The Very Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
I love to see what goes on “behind the scenes.” One of the items on my bucket list is to go behind the scenes at Disney World and see how all of the preparations are made for what goes on above ground.
I also enjoy stories that have to do with what goes on behind the scenes. A current play at the Asolo is “The Originalist.” It’s about Antonin Scalia, specifically about the man behind the public pronouncements, the man behind the curtain, so to speak.
Maybe my fascination goes back to seeing The Wizard of Oz as a child. More than all of the amazing creatures in the movie, I was most amazed by the man in the booth, behind the curtain, saying “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”
We got a glimpse of what goes on truly behind the curtain at the Oscars last week. Because I get up so early in the morning, I can’t stay up to watch most of the Oscars. But when I turned on the radio about 5:20 the next morning, the first thing I heard was the story of The Oscar for Best Picture being given to Lala Land and then someone coming out on the stage and saying that it was all wrong, that the award really was to go to Moonlight. Everyone knew it wasn’t a joke by the time the Oscar was taken away from the stunned folks of LaLa Land and given to the amazed folks of Moonlight. I was fascinated by that glimpse behind the curtain of the Oscars, when we found out that Price Waterhouse Coopers is the accountant firm that handles the mechanics of the “Great Oz.” Not even a week passed before we learned that the persons responsible for the mistake were let go, never to be involved with the Oscars again.
In today’s Gospel, we’re given a glimpse behind the curtain. Right after Jesus’s baptism, he went into the wilderness and spent 40 days and 40 nights, fasting and praying. St. Matthew doesn’t describe what those 40 days and 40 nights were like, but they must’ve been filled with at least times of ecstasy, moments of great clarity concerning God the Father’s purpose, times of great closeness as the three persons of the Trinity communed with one another. In other words, it must’ve been one of those times in Jesus’ earthly life that was a mountaintop experience exceeding all other mountaintop experiences. He must have felt at one with the Father. Then, as so often happens with deeply religious experiences, Satan enters the picture.
You’d think that when you get close to God, Satan wouldn’t have the audacity to get anywhere near. But it’s really the other way around. When we’re not close to God, Satan doesn’t have much work to do. He leaves us alone to our own devices. Where he puts his emphasis is on those who are seeking, through God’s grace, to draw near to him.
In Jesus’ case, it came at the end of the 40 day fast, at the very pinnacle of Jesus’ wilderness experience. My experience in the Church as a priest for 35 years is that when a parish is really on fire for Christ, expect Satan to be active and the presence of evil especially intense. Lent is often such a time in a parish, and Holy Week even more so. So when a normally loving and giving parish has something happen in which people are in conflict and there’s some kind of harm done, I have to say I’m not surprised. It’s almost a confirmation that God is very near.
So here we are, behind the curtain, glimpsing something happening to Jesus that no one witnessed and that could only have been known through his retelling of the event to his disciples. In those 40 days and 40 nights, surely he has been given an understanding that the purpose of his ministry is ultimately to die as a sacrifice for the sin of his people. Satan puts other ideas into his head. He tempts him to be the kind of Messiah that everyone was expecting: to use his power to turn stones to bread, be the kind of Messiah who could cure world hunger. He could throw himself off the temple, for the Scriptures promise that the Messiah would be rescued by the angels “lest he dash his foot against a stone.” A few flashy miracles and the people would be entertained and no one would have to die for anyone. The first two temptations actually are dependent upon God to fulfill—God the Son, in turning stones to bread, and God the Father, in sending angels to preserve him from harm.
But in the third temptation the devil reveals himself for who he is, one who wishes to take the place of God in the life of every soul. A big temptation for a big reward: to rule over all of the kingdoms of the earth, in exchange for worshiping the devil.
But our Lord Jesus had been preparing for 30 years for such a confrontation, and he was particularly fortified through his wilderness experience. He answered each of those temptations through the words of Holy Scripture. But just as important as that, he recognized the difference between what is true and what is false. He was able to do that because of his strong relationship with the Father through prayer, Holy Scripture, and the Holy Spirit.
Behind the curtain of a person in communion with God, are the things that the Church encourages during Lent: worship, reading and studying Holy Scripture, fasting and self-denial, and care for the needy. Let us do these things, and our relationship with God will surely be strengthened, and we’ll be able to withstand, by God’s grace, any attacks from the Devil.
Sermon preached by the Very Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
1st Sunday of Lent
5 March 2017