Yesterday we went to the Norwalk High School Musical "Guys and Dolls." Believe it or not, I hadn't seen this one before. I knew a couple of the songs though but had no idea where they originated. For instance, my paternal Grandfather used to sing to me, "I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!" Wow, that brought back memories of long ago when I was about 6!
The show stopper yesterday was the tune sung at the "Save A Soul Mission," a Salvation Army type Mission in New York City. The "sinners," who were a bunch of gamblers, were tricked into attending a mission meeting-- they lost a bet! Soon they start getting in to the whole thing, a couple of them give "testimonies" for the benefit of the group. (They were mostly in jest if you can imagine.) Waiting his turn to talk, Nicely Nicely steps up to tell his story (and steals the show by the way!) He sings about a dream he had. . . he was on a boat to heaven where people were resisting the temptations of the time period (dice and whiskey- you get the idea.) Eventually he is thrown overboard, which is a rude awakening. He sings, "The devil will drag you under with a soul so heavy you'd never float. . . sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down you're rockin' the boat!"
Our lessons in worship yesterday were all about temptations! Adam and Eve being tempted by the devil; Jesus being tempted by Satan too. There are temptations all around us, every day; they seek to draw us away from the God who loves us. Jesus showed us what ultimate trust is- he resisted giving in to showing his power, self-sufficiency and authority; he resisted the temptation to test God; he resisted the all out bribery of Satan. He simply trusted in the Father without having to force God to prove himself.
Why is it so hard to TRUST? Trust God, trust ourselves, trust others? Why are we so suspicious? I guess the simple answer is "sin." We are plagued by it even if we aren't running dice games and drinking whiskey and staying up until all hours in places we shouldn't be. Sin still grabs ahold of us. We still are tempted to by lots of things- more stuff, more security, negativity, mistrust. . .
Jesus shows us a better way. It's not an easier way, however. It requires us to let go. It requires us to TRUST in the One who is completely trustworthy and true.
How will we resist temptation in these days of Lent? How will we make it a practice to resist and reject Satan? In our baptismal liturgy we are asked, "Will you renounce the forces of this world that keep you away from God? The forces that defy God?" I renounce them! This is not a passive resistance-- it is ACTIVE. (When I hear "sit down you're rocking the boat" I think of someone telling me to hush, be quiet, don't make waves, don't cause trouble. . . what do you think of?)
By renouncing the ways of the devil that are ALWAYS contrary to God's holy will, we are rocking Satan's boat, not the boat to heaven! By clearly drawing a line in the proverbial sand in obedience to God we are rocking Satan's boat! We walk away from temptation. We stand up against evil. We walk toward God through Christ Jesus. God has promised us to be with us always in Christ- that means in times of joy and peace and in times of temptation and struggle. There will always be a boat rocking somewhere and someone will always be saying, "Sit down you're rocking the boat!" But whose boat would we rather rock? Be sure that the devil will try to rock your boat!! Might we want to rock Satan's boat by being faithful and obedient to our Lord and Savior?? (Get up get up get up get up get up, Get UP and rock that boat!!)
Image Credit: ebsqart.com artist Robert Kimball
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