THE TEMPTATION OF CERTAINTY

The Fast of Lent

Lent is about fasting and feasting: fasting from self and feasting on God. At least that was my assertion in my brief homily this past week at the Ash Wednesday liturgy. Well, today's gospel is truly about the fasting aspect of lent: the desert experience, the experience of being besieged by dark forces of destruction often referred to in the bible as satan or the devil.

Fasting is about doing without, self-discipline as a means of countering the evil forces in our nation, our world, and ourselves. No one can be against this worthy endeavour, can they?

Warnings about the Fast

And yet the two biblical texts provided for Ash Wednesday, the very first day of lent, both warn about the dangers of fasting- the very thing we are urged to do in the liturgy. Do not pray as the hypocrites and do not parade your piety before others. God is far more interested in how you treat people than your pious words devoid of commitment. We must ask ourselves how our piety benefits the community and not just me.

In fact, the warning is against the very human tendency we have to make these fine lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving into "me" things whereas they are meant to be an offering to God.

We need to remember that they are an offering to God not because God just loves to see us struggling away or even suffering but because they just might open us up to loving our neighbour more which is the result that pleases God most.

God takes no delight in our Misery

God takes no delight in out misery nor is God responsible for our miser. God is not much impressed by our small attempts to be morally and spiritually better. Heck, God loves us just the same- essentially the message of Pauls's letter to the Romans which we would have read this morning,

"Everyone who has faith in him (Jesus) will be saved from shame- everyone: there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich enough for the need of all who invoke him"

Presumably invoking Jesus' name and turning one's heart to him (however inadequately this may be) is enough.

The unbeliever and the Bear

This reminds me of the story about the unbeliever which I received from a member of the parish by e-mail this week. I was pleased to receive this not only because it gives me an anecdote to break up this heavy lenten sermon but also because it gives me some insight into the high level of spiritual reading undertaken by our members during the lenten season!

An unbeliever was walking in the forest enjoying the beauty of nature and admiring what the "accident of evolution" had created. As he walked along the riverbank he heard a rustling in the bushes. He turned to look. He saw a 7foot bear charging toward him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in. He ran even faster, tears in his eyes, heart pumping frantically. Then, he tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up only to find the bear on top of him, left paw hold him down, right paw poised for the fatal blow. In absolute fright and desperation the unbeliever cried out, "O God, save me!" Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. The river stopped flowing. Then a bright light shone upon the unbeliever and a voice came out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all these years; you teach others that I don't exist; and you even credit creation to a cosmic accident, and now you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?" The unbeliever looked directly into the light and answered, "It would be hypocritical for me to become a believer under these circumstances; perhaps you could make the bear a believer?" "Very well," said the voice. The light went out. The river ran again. The sounds of the forest resumed. And then the bear brought his left paw up to his right paw, placed them together, bowed his head and spoke; "Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful."

The Faithfulness of Jesus versus the Unfaithfulness of Israel

The wonderful gospel story which is used today and always on the first Sunday in lent is the story about Jesus experience of temptation in the desert. The passage from Luke says that Jesus "was led by the Spirit in the wilderness where for forty days he was tempted by the devil"

Then follow the three great temptation scenes:

1. Jesus is tempted to turn stones into bread
2. Jesus is tempted be disloyal to God in return for all worldly authority
3. Jesus is tempted to use God's power to save himself from death by throwing himself off a Temple.

These three temptations set up a contrast between the faithfulness of Jesus against the unfaithfulness of Israel (the term of the people of God in the Hebrew bible):

1. Jesus' refusal to turn stones to bread is a refusal to succumb to fear and complaining like the Israelites during the exodus. In that situation Moses intervened and God provided manna in the desert.
   
   
2. Jesus' refusal to receive all political power from Satan is a refusal to succumb, like the Israelites, to the customs and systems of the neighbouring nations using their instruments of power: a monarchy and a standing army.
   
   
3. Jesus' refusal to throw himself off the Temple top is a refusal to the test God like the Israelites tested God at Massah.

Certainty versus Faith

For my brief homily this morning I would like to sum these temptations up under one general temptation- our temptation to seek, above all else, certainty.

Certainty is a powerful driving force in every person and society. We want to know that what is coming next is going to be okay for us. This, I believe, to be true in everything from personal anxieties about whether we are loved all the way to the defence policies of nations.

The desire for certainty is your proverbial two edged sword: the very thing we want is the very thing which is capable of destroying us.

The Certainty and Uncertainty of faith

Certainty about God's love and our salvation in Jesus Christ is the very foundation of the Church and yet certainty in religious matters often leads to fundamentalism, that is, to rigid interpretations and applications of God's word by which religious institutions justify making judgements about the salvation of people which far exceed their competence.

Certainty in politics leads to various forms of despotism because certainty expressed in political philosophy brooks no contrary opinions. Certainty in national politics leads to the development of national security systems which empires use to coerce and control even under the most enlightened regimes.

You see, the downside of certainty is that it becomes a control mechanism, a means of controlling others, because those who are certain that they hold the truth inevitably become ruthless in requiring others to accept it.

Thus, certainty in personal relationships leads to any number of intolerable ills from jealousy to stifling codes of conduct and role expectation. Certainty destroys creativity, certainty discourages intellectual and spiritual searching.

At the beginning of lent we are reminded that the way of certainty was not the way that Jesus chose to find God:

Not the certainty of daily bread but the uncertainty of a relationship with God beyond codified holy laws. Not the certainty of political power and temporal authority but the uncertainty of human freedom and justice for all. Not the certainty of having God on your side but the uncertainty of trusting in God's strength and guidance as we step into the mystery which each day brings.

For me the opposite of certainty is faith . Faith is the unproven assurance that all will be well. Faith is absolute certainty that no human construct of certainty will ever serve humanity well. Faith is the impulse which drives our hunger to know more of the mystery which is God whom we know for certain and yet do not know at all.