other ways that Jesus could have chosen to\nfulfil his calling… but none of them would have led humanity back\ninto reconciled love and relationship with our loving Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe first temptation<\/strong>\nis for Jesus to be an Economic Messiah; feeding his people by turning\nstones into bread. The Russian author Dostoevsky, in his novel The\nGrand Inquisitor, points out that it is very difficult for people to\nlive by the word of God if they are weak from physical hunger. Christ\nshould have taken the bread option and given us freedom from hunger\nrather than freedom of choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWouldn\u2019t it be wonderful to\nhave world hunger obliterated? Why can\u2019t God act in this way?…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nExcept God has already ensured\nthat this world can produce enough food to feed all its children. We\nhave simply failed to ensure that it is distributed properly to those\nwho need it most. The rich countries of the West and increasingly\nthose countries where prosperity is growing fastest, now suffer from\nproblems of obesity : of too much food. While the poor \u2013 shamefully\nin this country as well as in the developing world overseas \u2013 go\nhungry. It is an indictment on us all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe temptation miraculously to\nproduce bread would distract from the miracle that could come when\nGod\u2019s spirit creates a generosity for the needy that will bring\nabout a redistribution of human resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe second temptation<\/strong>,\ngives us a political Messiah. Christ should have taken power says\nDostoevsky\u2019s Inquistor, but since he refused, the church has now\ntaken it in his name in order to convince us that security in an\ninstitution is preferable to freedom of choice….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWell, that has gone well,\nhasn\u2019t it?! We are all too aware how damaging it can be when people\nassume the institution and by implication its representatives, can do\nno wrong. How power can be abused and taken to force the vulnerable\nto serve the perverted desires of the strong. The reality that we in\nthe Church of England as well as in the other great Denominations are\nnow having to pour so much time, effort and money into safeguarding\nissues demonstrates how well we have done with that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAnd in the secular world the\nrise of populist politicians in so many countries is a sad reflection\nof what happens when democracy gets twisted so that it is no longer\ngovernment of the people by the people, but government of the people\nby the mob.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe third temptation<\/strong>\nis for Jesus to be a celebrity or miracle-giving Messiah, someone who\nwill play to the gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe Inquistor says that Christ\nshould have given people a miracle, for most people need to see the\nmiraculous in order to be convinced about the truthfulness of the\nChristian faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cIf you are the king of the\nJews, save yourself; Come down from the cross.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nYes, spectacle, entertainment,\nphoto opportunities sell, and if there are images of Jesus that fit\nwith someone\u2019s marketing campaign, they can be used, and no-one\nneed worry if they are divorced from what we actually know of his\nphilosophy and teaching. Appearances, images, matter more than\nsubstance; what we do and get credit for doing comes to matter more\nthan what is actually achieved. But that leaves no room for Faith…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe temptations<\/strong>\ntell us that Jesus refuses to be the Saviour we want him to be, made\nin our image. He turns away from the path of short-term gain, in the\ninterest of preserving his integrity and his true ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo as we continue our journey\nthrough Lent with him, so we will try to identify the choices and\nstrategies that he repudiates, and keep faith with him in our own\nwilderness wanderings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1st Sunday of Lent – morning Sunday 10th March 2019 Lent 1 – morning Deuteronomy 26. 1-11 Luke 4.1-13 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs Temptations. Something that all human beings are prone to. I know I am and I am reasonably sure that all of you are too! Oh, I don\u2019t mean the temptation of taking … <\/p>\n

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