WYSL
Avon United Methodist Church 3-9-25
Now the worship service of Avon United Methodist Church located at 130 Genesee Street in Avon, New York, Pastor Keith Griswold. Welcome to worship with the Avon United Methodist Church. Good morning. Welcome to worship and we're going to welcome those who join us online and those who are on the radio with us this morning. Please have an attitude of prayer as we start worship this morning. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] That was lovely. Thank you. Good morning. Please stand. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord he is my refuge and my fortress, my God, and whom I trust. He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. We will not fear the terror of the night, nor the terror of the thotties by day, nor the pestilence that stops in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys the midnight. If you say the Lord is my refuge and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you. God says if we are challenging and if we are in, he will protect the rest of us. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Good morning. This morning's reading is from the Book of Genesis verses 1 through 7 and Luke 4 1 through 13. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it where you will die. You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman, "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized they were naked so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. From Luke 1 through 13, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell the stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone.' The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world, and he said to him, 'I will give you all of their authority and splendor. It has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.'" Jesus answered, "It is written, worship the Lord or God and serve him only." The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Jesus answered, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord or God to the test.'" When the devil had finished all of his tempting, he left him until an opportune time. "I will stand on the stand, and I will stand." "I will stand on the stand, and I will stand on the stand, and I will stand on the stand, and I will stand on the stand." "I will stand on the stand, and I will stand on the stand, and I will stand on the stand." Many, many years ago, when I was working on my doctorate, I took a class in Celtic Christianity, and it was in Wales. And one of the things that we did while we were there was to follow the Pilgrim Trail of Northern Wales. This is an ancient route of about 150 miles, and like all pilgrimages, it was a spiritual journey that is undertaken in physical reality. Its origins go back to medieval times when the pilgrims would walk from Holywell all the way to Aberdeen on the coast of the Irish Sea, and then from Aberdeen they would take ships and cross two miles of open ocean to Bardsy Island. Bardsy Island is believed to be the site of the first Christian monastery in Wales, and that is one of the reasons why it was a pilgrimage site. The island is also known as the Isle of 20,000 Saints, and it's called that for a number of reasons. One is because so many people went there seeking healing, physical healing, some went there just so they would die there on that Holy Island, but many of them never even made it to the island. Because of the rough waters in that two miles, most of the boats that went there sank and the people drowned, thus the name the Isle of 20,000 Saints. Now we drove the 150 miles and we stopped at some of the major churches along the way, and these were the same churches that the pilgrims themselves would have worshiped at as they walked those 150 miles. When I say major, don't think of big medieval cathedrals, these are small churches that barely seat 70 people. The picture I've got here hasn't been remodeled in 500 years. You know, we're in the midst of doing our restrooms down there. They don't even have restrooms in that building. It's literally on the coast that you look right out and you can see the ocean about a hundred yards away. They have a baptismal font, solid stone, that is over a thousand years old. Just imagine that, a thousand years of Christians being baptized at that site. This pilgrimage from Holywell to Bardsey Island was such an important pilgrimage that it was considered that if you did three trips to Bardsey Island and survived obviously, it was the equivalent of doing a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. A pilgrimage was then, and it still is today, a journey, a physical journey to a sacred site. As I said originally, it was intended to be to Jerusalem or to Rome. You went to Jerusalem so you could walk where Jesus walked. You could go and see Golgotha where he was crucified. You could go to the garden where he was resurrected. However, for most people they could not afford to go on that kind of a trip, so there were local pilgrimage sites that were allowed as a substitute, such as the one in Wales, or there was the one in England that goes to Cantaberry Cathedral. And if you could not even go on one of those local pilgrimage, some cathedrals such as Chartre in France laid out labyrinths that people could walk and say prayers while they walked. And that is actually what is laid out on our platform up here. This is done in the pattern of the Chartre labyrinth. Going on pilgrimage was supposed to be a time of soul searching, a time of contemplation and of reflection on your relationship with God. In this past week, we have entered into a time of pilgrimage. Lent is a journey. It is a journey from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday and Holy Saturday, a spiritual pilgrimage for those who want to renew their lives, who want to evaluate their relationship with God. The story of Jesus' time in the wilderness and the temptation that we heard is part of what has formed this pattern of Lent. As we read, Jesus was in the desert for 40 days and nights, and at the end of it, He is tempted by the devil. Jesus' 40 days is what marks out the 40 days of Lent with the exception of Sundays. See, Sundays don't count in those 40 days, and there's a very good reason why. The 40 days of Lent are to be a time of fasting, of confession and self-examination. They are to be a time of very serious spiritual reflection, but Sundays are always a festival day. Sunday is always the day we remember and celebrate Jesus' resurrection. That is why Sunday was once contraditionally called what? The Lord's Day. This is the day that the Lord was raised. Sunday always reminds us of what is central to our faith. In Jesus' resurrection, we see God's victory over sin and death. However, the time of Jesus' wilderness wanderings and His temptation also influenced the early church and its understanding of Lent. The time and the wilderness for Jesus comes right after He was baptized, and when He gets the confirmation from God that He is the chosen one, the Messiah. It is when God says from heaven, "You are my son whom I love with you. I am well pleased." And as the early church grew and developed within the pagan Roman Empire, when a man or a woman accepted Jesus as their Savior and God, when they left behind the pagan world, they would enter into a 40-day period of preparation. They would learn what the Christian faith was all about. And