On this first Sunday in Lent, we join Jesus in the wilderness, a place of wild and dangerous things, of testing and temptation away from the security of home. God, rescue us in the wilderness. Once again, we watch and listen as Satan throws out temptation upon temptation, and we find our security in Jesus who does not waver from the truth. [00:02:21] (28 seconds) Edit Clip




Once again, we face our own frailty and realize that the wilderness is not nearly as dangerous as our choices to prioritize selfish gain and hoarding of power. God, rescue us through the wilderness. Once again, we call upon God in the wildernesses of our lives, and we trust God's faithful reply. [00:02:50] (24 seconds) Edit Clip




Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread. [00:11:13] (26 seconds) Edit Clip




Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, To you I will give their glory and all this authority, for it has been given over to me, and I may give it to anyone I please. If you then will worship me, it will all be yours. [00:12:02] (23 seconds) Edit Clip




I would say that one of the temptations of this passage is to read it only as being limited to our personal spiritual invitation to enter into our own wilderness and wrestle with the sins that beset us. And that is part of it. But when we delve into this entire passage, it reveals at its heart that it is a call to resist imperial delusions and political empires. [00:14:07] (32 seconds) Edit Clip






Bread, power, and protection were not three separate entities in Jesus' world. They were all connected. They weren't theoretical inducements. This was a single temptation presented in three steps. Caesar was ruler of not just Rome, but the world at the time, the Napoleon of his time, and more. Rome had more territory than Napoleon ever got. [00:15:24] (36 seconds) Edit Clip




All of the kingdoms and realms of the Mediterranean were under Caesar's power, his sway, and all its inhabitants were required to worship Caesar. Caesar, he maintained control of this huge, diverse, extensive empire in a couple of different ways by providing bread and protection. [00:16:00] (28 seconds) Edit Clip




In the past, when I looked at this, my studies of the various words were directed to some sort of theoretical Caesar and some sort of non-literal sort of empire. I looked at it as an allegory, as maybe not quite a myth, but as a symbolic tale. Little did I imagine that the next time I came around to Luke's version of this, we'd be living in a world where actual Caesars stride across the planet in acting plans for their empires. [00:18:13] (36 seconds) Edit Clip




This story insists that we are not only misled by vague, spiritualized sins. Our wrongs are not merely personal. We, corporately and communally, are being forced to cooperate with desires and actions identified in Jesus' own temptation as some of the most destructive evils in human history. [00:29:47] (24 seconds) Edit Clip




Lent isn't about repenting only for our private sins and getting our individual souls in shape for heaven. It is about standing with Jesus over and against the satanic enticements of empire and to worship any Caesar who sets himself up as a god. This Lent, this Lent, it is a turning point for everyone. [00:30:38] (31 seconds) Edit Clip




Follow the one we know to be true. Follow the light and the grace and the love of Jesus. Amen. I mourned Sandy yesterday, so she knew what was coming. We have a prayer now, a prayer for transformation and new life. Let us pray together. [00:33:58] (37 seconds) Edit Clip

You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you.

Well, good morning. I'm going to start on time. We're pretty much on time, and it's an exciting day. We have our annual meeting following our service, and we have potluck with that. So it should be a lovely day.

Let's begin with our call to worship.

On this first Sunday in Lent, we join Jesus in the wilderness, a place of wild and dangerous things, of testing and temptation away from the security of home.

God, rescue us in the wilderness.

Once again, we watch and listen as Satan throws out temptation upon temptation, and we find our security in Jesus who does not waver from the truth.

God, rescue us in the wilderness.

Once again, we face our own frailty and realize that the wilderness is not nearly as dangerous as our choices to prioritize selfish gain and hoarding of power.

God, rescue us through the wilderness.

Once again, we call upon God in the wildernesses of our lives, and we trust God's faithful reply.

Those who love me, I will deliver. I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them. I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Now please join me in this responsive opening prayer.

Welcome home, beloved children of God.

Gathered in God's arms, we come to worship.

Sheltered in God's love, we come to grow in love.

Abiding in God, we seek solace and comfort.

