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February 25, 2007
Scripture: Luke 4: 1-13
Title: “The Fine Print”

Temptation. It is not a word that we use every day. Temptation. Sure we talk about being tempted everyday. I was tempted to choose option A but when with option B. I was tempted by the chocolate cake at lunch today. I was tempted to try to go around the accident. I was tempted by the great deal that I saw on TV for a product that I know that I don’t need. I was tempted.
Even just a few nights ago, I was tempted and gave into that temptation.
Mike and I on Friday night went out to dinner at a restaurant and as we were waiting for a table, I noticed that their new slogan was “May we tempt you?” with a picture of one female hand and a male profile. The female hand was holding an apple with a clear bite taken out of the apple and passing the apple to the male profile.
I gave a chuckle, knowing what the sermon was for today and showed it to Mike. He turned to me and said, “No church work tonight!” And soon the hostess led us to our table and passed us our menus.

I opened my menu and saw this slogan once more. “May we tempt you?” So I decided to see what it was all about. The restaurant had cleverly found a way to encourage people to choose 3 courses for their meal. The first course had the salads, or soups. The second course had the main entrees and the third course had the desserts. So I realized well, I was planning on having a side salad and well, there it is under the first course. And then, I found the dinner option that I was planning on ordering under the second course. And then I saw the pictures of the desserts: several of which were chocolate. One of my true temptations.
And then I saw an asterisk at the bottom of the page. The Fine Print: No substitutions. Menu offerings and Prices may vary by location.
So I placed my ordered and realized what exactly I had done! I couldn’t eat all that food. The first course came and I was fine. It was a nice size salad. But I soon realized that there was no way I could finish this course. And then my main dinner came. The plate was huge. I looked at the waitress and she said yep, that’s the size of the entrée. So I started to eat. And then I stopped. I couldn’t do it. I sat back in my seat, feeling full and stuffed. And then the waitress came.
What would you like for your third course? I gave her a look. She was doing her job. She was doing nothing wrong. And then Mike said, I think we’ll take it to go.”
Needless to say, I left the restaurant, not liking myself too much for eating so much, and vowing to never let this restaurant tempt me again.

The fine print. The details of the deal. The fine print.

As I was writing this sermon, I wondered if Jesus read the fine print after he agreed to be the Son of God. According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus gets baptized and as he emerges from the water, there is a voice saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” And then immediately following the baptism, Jesus who is full of the Holy Spirit goes into the desert for forty days. I like to think that this is where Jesus and God talk about the terms of their covenant like the Israelites did with God as they wandered for forty years. Each one discerning and listening for the voice of God. Each one being led by God. Each one struggling with the titles that had been given to them: “The Chosen”.

This where the fine print of the deal becomes very important. It is in the fine print where deals are broken or sealed. It is not necessarily the small print where one has to take out a magnifying glass to read it. I don’t know if you are like me but sometimes when I am reading contracts, I start out really well, and then my eyes glaze over. And I say this is just a lot of legal language that I don’t understand. For me that is the fine print. The fine print lists out what each side has agreed to do and has covenanted to do in this relationship.
That’s the fine print. And in our story today, Jesus and God take a look at the fine print of their relationship.

“Jesus has not preached a sermon, caste out a demon, or healed a sick person. He is alone and hungry in the desert, poised at the edge of his ministry. What will be the nature and shape?...We may surmise that Jesus is struggling with what it really means to be about God’s business.”

The Fine Print. What does it really mean for Jesus to be about God’s business? The Fine Print.
And as the saying goes: The devil is in the details.

So the tempter steps into the picture. “Jesus, if you are really the Son of God, and you are hungry, why don’t you turn these rocks into bread and eat? There seems to be plenty of rocks lying around. You know, you could eat.
I am not sure that Jesus answers this right away, but takes a few moments and really reads the fine print. Sure he could turn stones into bread, but who does that help? Just himself. And does the Son of God come only to be self-serving? Does the Son of God come only to use his power for himself? Does the Son of God come only for himself?

