Whatever lies the Great Slanderer whispers in your ear and plants in your heart, hear this truth: you are God’s child, you are beloved, and you are well-pleasing to God.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The First Sunday in Lent, year A
Texts: Matthew 4:1-11
Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Who do you trust to tell you the truth about you?
And how do you know if someone is lying about you, or falsely accusing you, or slandering who you really are? Today there is such an abandonment of objective truth in our society that anyone can say anything about another person, and if they say it enough, it is believed. Any one can claim the truth about events that are self-evidently different than they say, and if they repeat it enough, it is believed.
So what about when that happens to you? Or worse, when you, in fear and anxiety, slander yourself?
The Great Slanderer shows up in our Gospel today. That’s what the Greeks meant by their word diabolos, a word translated “devil,” a word that becomes diabolical in English. It can also mean “false accuser,” which is the meaning of the Hebrew word “Satan.”
So Jesus, soaking wet from his baptism, heads into the desert, where the Slanderer whispers lies into his ear, lies intended to destroy Jesus’ sense of his identity, his truth, his purpose in life.
But the Slanderer apparently doesn’t notice that Jesus is dripping with baptismal water. And that’s a huge mistake.
Dutch priest and theologian Henri Nouwen named three lies we believe about ourselves, lies that kill us.
There is the lie, “I am what I do.” The lie that my value and identity come from what I accomplish, what my job is, from my success.
There is the lie, “I am what other people say or think about me.” The lie that my value and identity come from others, from what they say I’m worth.
And there is this lie: “I am what I have.” The lie that my value and identity come from what I possess, what I’ve accumulated, what I own and control.
These three lies destroy our sense of our identity, our truth, our purpose in life. And strangely, these are the same three lies the Slanderer whispers to Jesus in the desert.
Are you really God’s Son? the Slanderer said. Can you do anything?
Could you turn these stones into bread? If not, what are you worth?
But Jesus still has water dripping off him from the Jordan and he knows what he heard from his Father’s voice: “You are my Son.” Jesus doesn’t need to do a miracle prove that. He is a child of God.
Remember that when the Slanderer whispers in your ear that you aren’t successful enough or don’t have abilities, that you can’t prove you belong to God in any way worth noticing. The Slanderer has forgotten that you still have water dripping off you, too, and you’ve heard the same voice of the Triune God say to you: “You are my child.”
That is your truth, child of God.
So the Slanderer tries another lie. How sure are you that you matter to God?
Do you really think you’re protected, safe, secure? This mission you’re going to do, Jesus, isn’t going to end well. Do you think your Father really cares for you? the Slanderer asks.
But Jesus is still soaking wet, and knows what he heard from his Father’s voice: “You are my beloved.” Even within the mystery of the life of the Trinity, these words are precious and life-giving: I love you. Jesus doesn’t need to test that, jump off a high building to see if he’ll be safe. He is God’s beloved.
Remember that, child of God, when the Slanderer whispers in your heart that you really aren’t important enough to matter to God. That if God really loved you you wouldn’t get sick, or you wouldn’t have setbacks or suffering. You wouldn’t know pain or grief. Because the Slanderer has once more forgotten that you’re soaking wet, too, and you’ve heard the same voice of the Triune God say to you: “You are my beloved.”
That is your truth, beloved child of God.
There’s one more lie to attempt.
Surely, Jesus, you can’t believe you’re important if you control nothing? You’re poor, insignificant, with no political or religious authority. If only you had control of this world, you’d know you were the Messiah. Everyone would know. I could do that for you, the Slanderer says.
But Jesus shakes the water from his head and remembers what he heard from his Father’s voice: “I am well pleased with you.” Jesus doesn’t need wealth or possessions or control or power to prove he is doing what God wants, or to heal the world with God’s sacrificial love.
Remember that, beloved child of God, when the Slanderer whispers to you that you really can’t know God is pleased with you if you don’t have possessions and wealth, visible signs of blessing. Or tells you that you need power and control over others to know who you really are. Because the Slanderer has forgotten, again, that you have water to shake from your head, too, and you’ve heard the same voice of the Triune God say to you: “I am well pleased with you.”
That is your truth, beloved and well-pleasing child of God.
The Slanderer really ought to remember that all these lies should have a warning label attached: do not fully immerse in water.
Because your baptismal waters, still clinging to you, still quenching your thirst, still cooling your brow, still cleansing your heart, dissolve any and all lies about who you are, what God thinks of you, and whether you are following God faithfully.
You are God’s child. You are God’s beloved. You are well-pleasing to God. There is no other truth that matters for you, ever.
And Jesus says if you know the truth, you are free. Free from fear. Free of lies. Free to follow Jesus’ cross-shaped path and be who God says you are, for the healing and life of the world.
And the Slanderer has nothing of value to say to you ever again.
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