Even as God sends us on wilderness journeys, we trust that God is with us, guiding and protecting our days. May we be worthy of our calling and help others find their way. Amen.

Our first song today is "Wilderness Wandering People." Some of us know this from several years ago. It seems a fitting song for the beginning moment. Thank you.

So, passing the peace. Welcoming one another. Yay! Peace. Yay, Sandy's here today. Yay! Yay! Yes, we pass the peace, and we welcome one another.

Announcements.

Today is our annual meeting right after worship. We will be taking a look at our budget and our possible slate of officers and hearing some reports from some of our folks. So that's all that is. And last year, I think we were pretty efficient with it. We went in, we got our food, we had our meeting, and we were done.

So let's see if we can be efficient, but nonetheless conscientious about the things that we are listening to, learning about, and deciding upon.

We have our usual events every week still, rehearsals on various nights, Cub Scouts.

Next Saturday coming up is the Southland Wind Ensemble concert. Our meeting is free. Thank you.

And George, wherever you are, you better get here for the meeting. So hopefully you're listening to us online and you're on your way.

All right. So that's about it for our announcements. You can check these in the bulletin for more information. But let's go ahead and take a look at our video, "The Temptation of Jesus." Come and see.

All right. Let's go on and sing our Gloria to hear our reading.

Glory.

Today we will hear our Gospel reading from Luke chapter 4, verses 1 through 13.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.

The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread."

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority, for it has been given over to me, and I may give it to anyone I please. If you then will worship me, it will all be yours."

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you to protect you, and on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

So, Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

May we hear and understand.

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

The lessons today of our readings.

Well, it's the first Sunday of Lent, and usually, I give a sermon about our individual journeys, our worries about temptation, our need for repentance, our need for introspection, and all of that is still present. However, this year, I chose to read this story in the context of the news.

My inspiration for that comes from Karl Barth. Karl Barth, who insisted that the Bible and the newspaper should be read together. And frankly, today, this ancient story about the devil is exceedingly relevant.

I would say that one of the temptations of this passage is to read it only as being limited to our personal spiritual invitation to enter into our own wilderness and wrestle with the sins that beset us. And that is part of it.

But when we delve into this entire passage, it reveals at its heart that it is a call to resist imperial delusions and political empires.

I've studied this text a whole lot in my life. Clear back from when I was, oh, maybe 11 or 12 and would have enjoyed that cartoon that we saw. And I've come to an understanding, at least for my understanding, that these three temptations, bread, power, and protection, were actually a single lure.

Through these three, Satan entices Jesus to make himself into some kind of...kind of new Caesar. Remember, Caesar was where the power was at that time.

Bread, power, and protection were not three separate entities in Jesus' world. They were all connected. They weren't theoretical inducements. This was a single temptation presented in three steps.

Caesar was ruler of not just Rome, but the world at the time, the Napoleon of his time, and more. Rome had more territory than Napoleon ever got. All of the kingdoms and realms of the Mediterranean were under Caesar's power, his sway, and all its inhabitants were required to worship Caesar.

Caesar maintained control of this huge, diverse, extensive empire in a couple of different ways by providing bread and protection.

From roughly 20 CE to the 6th century CE is the new and fangled thing for what we used to call AD. Okay, so from roughly 20 CE to the 6th century, Caesar's empire supported a bread dole to hundreds of thousands of people.

This distribution of grain to the poor guaranteed the stability of the state because it's really hard to rebel against the power that feeds you. We've all heard that saying, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

So that's it. And the Roman military was a huge, skilled, fearsome, powerful force that conquered territories and then also protected the lands that were under imperial authority.

If Caesar ruled over you, you were at least secure from other foreign threats. Bread and safety. Security.

And part of the web of Roman power.

So was Jesus being tempted to be like Caesar, being enticed to replace the evil of Rome with a good political system, one headed by a decent Jew like him, a man inspired to love and liberate people?

Well, he'd be a better Caesar than Caesar, right? He was called by God to announce the realm of God here on earth. Wasn't that his job?

Well, Jesus said no.

