The monks gathered seven times a day, praying the psalms and reading from Scripture, offering themselves to the Lord. It is a plodding spirituality, which recognizes life is a process during which, by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit slowly sanctifies us and makes us one with the Lord.
Today we pray Psalm 37 and read from Exodus, Colossians and Matthew. We are have been, and will be, reading these three for a while.
The Exodus reading, chapter 20, is one of the most important in the Bible. It recounts the culmination of Israel's desert journey to the fulfillment of God's promise. Israel has been rescued from Egypt, but already the lack of faith has been manifest as the slaves bicker with Moses (and by extension with God) about the lack of food and drink. The Lord (YHWH) provides manna (bread), meat and water. The process of learning faithful trust is a long one. God had told Moses that the people would gather in the spot where He manifested Himself to Moses--and now they are there. Filled with fear, however, they ask Moses to intercede. Fear and doubt are the troubling adversaries of human life. The people keep God at arms length (even as today we do the same). The ten commandments summarize a more extensive communication of laws, commands and dictates to be found in the books which follow. My favorite translation of TORAH is instruction. God provides instructions to the people on how to live with one another and how to love and serve their God. The blessings promised for obedience include a special relationship with God as His people, and prosperous life in the land. The earthiness of the covenant reminds us that God made the world and it is good, and it is in this world that we encounter Him.
The "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not" are familiar to us and we should understand that compliance is of benefit to all people. The last word--no coveting--is a foretaste of Jesus' teachings; sin is a matter of the heart, it is the passions (deadly desires) within us which defile us and cut us off from God. Since Cain, God has warned all people--the battle ground is our heart and the greatest challenge is our own conversion. The problem is sinners sin and we are always tempted to project onto others the problems of the world.
This leads us to Matthew's temptation/testing account. While Mark says Jesus was tempted/tested in the desert (forty days in the desert a symbolic reference to Israel's sojourn), Matthew adds three concrete examples. (Luke, in slightly different order does the same)
The Greek word means tested and tempted. Jesus is recapitulating the life of Israel in His own person. Satan appeals to proof. IF you are the Son of God... IF!
The problem of unbelief is no proof is sufficient. There is much speculation about what Satan does and does not know about Jesus and His identity. It is beyond me to add much to that. But clearly, Satan is working on Jesus from the inside. Make stones bread, maybe this is the dark side of the multiplication of the loaves? "Jesus," says the Dark Prince, "use your power to feed the masses!" Such a temptation is appealing and Jesus did feed the masses (once, maybe twice) even as God fed Israel manna. But Jesus understands there is a deeper hunger within the human heart--man cannot survive on bread alone, but on God's word. This is no pious dismissal of human hunger, but it is an insightful reminder that even when food needs are met, there is a far greater need to address.
Satan twists 'faith' telling Jesus to jump off the temple because Scripture says God will save Him. This is the literalist dilemma. "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." So the devil finds a verse and invites us to "act in faith." There is no easy way to determine how best to understand each verse--but Jesus provides another insight. "Do not test God." Life is life. God is not a magician, nor is He at our beck and call. Life is complex. There are rules in place (like gravity) and in general, jumping off of Temple pinnacles results in bone shattering death. (The apostle James will be martyred in such a way.) Yes, the Scriptures in places say that God will protect and defend His people--that no harm shall come upon them. But one must read the deeper meaning, avoiding a simplistic literalism which causes us to tempt God.
Lastly, Satan offers Jesus the world if He will worship the Evil One. We are offered the same thing. Arguably, secular culture has given in to this temptation. No place for God. No need for faith. Pursuing wealth, power and pleasure. Most Christians I know (starting with me) have given in to this one. The world's allure is subtle. It presents as needs, our every want and desire. To love and obey and worship God is against our (fallen) nature. We may have naturally done so in the beginning, but since sin entered the world and our hearts, we have lost our natural bearings. We hunger and desire the wrong things, worship the wrong gods, embrace the wrong values.
God gives a covenant to His people with a promise. His people are those who love, trust and obey Him. Some thirteen hundred years later, God sends His Son to do for us what we cannot, will not, do for ourselves. Jesus passes the test. Jesus rebukes the tempter. Jesus calls us to embrace the new covenant--to love, trust and obey Him. One who faithfully followed, Benedict of Nursia, provides a handy rule for living this out. One day at a time. Praying psalms, reading Scripture, working in the world, studying, and living with others. It is a simple, but not easy, way of life. It is based on covenant. It is based on the struggle with temptation testing. It is based on faith in God's hand to deliver. It is life in Jesus Christ until Jesus Christ returns and the Kingdom, in all its glory, shines within and around us all.
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