Temptation and evil, then and now

 

 

                                                           The Temptation of Christ -- Carl Dixon 

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.'"

                                                             Luke 4:5-8

Many of us are attempting to follow the chaos and tragedy of the war against Ukraine by Russian aggressors. It is a conflict born of distortion and deception, as is so often the case with wars, and the evil despot, Vladimir Putin is the father of lies. I use that term to describe Putin because "father of lies" is used to describe the Devil of Satan in John's gospel. 

This is the first Sunday of  Lent in the Christian calendar and every year we read from one of the gospels about the temptations which the Devil puts before Jesus during his period of fasting in the wilderness of Judea. Despite the rigours of these forty days, the reason Lent is forty days, Jesus responds to each of the temptations by drawing on scripture, the psalms, to maintain his spiritual compass and sense of mission. Jesus is promised glory and authority over all the kingdoms of the world but refused to be lured by power.

While we know that many pastors and priests have shown courage and resolve in Ukraine providing sanctuary and support to those who seek it, this isn't the case with all those in religious authority. Over the past two decades in which Putin has been in power he has cleverly aligned himself with leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and they, in turn, have supported him, even though Russia has become a dictatorship. Now those same leaders are spreading the lies which are confusing many in Russia who don't have access to accurate information about what is unfolding in Ukraine. 

In addition, elements of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which give allegiance to the Russian church appear to be doing the same. There are concerns that some monasteries in Ukraine are stockpiling supplies to aid the Russian army as the invasion spreads. It's hideous and antithetical to the message and witness of Jesus as the Prince of Peace. 

There are some who dismiss the story of Jesus' temptation as fantastical and scoff at the notion of a devil or the existence of evil. While I don't imagine a "father of lies" with horns and a pitchfork tale I am convinced that evil exists and there is a reason we continue to pray "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. 

                                                       Ukrainian refugees at the Romanian border