A Gift to Last

“A Gift to Last”
Luke 4:1-13

First Sunday in Lent: February 25, 2007
Preached at Kingston Road United Church by the Rev. Richard C. Choe


Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

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A Gift to Last.

In 2003 Michael A. Lee-Chin donated $30 million of his own money to the expansion project for the Royal Ontario Museum. Michael Lee-Chin was a relatively unknown figure until the announcement of his donation hit the news across Canada.

“A Gift to Last” was the title of the Toronto Star article, describing the then relatively unknown Chinese African Jamaican Canadian billionaire. The article reported that the crystal extension of the building will be named the Michael A. Lee-Chin Crystal. The interior atrium court will be named the Hyacinth Gloria Chen Court in honour of his mother. What I particularly remember from the article is what Michael Lee-Chin said of his mother’s wisdom: “We were very poor, yes … (but) she helped me understand … there is only one type of poverty that can’t be overcome – poverty of spirit.”[1]

Michael Lee-Chin’s gift for the Royal Ontario Museum is indeed a gift to last for generations, in memory of his generosity as well as his mother’s wisdom and courage in raising her child to not to accept any limits put on him by the outside world.

The story of the temptation of Jesus that was read by three readers today is a well known story to some of us. For some, the story may conjure up the times, places, and emotions you felt when you heard this story at various junctures of your life.

This story will always remind me of Professor Cyril Powles who taught at Trinity College of the University of Toronto. His interpretation of the temptation of Jesus is a gift that I will always cherish.

Professor Powles was one of my mentors and this is what I remember when he preached at a congregation where I worked as a student minister. Professor Powles told us that the three scenes represent three basic necessities in human society. Bread represents economic power. Kingdoms of the world represent political power. The pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem represents religious power. He told us that although the human society needs economy, politics, and religion for the benefit of the whole, these three basic necessities are abused and misused in human society much too often. Professor Powles warned us that the greed of a few individuals or communities will deny the three basic necessities from the rest of human society. He preached that following the Way of Jesus Christ is to work toward the just distribution of economic, socio-political, and religious powers to all people.

One biblical commentator raises this question on today’s passage. “Who will Jesus be?” Jesus’ messianic identity was tempted by privilege and power. “… Privilege and power can tempt. They pose primary challenges for communities of faith in the United States and Canada. Voices within the churches seek growth for (their) own sake and political influence as a sign of the church’s status. (Privilege and power) often determine the church’s agenda by means of its struggle for influence.”[2]

“Political religion” is the term Emilio Gentile, an Italian scholar, uses in describing abusive religious power.[3] A Canadian example of “political religion” – that is, “religion as an instrument of domestic political combat” – would be the Roman Catholic Church’s refusal to offer communion to a former Prime Minister Paul Martin, a Catholic, because he voted in favour of same sex marriage. We live in a society where many churches and religious communities are not safe places for many marginalized individuals and groups.

How do we overcome the poverty of spirit? How does the story of the temptation of Jesus guide us as we journey through the season of Lent? Could it be more than giving up chocolate or whatever we fancy for a short period of time?

Here is a clue in overcoming poverty of spirit. Jesus goes to the synagogue in Nazareth immediately following his temptation. He begins to read Isaiah’s proclamation of God’s impending Jubilee.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because God has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)

The words of Isaiah were a gift to Jesus in proclaiming his Call as the Messiah who came to liberate those who were dispossessed of the three basic necessities.

Each one of us is being invited and challenged through the season of Lent to ponder and to reflect on the basic necessities we claim in relation to our neighbours in the global village. May our journey be a meaningful one.

Following the sermon, we are going to participate in the first phase of the visioning of the congregation. A group of individuals have been asked by the Council to lead us in a process through which we can discern our ministry as a faith community.

I would like to invite you to vision not only for yourselves but also for our neighbours and for the future generations to come. I would like to invite you to vision how we will serve together in the ministry of Jesus Christ in our community. Our vision will be a gift to last through generations just the way the visions of our ancestors of faith at KRU has carried us here.

I pray that we be able to open our eyes to the vision of Isaiah. I pray that our community be a community that tears down the walls of mistrust and prejudices that incarcerate people to live in fear. I pray that we be able to vision along with Jesus in building a community that challenges individuals within it to work for the common good.

May each one of us be a gift to last for those we encounter in life.

Amen.

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[1]Martin Knelman, “A Gift to Last,” Toronto Star, Thursday, April 3, 2003.
[2] “Power, