Domes - Our Monthly Newsletter
Dunbar UCC
February 25, 2007
Luke 4:1-13
Power
- After Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit led him to the place where he was tempted by the devil....
- Last week I asked a question here that we can’t answer. I asked “How do we get from knowing what is good, to doing it?” God wants us to be kind, merciful, and humble. We know that. But how do we do it? Sometimes we are like Christ, and sometimes we aren’t. And the only difference between us and a saint is a matter of degree. They are like Christ more of the time than we are. But none of us knows who among us will be filled with that much power to do good. We just have to plod away in our spiritual life, using whatever power God gives us.
- Because the truth is, whether we do good or evil, we need power. Power is a spiritual commodity that does God’s work, or the devil’s. And people are notorious for using power badly -- not to serve people, but to dominate them. It’s our nature. Then one group of people -- white people for example -- have more power than another group -- like black people -- they make slaves out of the weaker group and use them for their benefit. Or a Hitler, with the power of a whole country behind him, will try to destroy a whole race of people whom he hates. Or a country like Iraq will attack a weaker country like Kuwait to steal their oil, and then a stronger country -- like -- like ours -- will attack Iraq to steal theirs. It’s human nature. When Condoleeza Rice was asked what the foreign policy of the United States is, she said, “To look out for the interests of the United States.” It’s the most honest thing she ever said.
- Power is dangerous because, more than anything else, there’s the temptation to abuse it. Here’s a story that isn’t in the Bible, but it could have been. In a large town, there were two merchants who were competitors. Their stores were across the street from each other. And the way each man determined if he had a good day was by seeing whether or not he had more business than his competitor. If a customer made a purchase at the store of one merchant, he would taunt his competitor when the sale was complete. With every year, the rivalry grew. And one day God sent an angel to one of the merchants with an offer. “The Lord God has chosen to give you a great gift,” the angel said. “Whatever you desire you will receive. Ask for riches, long life, or healthy children, and the wish is yours. But there is one stipulation. Whatever you receive, your competitor will get twice as much. If you ask for a million dollars, he will get two million. If you become famous, he will become twice as famous.” Then the angel smiled and said, “This is God’s way of teaching you a lesson.” The merchant thought for a moment and said, “Will you give me anything I request?” The angel nodded. The man said: "I want you to strike me blind in one eye.”
- The devil knew that the Holy Spirit was powerful in Jesus of Nazareth. He knew he couldn’t take the power away -- so he tried to get Jesus to abuse it. That is THE temptation: to take the power we have and use it for our purposes, not God’s. In the wilderness Jesus discerned that he would use his power for God and not the devil. And that’s our work is in these 40 days of Lent. To discern what our power is -- and then, with God’s help to use it to serve God, rather than our own interests.