title: unedited notes for a talk about Jesus in the wilderness
date: 2021-04-06
- A little about myself
- A little about the wilderness
- Jesus in the wilderness <-Temptation and proving himself
- What lent is not
Church is very american thing and when I was about in Primary school my parents started taking us to a Presbyterian church. It is also where my boy scout troop was. When we moved to North Carolina I also was confirmed in the Presbyterian church and that is where my boy scout troop was based.
Eventually I started learning more about the Mormons (church of jesus christ of latter day saints) and eventually joined that church when I was 16. Part of being a youth in that church is studying the scriptures and when I was a junior in high school the part of the scriptures we studied was the New Testament. This was before school every day from 6am to 7am.
I stopped going to that church about 18 years old and it wasn't until I was about 21 that I gave up my belief in this church. It was a very difficult thing to do because you are essentially accepting going to hell. And I took the decision pretty seriously in the first place. I don’t like to mess around and hate hypocrisy.
https://novel12.com/the-good-man-jesus-and-the-scoundrel-christ/chapter-3-68494.htm
When I moved to Sur I knew it was isolated and that there were cultural aspects as well that were limiting for example no drinking.
Then especially when isolation began it became even more of a restricted environment with one spending more and more time with themself. For me personally this is when I really did some work and found it useful not to have distractions while I was changing my lifestyle.
As far as "wilderness" goes there are lots of references to people going out in the wilderness to clear their head.
We do it outselves.
Notable examples:
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"Walden; or, Life in the Woods" by Henry David Throreau
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."
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John Muir
”The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."
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Outward bound
”What sets Outward Bound apart from many of the other organizations that provide wilderness expeditions and training is that we bring an equally high level of emphasis and performance to teaching to the outcomes of character, leadership and service. In fact, it is these outcomes that matter most to us – both in terms of what we strive to teach and the lasting effect of an Outward Bound education."
Moses and Elijah also fasted and prayed for 40 days and nights in the wilderness in preparation for their work for God. Those 40 days were difficult times of intense spiritual struggle. Moses fasted and prayed for 40 days on a mountaintop before he received the 10 commandment stone tablets from God and afterwards when he saw that the people had sinned. (Deuteronomy 9:9-18, Exodus 34:28). Elijah traveled and fasted 40 days and nights through the wilderness to the mountain of God. (1 Kings 19:4-8).
The importance of prayer and fasting is denying oneself and following the will of God. Fasting alone is not enough, but must go hand in hand with prayer. Jesus follows the path of Moses and Elijah to cleanse, purify and seek God's will in the wilderness.
http://www.epistle.us/articles/jesustemptation.html
Jesus went to the wilderness just after he was baptised and before he began his ministry.
Mark 1:12
He was in the wilderness 40 days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
9 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. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
temptations
Temptation of Christ - Wikipedia
- Make bread out of stones to relieve his own hunger (hedonsim - lust of body) <- countered by fortitude/courage
- Jump from a pinnacle and rely on angels to break his fall. The narrative of both Luke and Matthew have Satan quote Psalm 91:11–12 to indicate that God had promised this assistance. (egoism - pride of life) <- countered by prudence (caution)
- Worship Satan in return for all the kingdoms of the world. (Materialism) <- countered by temperance/self-control
Orthodox Christianity is far more strict about the fast. In fact, strict Orthodox observers fast from meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, olive oil, and alcohol every Wednesday and Friday. During Lent, a fairly complicated fast is observed: Every weekday, Orthodox Christians abstain from all of those products.
What lent isn't:
sober october, no drink new years, etc. discipline and self improvement,
Its purpose is to help believers come to terms with the more difficult aspects of their faith, and to disentangle themselves from worldly vices or distractions that turn them away from God. Christians are supposed to fast not to “purify” themselves or break themselves of “bad habits,” but to focus on God and, specifically, on Jesus Christ’s divine sacrifice.
It’s a period of time in which Christians are meant to give up some comfort or adopt some spiritual practice that leads to self-examination, repentance from sin, and, ultimately, renewal of the soul, all in anticipation of greater dedication to serving others and God in the coming year.
The irony of the secular Lent of giving up chocolate etc is that it turns a period of self-denial into one of self-regard...It makes it all about me, and most especially, the cultivation of my own beauty or sense of worth. This sits rather oddly with the message that most Christians received last Wednesday when they were marked with ash and told that they were going to die: “Know that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It’s not the sort of encouraging cheery message one finds above the door of the gym or in the pages of those nauseatingly upbeat self-help manuals.