Next Weeks Lesson / Office of Church Relations

Could It Be…..Satan?

One of the questions that I have always struggled with is the existence of Satan. While I was in seminary, I remember struggling with the question of Evil and Satan during an initial interview with a group of people who were to help decide if I really was being called into the ministry of Word and Sacrament. My advisor at the time took me on and told me I better come to some understanding before my senior year. Well, I don’t believe I have all the answers now ten years into the ministry.

I wonder if Satan language has become somewhat passé? Partly because of my seminary experience, I now ask all my confirmation classes to discuss with their parents their understanding of Satan and evil. The class is usually split on their belief of Satan. Yet, everyone believes in evil. Out of the conversations with their parents come the comments of how the church has changed in addressing Satan and evil. Not that it is a bad thing, but the church doesn’t talk about Satan much anymore. Clearly, many of us continue to struggle with the power of evil compared to the power of God.

Throughout scripture and in comparable writings of other religions written at the same time, the question of evil was an important one. Evil was the cause of everything from illness to calamity. The Old Testament understanding as found in such books as Job, sees Satan to be the accuser or one who tests others. That sense is not lost in our stories for today.

Link to the Gospel

In this weeks Gospel, Jesus was “tempted” by the devil in the wilderness. The feel of Matthew’s Gospel is that the “devil” is accusing Jesus. Eugene Boring in his commentary on Matthew says, “To the extent that Jesus’ temptation serves as a model for Christians, it might teach us that to be a “child of God” (a Matthean designation for Christians; see 5:9; cf. 28:10) means to have a trusting relationship to God that does not ask for miraculous exception to the limitations of an authentic human life.” This of course flies in the face of a more fundamentalist understanding of healing tied to the idea that if we believe, God will heal. The accusation puts the stress on our belief rather than the goodness of Christ. It also flies in the face of our understanding of the third article of the Apostles creed. Luther grounds us in the belief that it is the Holy Spirit that works in us faith.

The temptations or accusations that come to Jesus have to do with his messiahship. Here we have a verbal duel between Jesus and the devil and the devil is quoting scripture. (Let this be a lesson to all of us; just because someone knows the Bible “chapter and verse” does not mean that person is up to any good.) The tempter comes and says, “If you are the Son of God…turn stones to bread…prove yourself…follow a different way and you will have power.” Jesus says that the way of God is different from the way of evil. Jesus loyalty was at stake. Jesus could remain faithful to God or be seduced by the devil’s interesting suggestions.

On this day as Jesus begins his road to the cross he wins his first victory over the powers of evil, evil that we all face. Somehow health and wholeness is found in following God and turning away from that which is evil. This is a continual call for the Christian and something we can only do with the help of God.

Link to the First Reading

In our Old Testament lesson we see a man and woman who tried to be God while in our Gospel lesson we see a man who knew who he was and who was content to be human. The irony is that those who tried to be God did not do too well as human beings, while the one who was content to be human became know as the Son of God.

As we hear this story of Adam and Eve we may remember some common phrases. Comedians are famous for the line, “the devil made me do it!” The Genesis story has sometimes been misused to blame the woman as the one who caused the man to sin. Of course this doesn’t give much credit to the male species.

Whatever the case may be, commentators often go back to this story of Adam and Eve to define the fall of humanity into sin. The serpent is often looked at as the stumbling block, the evil force. It should be noted that the serpent is not labeled as evil in our story. It is an ambivalent, crafty creature. Terry Fretheim raises the question, “Inasmuch as God made the serpent, the text raises the issue of God’s responsibility for what happens. God holds ultimate responsibility in the sense that God did not create puppets, but made human beings in such a way that they could resist the will of God.”

The serpent does play a role similar to Satan in Job. The serpent here accuses God of keeping knowledge, of tempting humanity with the forbidden. Once again when God is ignored illness and suffering creep in.

Link to the Second Reading

In our second reading St. Paul celebrates the victory of Jesus over sin, death and the devil. We are reminded of where Jesus is, healing happens. Jesus death and resurrection on the cross is pure gift out of the sheer grace and love of God. While we may never totally understand what causes evil, pain or sin we can trust that this is not the will of God. Whether it is the devil, the serpent or our own disobedience, Jesus came that we might be made righteous. When healing happens could it be…..Jesus?

Questions for Discussion

How do you understand the relationship between faith and healing?
What will you be giving up or taking on this Lent? How might this affect your walk of faith?
What do you believe to be the relationship between God and Satan? Is Satan as powerful as God?
In light of the fact that all people can quote scripture, when is quoting scripture useful?
Where is it in your life that you find the biggest temptation? Do you see Satan as pure evil, a tempter, an accuser or all these things?

Office of Church Relations