at the end of those 40 days, they would be in prayer vigil from Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and then on Easter morning as the sun was rising, they were baptized. And just as Jesus prepared Himself for His public ministry, the new believers were preparing themselves for carrying on the work and the ministry of the church. This morning, I want us to consider what happened to Jesus after the Heavenly Father declares His love for Him. Because it's right after the Heavenly Father says, "You are my beloved son," that Jesus goes off into the wilderness. And for Him, it is a time of fasting and reflection, of communing with God, His Abba, His Daddy. And it's when the tempter, the Satan, comes to Jesus to really see if He is the chosen one. What happened to Jesus is what happened to Adam and Eve, but it has a different ending. And it's because of this different ending, and what was to come later in Jesus' life, His death and His resurrection, is because of those that Jesus undid what had been done. Paul in his letter to the Romans puts it this way, "For if by the trespasses of the one man, Adam, death rained through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness rain in life through the one man?" Jesus Christ. For just as though through this disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made righteous. And Jesus is resistant to the temptation, and His victory over the Santana attempts to dissuade Him from His path. We see the beginning of His victory over sin and death. And His resistance, we see how the new Adam starts to bring about righteousness that will be given to those who follow Him. And I would suggest that in how Jesus dealt with those temptations, we find a way for victory over the temptations we're faced with. So let's consider what's going on here. I think the key for us is not what Jesus was being tempted with, but the way He counters those temptations. There are three temptations, and Jesus gives three responses, and all three responses have to do with remembering that it is God we must answer to, and it is God we must trust. I would suggest that all three of Jesus' responses are a rephrasing of the first commandment. "I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me." And Jesus' responses, it is written, "Man shall not live on bread alone." In Matthew, he adds, "But on every word that proceeds from God's slips." The second response, worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only. His third response, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." The bottom line of Jesus' temptation, and I think for almost all of us, is this, to forget that God is God, and we're not. Our temptation is to put our trust in our plans and believe that we really are in charge of our lives. So if our plans get changed, if our plans get canceled, we think our life has come to an end. Why? Because we find out we aren't really in control of anything. But if we truly trust God, if we are truly living a life of obedience to God, then we trust in God's plans and that they are more powerful than anything that attempts to cancel them. God's plans are more powerful than anything or anyone. The apostle Peter had a hard time understanding this. We're told that at one time Jesus told the people that he needed to go on to Jerusalem. And he said, "Once I'm there, I'm going to face death." And Peter got so upset with Jesus because Peter had his own plans. You remember Peter is one of the ones who got into an argument over who was going to be the greatest of the kingdom of God. And so Peter chastises Jesus for saying he's going to have to be killed. And this is how Matthew records it. "Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Never, Lord," he said, "this shall never happen to you." Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." Here again, Jesus' temptations are being played out. And here is what we all face. We are tempted to forget that God's plans through this world, that God's plans for our lives are more important than anything that threatens to change them. So I think the big temptation is to think I'm in charge and not God. If you're considered when we pray the Lord's prayer, what do we say in the traditional way? "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." However, the way it is written in the Bible, the way it literally is, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Jesus knew we would be faced with temptation, just like he was faced with, and he prepares us for it. See, we need to be in prayer for help. We need to be in prayer to learn to trust in God's plan. Another thing about the requests of the Lord's prayer, it comes after a series of petitions that we make. We talk to God and we say, "May your kingdom come, your will be done. Where on earth?" And then there's this request. "Give us today our daily bread." Do you see what Jesus was telling us to pray about and not to be tempted about? They're all related to the temptations he faced in those 40 days. Satan tempts him with the kingdoms of the world, but we pray for God's kingdom to come. Jesus is tempted to take power over his own life and throw himself off of a high place, but we pray that God's will be done. Jesus is tempted to turn stones into bread, but we pray for our daily bread provided by God. Friends, Jesus is telling us, "Don't be tempted to make plans that don't take God into consideration, because God is concerned for us and God knows what we need." When we pray not to be tempted, we are really praying for the ability to acknowledge that God is God. We pray to remember what God said through the Prophet Jeremiah, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." For those Celtic Christians, the idea of living a life of pilgrimage was a way of seeking to truly live a life of discipleship. They sought to live a life that was totally dependent upon God. I know next week we'll be celebrating a rather well-known Irish monk, but I want to share with you a poem written by a lesser-known Irish saint. St. Columba was one of the earliest Irish monks to bring the gospel to Scotland. He came to Scotland in 565. He writes this poem about a life lived independence upon God. Listen to this poem, this pilgrim's poem, as we enter into our journey of Lent. Alone with none but thee by God, I journey on my way. What need I fear when thou are near, O king of night and day. More safe am I within thy hand than if a host did round me stand. My life I yield to thy decree and bow to thy control. And peaceful calm, for from thine arm no power can rest my soul. Could earthly omens heir appall a man that heed the heavenly call? The child of God can fear no ill. God's chosen dread no foe. We leave our fate with thee and wait by bidding when to go. To not from chance our comfort springs, thou are our trust, O king of kings. Amen. And go now knowing that God's plans for you are to give you hope and a future, to give you life eternally in Christ. Go now in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. You've been listening to the 10 a.m. service from the Avon United Methodist Church located at 130 Genesee Street in the village of Avon. We hope that you have experienced the love of Jesus Christ during your time with us. We invite you to join us on the air weekly at 7.30 a.m. Sundays or in person at 10 a.m. Please visit us on the web at avonnyumc.org or call us at 226-8600. May God richly bless you. [Music]