Stones of Brioche

February 21, 2010

Luke 4:1-13

If I had not eaten in a day, let alone 40, I would have a hard time not turning the stones into bread, and if I did I would make it Brioche. See Brioche is wonderful yeast bread that has almost as much eggs and butter as it does flour. If I was famished as the scripture states that Jesus was after his time in the wilderness, I would be dreaming of Brioche long before the devil arrived to suggest turning stones into bread. Of course, I am not the Messiah, so my attempt to make brioche out of stones would be pointless, I need the eggs, flour, butter, and yeast, but Jesus would not. Just as his Father made Manna in the wilderness for the Hebrews fleeing Egypt, he could make bread for his nourishment. It wouldn’t have even been a sign as only the devil and he would have known. The devil must have been thrown off by his refusal take care of his very human body. This wilderness temptation is one of our “proofs” that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine since temptation is a universal human experience. I believe the devil absolutely assumed he would have feed himself something being aware he was there to tempt him. Honestly, it was quite reasonable to eat if you are hungry and even more so when you are famished. So the devil knew that Jesus was onto him, as he understand his civility, as the temptation it was, took him to see all the kingdoms of the world and offered it to him if he worshiped him, and Jesus went to the scriptures again and said, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” Well the devil thought, I will also quote scripture and he uses Psalm 91, to say Jesus would not be harmed since he is God’s Son.

The second temptation the Devil offered all his authority over the world if Jesus would simply worship him. Jesus responds with scripture saying, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” The Devil then thinks, I will get him by also quoting scripture, which he quotes Psalm 91. He says you can jump off the temple to prove your identity to everyone, because it is written in scripture that the angels will protect him. Well Jesus essentially says, it is also written; do not put your Lord God to the test.

It seems obvious to us that Jesus had to pass these temptations to prove he was the Son of God and that these temptations were clearly for him. We would not be asked to make stones into bread, nor will the devil ask us to bow down for his authority, nor will we be asked to jump off a tall building to prove our identity.

Well when you look closely at these temptations I believe they are part of the universal temptations we all face. The first is the clearest, as it is simply the temptation of pleasing our earthly selves over our spiritual. It is the temptation we often mean when we use the word, as we refer to food, drugs, and/or other vices. It is about the choice and being aware of what is the temptation.

The second, happens to us often, yet we are not always aware. It is when the secular world does not match God’s desire and will, yet we go with the secular. We bow down to the forces that are not working for good, for God.

The third, I believe happens the most. We may not be the one on the temple, but we ask Jesus to get back up there to show us a sign. We even use small pieces of scripture like the devil looking for God’s words to match our will. We scream out for a sign, and miss the small quiet voice of the Holy Spirit which is actually directing us through this mind field of temptations.

It makes me think of the most famous Brioche quote, and I know you know it in English. “Let them eat cake.” A French princess unaware that the starving peasants have never even known Brioche responds to their lack of bread with the famous statement “Let them eat brioche.” She was simply not aware, and if we are not careful we will miss what is tempting us. We may slip (what am I saying we will) but we will be much more effective in our walk with Jesus if we are aware of these temptations. What do we do just for us, just for our earthly selves? What do we do for the authority of the secular world? When do we ask God for signs instead of listening more carefully? When do we say, “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche?”