IF YOU...

GOSPEL — MATTHEW 4:1-11
The First Sunday in Lent

In today’s gospel, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. This story recalls that of Job, whose righteousness God also allowed to be tested. Both Job and Jesus are urged to turn away from what they know to be true and faithful. In Job’s case, it is his friends who are relentless in making this enticement.

Another commonality in these stories is the phrase “If you.” Three times in today’s gospel the tempter says to Jesus, “If you . . .” In Job’s story, this phrase is hurled back and forth between him and his friends. These two little words are meant to test and are always conditional: If you do or do not meet the condition, some consequence or other will follow.

In a world full of conditions, it can be hard to believe that God’s saving work is completely unconditional. Even we who proclaim God’s free gift of grace might fall into saying it is free if you accept it. We cling to the work we might do to make ourselves right with God.

In his Small Catechism explanation of the sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Martin Luther suggests that God does not tempt anyone, but that the devil, the world, and we ourselves provide plenty in the way of opportunities to be led astray. God does not need to provide conditions and tests—we excel at this all on our own. When we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” Luther says we are praying for God’s protection. This is never conditional. We pray for God’s protection so we might learn to see it in the world and in ourselves.

When you pray the Lord’s Prayer today, regardless of the temptations you face, know that you are a beloved child of God, fearfully and wonderfully made to be an instrument of God’s unconditional grace in and for the world.


From sundaysandseasons.com.
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