Lent
March 5, 2017
Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:1-11
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.”’
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. –Matthew 4:8-11
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men. *
I tend to think of Jesus’ temptations as his vision quest in the tradition of some American Indian tribes. Young men, and women too, are sent out to be alone with the Spirit to find their calling as they transition to adulthood. At some level, all teenagers make such a quest. The key point is that we are the decisions we make.
When I first began my career, I noticed that many of the women with whom I worked were there not by the choice of pursuing a career but by the necessity of meeting their basic needs and often the basic needs of children. Some felt caught in a no win situation, doing whatever they were told for fear of losing their children’s livelihood. (A member of the Oklahoma state legislature recently was forced to resign because of sexual harassment. Among other things, he required his administrative assistant to supply him with nude pictures of herself.) I was working in pursuit of a career, single and with no children, and able early on to make the decision that I never wanted to ever be in a situation when I could not walk away from my job at any point. That decision influenced many later decisions I made about handling my finances mainly, but also being able to stand my ground for doing what was right.
Playing the game of power is a heady business and can become our god. Jesus possessed ultimate power but his task on earth, his vision, was to enable others to use their power to God’s glory advancing the influence of love throughout the world. He made three major decisions on his vision quest that set the values for his ministry: not letting the thirst for greed rule his life, not testing God, and not letting a hunger for power supersede his primary purpose. His example is a good one to follow.
Prayer: Lord help us understand that the power of love is stronger than all other forms of power, guide us in loving like Jesus. Amen.
*John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton