"Lead Us Not into Temptation"
a sermon by Rev. Michael Gladish
for Dawson Creek, BC, March 9th, 2008
"...Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." - Matthew 6:13
When we think of temptations we are inclined to think of forbidden or disorderly things that somehow capture our imagination and lure us into bad situations. The word, however, in all three sacred languages, simply means a trial or a test, possibly brought about by a plot of some sort or an attack. There is natural temptation and there is spiritual temptation, but in the classic definition of the Writings temptation is an attack upon some love. Can we think about that for a few minutes?
What does it mean to have one's love threatened or attacked? Well, if you love a person and that person despises you or says mean things to you, your love for that person is certainly going to be tested. If you love justice and you see justice suffering, your love is definitely being attacked. If you love nature and you see pollution everywhere destroying and contaminating it, again your love is at risk. In all these cases love is threatened and if it cannot overcome the challenge it may be diminished or lost altogether, possibly replaced by bitterness, resentment or cynicism.
Here's a passage that expands on this idea and relates it specifically to the Lord: -
All temptation is an attack against the love present in a person, the degree of temptation depending on the degree of that love. If love is not attacked there is no temptation. Destroying another person's love is destroying his very life, for his love is his life. The Lord's life was love towards the whole human race; indeed it was so great and of such a nature as to be nothing other than pure love. Against this life of His, temptations were directed constantly, and this was happening, as has been stated, from earliest childhood through to His last hour in the world (AC 1690:3).
So anything that works against Divine or human love causes temptation. Take conjugial or married love, for example. To the extent that we are affected by anything salacious or adulterous or disrespectful of marriage, that love is under attack, and if we're not careful it will be weakened or badly hurt.
But now, given all this, why would it even cross our minds to think that God might "lead" us into temptation? Isn't it perfectly obvious that He would never do so?
Well, let's think about that for a moment, too. First of all, it's not obvious. In fact when bad things happen to us, if we think of God at all we have a natural tendency to blame Him, thinking that He could have prevented it if He wanted to, or asking "Why ME," not so much to see where we might have gone wrong but why God didn't protect us. So let's be realistic. The prayer that He "lead us not into temptation" is as much as anything a reminder that He doesn't. And we need that reminder.
But while we're on that topic, let's remind ourselves that many of the other petitions in the prayer have a similar purpose. For example, when we really understand the nature of God we know that He cannot BUT "give us this day our daily bread." He is doing it all the time. He could never NOT do it. Yet in the prayer we ask it of Him, as if He needed reminding! It is the same with "Forgive us our debts:" the Lord is nothing BUT forgiveness, it's just that we can only receive that forgiveness (as we also remind ourselves) to the extent that "we forgive our debtors." And what about "Deliver us from evil"? Of course He is doing this all the time, too, the only question is whether we can accept it, let go of the past, and begin a new life. "Lead us not into temptation" therefore is a phrase like almost all the other phrases in the prayer, a simple truth put in the form of a request only because it seems to us that these things may be in doubt.
Incidentally, the phrase can take on a somewhat different quality for us if when we say it we pause for a moment after "Lead us," and then move on to the completion of the whole sentence, which includes the words, "deliver us from evil." This way the primary focus is on what the Lord does do -- lead us, the phrase "not into temptation" becomes a subordinate clause not essential to the meaning of the sentence (almost like an explanation in brackets), and the final emphasis again is on the fact that the Lord is always leading us away from evil. "Lead us - not into temptation, but (by Your leading) deliver us from evil."
So, if the Lord doesn't lead us into temptation, who does? Clearly it's not always our own fault - although there may be plenty of times when it is. We don't always do it to ourselves!
In this connection the word for "lead" in the Gospel is itself interesting. As it happens there are several different Greek words that can be translated this way, but the word used in the prayer is unique. It only occurs there - both in Matthew and in Luke - and nowhere else in the New Testament! Whereas other words translated "to lead" mean to go out in front (to show the way), this word literally means to bring, or to carry into. And the Lord certainly does not bring or carry us into temptation; rather He is constantly bringing us, even carrying us, out of it,, so that if we will allow him to do so He will lift us up and take us to a better place, thereby delivering us from evil just as an injured soldier may be carried off a battlefield, out of harm's way.
And here is a most important point unfortunately overlooked or not understood by most people, namely, that the word for "evil" in the prayer actually refers to the evil one. It is not a reference to some vague quality or influence, it is a reference to the devil himself - or as we understand it, the evil spirit who may have an influence on us.
Now "the devil" is not a very popular concept these days. Most people associate it with primitive cultures, superstitions, or perhaps the occult. But if heaven and hell really exist, and people really go there when they die, then there most certainly are angels and devils. The only question is what sort of influence they have on us. And while our teachings are very clear that spirits do not make or do things in the natural world, they are equally clear that they ARE the source of ALL our thoughts and affections. Where else do thoughts come from? - the brain itself? - the light or sound waves coming through our senses? Can a scene or an incident outside of us produce or cause any kind of emotion in us? It may seem so, but the truth is that it simply provides a basis for the influx of some feeling from the spiritual world.
Of course we must not discount the power of such events or images. Whatever occupies our natural mind will set the stage for the spiritual action that takes place on it. But the point is that these states flow in from the spiritual world just as surely as light and sound waves flow in from the natural world, indeed, they flow in perfect harmony. So, for example, if you watch pornography or gruesome films, or listen to a lot of crude language you will be affected by the spirits who are associated with those things. But if you watch innocent activities or films, or listen to beautiful music you will be affected by an altogether different kind of spirit. If you are raised in an environment of violence, cruelty or distrust you will be affected by spirits from hell and you will have to work hard with the Lord's help to overcome that influence. But if you are raised in an environment of respect, especially respect for what is true and good, you will be affected by angels from heaven, and it will be a crime against heaven itself if someone tries to take the resulting trust and confidence away from you.
So again, the truth is that all of our spiritual trials are inspired by evil spirits from hell. THEY are the ones who lead us into temptation. And, as we heard in our third lesson, they do so in two primary ways, either by attacking the understanding or by attacking the will, or both.
In the first case they inspire reasonings and doubts about the truth, and try to make what is false appear true. They also highlight our memories and thoughts about any bad things we've done, and try to corrupt our memories of anything good. If we can stand back from the situation just a little it's not too hard to see this going on, so we can resist it. But when the darker spirits (called "genies"!) attack our will, it is much worse. In this case, they act directly on our affections and desires, inspiring us to feel their affections as if they were our own (see AC 5977). So they try - though incredibly subtle means - to get us to identify with those evils, feel despicable, blame ourselves for everything, give up and eventually become just as cynical and mean - or depressed - as they are. They say, "Misery loves company," and this is certainly true of both kinds of evil spirits.
But, as they say, knowledge is power, and to counter these attacks the New Church has this beautifully simple remedy, repeated in several places in the Writings. And note, it is simple, but not easy; it takes insight, courage and the Lord's help to execute. We read,
"If a person believed, as is the truth, that all good and truth originate from the lord, and all evil and falsity from hell, he would not appropriate good to himself and account it meritorious, nor would he appropriate evil to himself and account himself responsible for it" (DP 320).
Now again, this doesn't mean we have no responsibility for the thoughts and affections that flow into us. Rather it makes our responsibility clear: - recognizing that whatever atmosphere, whatever environment, whatever experience we provide in our natural lives brings a corresponding influence from the spiritual world, it means we can choose the influences that affect us by what we choose to do. And in terms of fighting off temptations it means especially that when we spend time in the Word and learn what it teaches we can get the help of the angels who, we are taught, are associated specifically with every verse and paragraph. Besides, learning this informs us about to how to conduct ourselves - what to do or not do, and how to decide!
Looking at it another way, the teaching of the New Church is that the combats or struggles of temptation really are the combats or struggles of evil spirits with good ones - on the battlefield of our minds! This is a scary thought in some ways, since it may make it seem as though we are mere chessboards in somebody else's game. But that's not how it is at all. Actually, in that analogy the chess pieces are the opportunities that we have to move or act in one way or another, and the good or evil spirits are the ones who battle for our commitment, one way or the other. WE are the ones who ultimately decide which way to MOVE, but note this: - every move has its consequences right to the end of the game.
And that brings us to our final thought for today about temptations, and that is about our role as tempters, agents in fact of those same evil spirits that work on us. It is not enough that we see ourselves mainly as victims, or as objects of the influence of spirits (we can actually become obsessed, not to mention terribly depressed, by a constant focus on ourselves as victims). We also need to understand that we, too, are spirits - good or evil spirits according to our changing states - simply clothed in material bodies as we prepare for the other world.
With that in mind, earlier we asked, "What does it mean to have one's love threatened or attacked?" Now let's ask what it means for us - consciously or inadvertently - to attack someone else's love.
Do any illustrations come to mind? Needless to say we might not know what moves or delights another person, or what a person holds dear. But if we think about it we might learn to be sensitive.
For example, it's bad enough if we attack someone's understanding, because our affections are often tied to our understanding. So we can really hurt people by telling them too bluntly that we think their ideas are stupid, or their memories are wrong, or worst of all, that their faith in God is misplaced or foolish. Of course it can be useful to have discussions about any of these things, but generally it is good to ask the question first: - "Would you like to discuss that?" or "Would you like to know what I think about that?" And then be careful to put forward your views without attacking the other person's.
But when we come right out and criticize a person's feelings we are on very dangerous ground. And we often do this without even thinking or realizing we're doing it! For instance, we say, "Don't be silly! You shouldn't feel that way." But what do we know? Or we corrupt a person's love for a certain principal, person or ideal by gossiping, shaming, ridiculing, or just being negative about it rather than patiently exploring first why the person feels the way he or she does.
It is a tremendous gift to know that the very essence of a person's life is his or her love (DLW 1), and that all good love - however obscure it may seem to us - is from the Lord. How can we respect that knowledge and so learn to respect the loves that may be hidden in the hearts of all we meet, and with whom we live and work? How can we discover and help support those good loves and so play our part with the angels rather than the evil spirits who are the source of all temptations?
May the Lord help us all to answer these questions.
Amen.
Lessons: Psalm 37:1-11 – noting especially the courage of the meek.
Matthew 5:1-12 – noting the benefits of temptation
NJHD #187-195: selections OR Arcana Caelestia #751:selections (see below)
Arcana Caelestia #751
"(T)he subject here is the temptation of the member of the new Church called Noah, and since few, if any, know what temptations are, because nowadays few people undergo such temptations - and those who do are not aware of anything other than the feeling that it is something within them which is suffering in this way - let a brief explanation be given. There are evil spirits who at that time activate a person's falsities and evils, as has been stated. Indeed they draw out of his memory whatever he has thought and carried out since early childhood. Evil spirits can do this so cleverly and wickedly as to defy description. But the angels who are with him draw out his goods and truths, and in this way defend him. This conflict is what the person feels and perceives in himself and is what causes the sting and torment of conscience.
"There are two kinds of temptation, the first involving things of the understanding, the second those of the will. When a person's temptation involves those of the understanding, evil spirits activate only the evil deeds he has carried out, which are meant here [in the story of the ark] by 'unclean beasts.' And with these they accuse and condemn. They even activate his good deeds as well, which are also meant here by the 'clean beasts;' but these they corrupt in a thousand ways. At the same time they also activate his thoughts, which are also meant here by 'birds,' and in addition they activate the things meant here by 'things creeping over the ground.' This kind of temptation however is mild and is perceived only through the recollection of such experiences, and a kind of mental anguish resulting from this.
"When however someone's temptation involves things of the will, it is not so much his deeds and thoughts that are activated. Instead there are evil genies, as evil spirits of this type may be called, who inflame him with the evil desires and the foul loves in which he is steeped, and in this way direct their attack through the person's very desires. They do this so wickedly and secretly that one cannot possibly believe it is they who are doing it. In fact they worm their way in no time at all into the life of his desires, and almost instantaneously twist and convert the affection for good and truth into the affection for evil and falsity. They act in such a way that the individual inevitably thinks that these things come from himself and flow forth of his own free will. This kind of temptation is very severe, and is felt as inward pain and burning torment."
