April 13, 2017
“Lead us not into temptation” – “God does not tempt us, but points us to His Sacrifice!”
“Lead us not into temptation” – “God does not tempt us, but points us to His Sacrifice!”
Tonight we stand at the precipice of the Great
Triduum. Where for the disciples in the
next 72 hours the range of emotions will be in the valley and then on top of
the mountain. However, though we are far
removed from the time, the implications of these three days are clear and
profound. For tonight we celebrate Jesus
institution of the Lord’s Supper. We will
witness the stripping of the altar and the beginning of what is for some the
darkest time in the church year. Hence
why it is appropriate that in our journey through the Lord’s Prayer, we consider
tonight the petition, “Lead us not into
temptation”. Each day we are
tempted, for some it is a temptation to doubt God others it is a temptation to
turn from God and still others to not even believe there is a God.
Tonight we consider the 6th Petition which deals
with temptation and points us in a direction that is at times hard for us to
consider or understand. But what we need
to remember clearly is that “God does
not tempt us, but points us to His Sacrifice!” God does not tempt us in any way, shape or
form. God doesn’t tempt us to turn away
from Him. God does not tempt us in our
lives to sin. Even Peter, whom denied
Jesus three times after Jesus betryal, was forgiven and so we are as well. Some in our society and world would disagree,
but the fact remains and this is grace more than anything else, our God, is a
loving God. For God daily points us to
the sacrifice of His Son, and our Savior, Jesus Christ on the Cross.
When we pray, “Lead
us not into temptation” it is with firm conviction that God will not lead
us in a direction that He is unwilling to walk with us. God will journey with us into the pit and depths
of our despair and doubt, with the understanding that His love for us is not to
tempt us to doubt Him. For God’s purpose
is consistently to “point to His Sacrifice” of His Son Jesus and Jesus Christ willingness
to go where no one else could go. Dare I
say Jesus had a desire to fulfill the plan of salvation for all of mankind and
go to the Cross of Calvary!
Tonight, on this Maundy Thursday, Jesus will be tempted,
whether to call down a legion of angels to come to His rescue, change the His
destination, rather than the Cross, but Jesus clearly responds. Jesus response is not to yield to the
temptation to sidestep His responsibility, dare I say His calling. This is why Jesus when He taught the
disciples, “Lead us not into temptation”
not only understood what His disciples would face, but what each and every one
of us would face as well. And Jesus
Christ strengthened His disciples and He strengthens each and every one of us
to overcome our temptation. But, even if
we do not overcome temptation nor think we have overcome it, Jesus still overcame
sin and temptation and Jesus willingly goes to the Cross of Calvary in order to
sacrifice Himself for all of mankind.
For it is clear, as we tonight receive His precious Body
and Blood from God’s Altar, we begin to understand that Jesus did not yield to
the greatest temptation. He not only
leads by example, but willingly gives us the food of eternal life that
strengthens we who gather here this evening to boldly believe that “God does not tempt us, but points us to His
Sacrifice”. And we who gather here tonight
around the altar of the Lord, to receive His precious Body and Blood, ‘given
and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins’, are empowered to boldly believe in
Jesus Christ Sacrifice for us and for all of mankind and pray firmly, with
great feeling and faithfully pray “Lead
us not into temptation”. AMEN.
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