It is interesting to note Jesus’ response. It is from Deuteronomy when Moses tells the Israelites that God will provide manna for them because God knew their hunger and God provided. This bread that the Israelites eat is a gift that only God can give. Jesus just shares a small part of the saying. “One does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” The need for bread is secondary to the need to understand that God will provide for all needs.

The fine print. And reading the fine print, Jesus can say, no, I come as the Son of God to show the people that God will provide for all their needs. God knows that they hunger for bread and that they hunger for only the bread that God can provide, the true manna from heaven that gives the people the strength and energy to be God’s people. “One does not live by bread alone.”
The fine print. The devil is in the details.

Okay, Jesus, I got it. Well, let me just show you this. Do you see all these kingdoms? They could be yours. All you need to do is bow down and worship me. Do you see the glory? Do you see the power?
Once again, I think Jesus takes a few moments and reads the fine print. Does the Son of God come to bring all the nations to him? Does the Son of God come to be worship as a king? Does the Son of God come to be the Messiah to the people?
Jesus knows that the people expected a great king, a mighty power to come and restore Israel to its “glory days”. Not a baby born in manger. Not a son of a carpenter. Not a man who would lay down his life for all by dying on a cross, a political punishment for enemies of Rome.
Once again it is interesting to take a look at what Jesus says. He once again uses scripture from Deuteronomy. The Israelites wanted to be like their neighbors. They wanted to fit in. They began to worship other gods and they wanted to be taken seriously as a power country in this new land. And how do we do this? We need a king. A king who we can adore and worship. A king that will show that we are a power to be reckoned with. We need a king.
The Israelites rejected God and began the path of turning away from God when they said that they needed a king.
Jesus knows that there is once again a need for a king but it will be a king of God’s choosing and a king will be chosen by God. Jesus knows that the true and real power of a king comes only from God.
The fine print.

So the tempter tries one last time. “Okay, I get it. Just follow me to Jerusalem and take a look. If you are the Son of God, jump from the top of the Temple because it says that God will protect you and not let anything happen to you.
And this is where I think Jesus really had to think about this one. He could jump from a very public place and then it would really be proven that he was the Son of God. People would listen to him. People would follow him. He wouldn’t have to journey all over the place, teaching and preaching. He wouldn’t have to journey all over being rejected and scorned.
And then he takes another look at the fine print.

And Jesus responds with another saying from Scripture from Deuteronomy spoke by Moses to the people of Israel. The people wanted water and began to turn against Moses, saying that God did not care for them. That God brought them out of Egypt just to let them God. And they said, that if God is really with us, make God give us water. They tested God.
They showed that they did not trust God to provide for them and keep them safe.
Jesus knows that God is a God who does not break promises. Jesus knows that God is a God who will provide. And as the Son of God, he will have to model to the people this trust, this covenantal relationship with God.

The fine print. The devil is in the details.

And so the tempter goes away until an opportune time.

And Jesus leaves the desert, understanding what it means to be the Son of God. Jesus leave understanding what it means to be about God’s business.
Everything that the devil offered is what Jesus is called to do: he is called to feed the hunger. He is called to set the oppressed free. He is called to show people how to live in right relationship with God. But in God’s time and in God’s way.
He came face to face with his internal conflicts. He came face to face with what it means to do the wrong type of good. He came face to face with what it means to distort his relationship with God.
The interesting thing to note is that the devil actually helped Jesus answer the question what does it mean to be the Son of God? And so I offered the devil the same chance today with us: What does it mean for us to be the people of God?

How are we to live out our calling as Midway Christian Church, staying true to who we are and what we believe? How are we to live out our calling as God’s people, opening ourselves to God’s time and God’s plan, not our own agendas? How are we going to vision our future and be a community of faith that resides in the promises of God?

When we accepted our calling to be God’s people in the world, there was fine print. When we came out of those baptismal waters, there was fine print. When we accepted God into our lives, there was fine print. What does it mean for us to be the people of God? The fine print.

May we have the courage to read the fine print. Amen.

Rev. Heather McColl
Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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