The Devil Tries to Should on Jesus

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Last week I had you imagine all the darkness, evil, worry, and fear that you feel closing in on you, weighing on you, and pressing on you these days.  I told you to take all of it and knead it like clay in your minds into a personified form.  Then I told you to give that personified form a name, write that name on a rock, and then leave it… all of it… in that pile right there.  (If you weren’t here last week you are welcome to do that today after worship if you’d like)  We wrote a wide variety of things on our rocks but in ancient times I suspect the vast majority of people would have simply written “The Devil” on that rock, because that was a much more universal go-to name for the darkness, evil, worry and fear back in those days than it is now.  

But regardless of the name on the rock, that’s who Jesus met in the wilderness.  He met the personified form of all the darkness, evil, worry, and fear the world has to offer.  It’s the very same darkness, evil, worry, and fear you locked into those rocks last week.  THIS week we see one of the tricks the Devil uses to try and get us to let him out of his rock.  It’s called “SHOULDING.”  “Jesus, you SHOULD make bread.  Jesus you SHOULD be in charge of the world.  Jesus you SHOULD get the world’s attention.”  “SHOULD” statements are what we say to ourselves or others about what we “should,” “ought,” or “must” do.  SHOULDING sets up unrealistic expectations that will most likely not be met.  Those unmet expectations then lead to guilt, shame, and resentment.  Resentment when others don’t meet our expectations and guilt and shame when we don’t meet the expectations we put on ourselves.  Israel and Palestine SHOULD stop fighting.  The Administration SHOULD treat our allies better.  We SHOULD care more about the environment.  I SHOULD go to the gym more regularly.  Americans SHOULD take care of those on the margins.

The tricksy part of “SHOULD” statements is that the things we “SHOULD” do aren’t necessarily BAD things at all!  Jesus making bread?  Not bad.  In fact Jesus eventually makes bread for 5000.  Jesus ruling the world?  Also not bad.  In fact Jesus becomes King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Jesus getting the attention of the world by being lifted up?  Also not bad.  In fact, that’s this thing we call Easter!  The same is true of our “SHOULDS”… Middle East peace, treating friends well, caring for the environment, going to the gym, caring for those on the margins?  None of those THINGS are bad!  What IS bad… what IS tempting… what IS self destructive… is not the THINGS we are thinking about, but the WAY we think about them.  Thinking with “SHOULD” statements sets us up for dramatic disappointment, radical resentments, all consuming anger, and debilitating depression.  

The way to fight against the Devil and his temptation of “SHOULDING” is to use alternative language that BOTH keeps the people we love and the things we value in our focus, AND at the same time realistically manages our expectations.  Jesus used the language of Scripture to do that.  In addition to that, we can also use words like "could," "would like to," "might consider," "aim to," "prefer to," "want to," "it would be beneficial to," or "I choose to,” instead of SHOULD.  I would like to see peace between Israel and Palestine.  The Administration might consider treating our allies better.  It would be beneficial to care more about the environment.  I aim to go to the gym more regularly.  I would prefer if Americans took better care of those on the margins.  Do you see the difference?  We're still focusing on moving toward the people and values that are important to us, but the new language changes our outlook from an unrealistic expectation of instant arrival, to a more realistic expectation that getting to where we are going will take a journey.  

Now comes the experiential portion of this sermon.  In your bulletin you have a 3x5 card.  Think now... What is the loudest thing the Devil is telling you that you SHOULD do right now?  Jesus got three.  You just get one.  (You aren't Jesus!) Write that on one side of the card.  Now, JUST THINK about the language you might you use instead, so you're not letting the Devil SHOULD on you.  DON'T write that new language on the card.  You'll want to keep that.  Okay, now think of what is the Devil tempting you to tell someone else they SHOULD do? When you've got that, write it on the other side of that card.  What language might you use instead for that one?  

NOW, you know what you've got?  You've got a card with SHOULD all over it!  When you come up for communion, bring it here and throw it down the hole in the center of the pile of rocks.  That's where “SHOULD” belongs, so when the Devil tempts you with SHOULD again… do what Jesus did… talk back to him… find other language... and leave both the “SHOULD” and the Devil right there in the SHOULD-ER where they belong.  Amen. 

To protect you as you push back on the temptations of the Devil whether in personified form or not, with whatever temptations he might throw at you in these unusual times, I am going to anoint the walls of our church with Holy Oil.  This is part of an ancient ritual most often associated with the consecration of a church used to create a powerful impenetrable Spiritual boundary between the powers and rulers of darkness in the world, the spirit of wickedness, and the Devil himself and you… God’s people gathering here in this Sanctuary.  In this space, within these wall, you are unconditionally loved, you are accepted just as you are as a beloved… a BELOVED child of God.  With this rite and within these walls you have sanctuary and you will be safe.  Always.