In the past, when I looked at this, my studies of the various words were directed to some sort of theoretical Caesar and some sort of non-literal sort of empire. I looked at it as an allegory, as maybe not quite a myth, but as a symbolic tale.

Little did I imagine that the next time I came around to Luke's version of this, we'd be living in a world where actual Caesars stride across the planet enacting plans for their empires.

We are in the wilderness.

I saw a picture of a banner that was recently displayed, I mean, within the last month or two, at the CPAC, CPAC, I don't know, Conservative Political Action Committee, is that what it stands for?

They had a conference in Washington. And this banner was reported on and shared by a lot of news organizations, including NBC News. I didn't put the picture up because I didn't want to disturb you too much.

But the picture is one of those, you know those banners that have a floor holder and they come up like this? They're about five, six feet tall. They're a couple feet wide. It shows a, what looks like a Roman bust type profile face of our president, only he's thinner and stronger looking.

And at the top, there's a presidential seal, but instead of the presidential seal, it says "third-term project." And at the bottom, it says "for Trump 2028." It has an ellipse of three dots. And then it says "and beyond."

This disturbed me. I'll just say that.

The wilderness we're in isn't... It's not the kind of thing where you go off to the mountain for a spiritual retreat in the forest, in the hills. We are in a spiritual, social justice, political wilderness.

In Jesus' time, the wilderness was a place that was beyond, outside of civilization. And that's where Satan met him with this series of temptations that all involved testing the boundaries between empire and the kingdom of God.

And yes, they are political temptations. Bread was political. Power. Offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. That's obviously political. And protection. The ultimate blessing of the Roman military emerged as some sort of divine protection racket.

Well, worship me and we'll make sure you're protected. You can be up on this pinnacle and nothing will happen.

Right now, they're not just spiritual, are they? They're not just symbolic, and they're not just something that we read about and say, "Gee, I wonder if this is a true story or just a fairy tale."

They're not. Each of these temptations are actual headlines here and now. Not just in the U.S., in the whole world. Because what we do here affects the world.

They've been enacted by a contemporary wannabe Caesar. We've seen tariff threats directed at the American food supply, especially as many of our agricultural imports come from Canada and Mexico.

We see cuts to U.S. aid that have undermined our own American grain farmers. And we've seen the shutting off of health and science research, which limits the ability to track illnesses and is causing an inflationary cycle in food prices.

All of these moves impact the food supply. This Caesar wants to control bread.

Satan said bread. Bread for you. You can have all the bread you can eat. All the bread I control.

What else? This Caesar has imperial ambitions. He wants to expand the boundaries of the United States. He wants to add new territories. He's renamed locations to reflect an imperialistic American colonization.

And he even threatens to make Canada a 51st state. Right now he's fighting with them about boundaries that were established by treaties over a century ago.

These other countries who our Caesar considers weaker and he considers they drain the strength from the nation. He wants to, instead of honoring our word as a nation, he's forming alliances with authoritarian states. And they already have their own Caesars.

Satan said, "All power and glory will be yours. All the most powerful will worship you. Bend the knee before you. You will control the world." Power.

And this Caesar is trying to command the attention of the world.

I used to think that third thing, the pinnacle, was only about safety and protection. But I'm wondering something else this year.

Mostly because I know a little bit about the pinnacle of the temple. This was the place of the final temptation. That pinnacle was a platform at the top of the southwestern corner of the temple mount.

Every day, a priest would mount the platform and blow a trumpet to direct everyone's attention in the city and the surrounding area to prayer. It would call several times a day. It was called the place of trumpeting.

One archaeologist said it was a very visual, very public, very well-known and significant place for marking the religious rhythms of the spiritual life of the Jews.

The third temptation was to command the attention of everybody, to trumpet from the platform through some sort of miracle so that they might worship him and him alone.

You see, this Caesar wants to command the attention of the world. Every single day, several times a day, he mounts the trumpet pinnacle, think of that as X, and blows the trumpet, signs some sort of new executive order to draw our worship and our attention to him.

Sometimes they are false flags. Draw our attention. Create a big issue. And then pull back. And you've solved it. In the meantime, you've been doing something else you didn't call attention to.

