A Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent
The Rev. Patricia Gillespie

Genesis 2:4b-9,15-17,25-3:7
Romans 5:12-19(20-21)
Matthew 4:1-11
Psalm 51 or 51:1-13

Faith is a balancing act. Lent is spring training. We are spiritual athletes learning to maintain our balance.

Temptation, as today's readings remind us, pulls us off center. And temptation surrounds us on every side. So many things can tempt us off the center.

There is money and power and sex and love and fame and drugs and, mmmmm, chocolate. They all have a good side. They all can throw us off balance.

It's so easy to say, "Oh, I'm only human." Or, "The devil made me do it." Excuses and blaming are warning sings of a fall. It means we are losing our balance and a fall is right around the corner.

Temptation is all around us. You can't even avoid it by staying in bed. It whispers, "Oh, I'll just sleep in. I'm not really needed at work today." Temptation has been there since the beginning, when Eve lost her balance and fell while looking at that crafty snake.

Even Jesus had to live with it, though he managed not to fall Like Eve in the Garden, Jesus in the wilderness is tempted to be something more than "only human." The temptation is to be God. Eve was not satisfied with being only human. Jesus, who rightly could have claimed as his own all those Godly things the devil offered, chooses to be satisfied with being human. Jesus chooses to be human – to be hungry, vulnerable, and powerless, to trust God for nourishment, protection, and love.

The temptation is to be something other than we are created to be.

Just what are humans created to be? Check the what our prayer book says about human nature. The Catechism tells us that we are made in the image of God. Ash Wednesday, reminds us to, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return."

We were created to be both holy and human The temptation is to fall out of that tenuous balance between holy and human, a balance between the perfection of God and the brokenness of this world. If we lean too far toward the holy side, we fall into pride, trying to be God. If we lean too far toward the worldly side, we fall into pain and sin. It's another kind of "via media" - a middle way. It's a kind of "both-and" balance along the road following Jesus, the God-human who named himself "the Way."

And the temptation to fall is all around us.

Staying connected with God keeps us from falling Because sin is about separation: separation from God's will, separation from one another, or separation from one's self, with blaming and excuses.

To be truly and fully human is to be in relationship -- with God, with one another, and with ourselves.

Temptation causes us to fall out of relationship. The "free gift" that the Apostle Paul writes about is reconciliation and righteousness. It brings us back into relationship. Separation, death and sin then no longer "have dominion" over us. Christ picks us up and puts us back on track, back on ‘the Way.' so we can regain our balance.

Faith is a balancing act and we have a great coach. We are in spring training right now. What help can we find here ?

There is hope because Someone has walked along this narrow way before us. Someone who chose to be human and lived in holiness. Jesus walked through this life before us. He kept his balance not because he was God, BUT because he chose to be human AND to keep his focus on God. That's always good advice for keeping your balance: Don't look down; don't get hung up on distractions along the way. Keep your eyes focused on a some steady spot ahead of you. Watch the One who has walked this way before you, the only one who has not fallen. Follow Jesus through all those temptations in the wilderness.

So, Spring Training Practice #1: Keep your eyes on Jesus.
When things get shaky, you know where to look. That could mean reading the Bible or spending time in prayer and asking that popular question, "What would Jesus do?" Or it could mean something as simple as responding to immediate temptation with a simple, internal, childlike mantra - perhaps: "Jesus loves me, this I know." And it is true. It can remind you that somewhere, through someone right here in this world, God is loving you.

There's another lesson for us to practice here. We don't do this balancing act alone. And if you've ever watched someone on a tight rope or a balance beam you will have noticed that it helps to hold your hands out.

So, Spring Training Practice #2: Reach out. Reach out to others.
There are people out there to help you keep your balance. Ask for help. And there are those who are looking to you for help. Reach out to them. God sent us each other to help us keep our balance.

Faith is a balancing act. We are all liable to fall in the journey through the wilderness. But we are not out there alone. We have a "free gift" to help to us stand up again when we fall. And we have help when we lose our balance. We are all in training to balance our lives as both holy and human. Practice is what training is about, so:
      Number 1- Keep your eyes on Jesus.
     Number 2- Reach out to others.

So have you noticed that our spring training practice looks like the Cross? And have you noticed that it takes us back to those two basics with which we began?
     Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind...       And love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus IS the way. Let's follow him.