Even when he makes a mistake or says something completely inane or false, throwing himself off the temple, right? People are being rescued. Nothing seems to touch him. Everyone stops and stares. Some in wonder, some in horror.

The emphasis isn't safety. The emphasis here for this pinnacle is on admiration and controlling the public narrative.

Food. Empire. Attention. The trumpet. The pinnacle.

Caesar wants us to be beholden to him. Caesar wants all the kingdoms of the world beholden to him. Caesar wants all eyes and hearts to behold and worship him.

The test is Caesar becoming God.

So as frightening as this sounds and as different than usual this is for me to speak about, we are now living inside of this story. The context isn't ancient Rome, it's now.

Our reality is the temptation of Jesus.

Now, Jesus, of course, said no to all of this. He rejected everything that Caesar desires and embraces. Jesus showed it all to be a lie.

The ultimate human deception, the great sin of humankind, these dreams of every Caesar, every authoritarian, every oligarch, every king and emperor who ever lived. A lie.

The temptation teaches one thing. Empires and Caesars are of Satan, and God's beloved community is to be something completely different.

Jesus said, "God provides bread. I don't have to twinkle my nose like Samantha on Bewitched and point to a stone to get bread. God provides bread."

The only empire is a realm of humble love and gratitude to God. And God is the entity, the being that is the I am, the essence and being from which all creation has life.

We are fed by bread. We live in a Sabbath community of thanks, and only God is God. That is what Jesus was all about.

That's the purpose of his life, his ministry, his teachings, miracles, his death. That is the realm of heaven. That is the community that God has given us.

All who fall for the sin of empire and greed will themselves also fall, as will the nations they lead. It may take time, but it will happen.

The devil doesn't stick around at the end of the story. The devil flees. Awaiting some time to try again. It says a more opportune time, just waiting. But we know that he always returns. He always tries to come back.

So, seems like we're living in an opportune time.

This story insists that we are not only misled by vague, spiritualized sins. Our wrongs are not merely personal. We, corporately and communally, are being forced to cooperate with desires and actions identified in Jesus' own temptation as some of the most destructive evils in human history.

By we are talking to everyone. Those who have been believing the lies. Who think there is some righteousness in them.

And as it happens, those specific sins are now being carried out by a leader who has placed his power and ambition above God's own words of provision, community, and humility, and love.

Lent isn't about repenting only for our private sins and getting our individual souls in shape for heaven.

It is about standing with Jesus over and against the satanic enticements of empire and to worship any Caesar who sets himself up as a god.

This Lent, this Lent, it is a turning point for everyone.

This Lent, we must reject all temptations of empire and emperors.

This Lent isn't just personal. It is about community. It is political. It is about all of the people. It is about loving one another and treating each other as we would want to be treated.

As the temptation in the wilderness revealed, the stakes are higher than any of us fully understands.

That's all, not my friends. But staying close too? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

And proclaiming the truth that sustains, inspires, and protects us is the only way through the desert.

Sometimes the Bible springs to life. And this is one of those times.

My Lenten prayer, that Christians, and by Christians I mean those who follow Jesus, that Christians, and people who follow God, not people who pretend to, not people who are delusional in thinking that they are gods, but that the people, the followers of God's way, would remember that when it comes down to a contest between Jesus and Caesar, the struggle in the wilderness this time, Caesar was the bad guy.

My prayer is that we learn to follow God. We learn to show compassion.

The hard part, I know that this is true for all of us, is knowing people who are convinced that this Caesar is good and right.

And learning how to hold our ground and stay steady and continue to follow the ways that we know are right.

But do not give in to the temptation of following this Caesar to get your bread and your power and your protection, because it's going to fall apart. It will take time.

Follow the one we know to be true. Follow the light and the grace and the love of Jesus. Amen.

I mourned Sandy yesterday, so she knew what was coming.

We have a prayer now, a prayer for transformation and new life. Let us pray together.

Gracious God, you hold us, but in times of stress, we fear that we are all alone. We hunger for easy comfort, even knowing that our appetite will return.

We aim for power over uncertainty, forgetting that control is illusion.

Forgive us for choosing distraction to escape from chaos.

Bring our focus back to you, to your word, your presence, and your child, Jesus. Amen.

In God's love, we are delivered.

In God's presence, we are sheltered.

In times of trouble, in times of joy, God is with us always and everywhere.

It is now time to share some of our joys and our concerns with one another.

I am obviously concerned for our country and the world, and I hold that up.

Take all the demons out. Yes, amen.

And prayers for better health and for Dre. Absolutely.

Prayers for every single one of you as you deal with everything. Honestly. I know it's hard.

So, prayers for all of that. Prayers for the people being threatened by ICE. Prayers for many of those sorts of things right now.

Prayers that we do not fall under the trap of bread and power. All of that.

Do we have any other individual? Virginia?

Prayer of joy that Sandy is back, of concern that she does have another surgery Friday.

This is to deal with the other issue in the eye that we hope will finally get dealt with so that eventually we'll see both of your eyes.

The cornea transplant was a success. It is healing exactly as it was supposed to, and we still have the other issue of the corner of the eye having a problem that keeps recurring.

So we're hoping that this surgery Friday will take care of that what's in Fort Paul.

Prayers of joy and concern for Sandy.

I'm delighted to have both of my piano people here today. That is a joy. Delighted to see a few other people. So glad you guys made it.

Okay, anybody else? Individual?

All right. Then let's take a few moments for silent prayer and we'll conclude with the Lord's Prayer.

Let us pray.

Let us begin.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

We come to our offering, and I will say as ever that we hope we are a blessing to all of you who are here in person and to those who are with us online.

And we hope that you will remember to send in your offerings or to bring your offerings to the front so that we can continue our ministries.

If you ever want it designated to something special, just write us a note and we'll take care of that.

You can give online at BethelUCCOntario.org. You can also use Zelle, and our Zelle email is info at BethelUCCOntario.org.

And of course, we have our offering plates and our mission buckets with the bandanas here in the sanctuary for those who are giving in person.

So as we consider that, we're going to hear some music, and this particular, we want to talk about it.

Thank you.

Fun little tune, we'll have to do that again longer with more dancing sometime.

Okay, all right, let us pray together now our unison prayer of dedication and thanksgiving.

Let us begin.

Faithful God who journeys with us through the wilderness of our lives, as we offer these gifts, we remember your sustaining presence in this period of spiritual renewal.

Strengthen us to resist temptation and guide us to live in community with love and grace.

May these offerings be signs of hope and acts of compassion that reflect the love you have shown us in Christ.

Empower us to rise together, supporting one another on this journey of faith and transformation.

In the name of Jesus, our redeemer, we pray. Amen.

And I would say so be it halfway through as well.

Our last song for today is "Seek Ye First." Seek ye first the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of Caesar. So let us sing together.

And join me please in our unison benediction.

Beloved, you who live in the shelter of the Most High, and abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will find in God your refuge and fortress.

Go now in the blessing of the Triune God, who shelters you and rescues you, that we all might be a shelter and a rescue for and with one another.

Go in peace. Amen.

Thank you. Thank you.

Subject: Resisting Empire: Embracing Love and Justice in Lent



Dear Bethel Ontario,



As we journey through this season of Lent, I hope you are reflecting on the call to resist the temptations of empire and to embrace the humble love of God.



In last Sunday’s sermon, we explored the story of Jesus in the wilderness and how it speaks to our current reality. We recognized that the temptations of bread, power, and protection are not just personal struggles but are deeply intertwined with the political and social issues we face today. Jesus rejected the allure of becoming a new Caesar, reminding us that true security and sustenance come from God alone, not from the empires of this world.



As we move forward in this Lenten season, I challenge each of you to examine how the temptations of our time may be influencing your choices and actions. Let us stand firm against the seductive pull of power and greed, and instead, commit ourselves to building a community rooted in love, justice, and compassion. Together, we can resist the false promises of empire and embody the kingdom of God in our lives.



Blessings,

Bethel Ontario Team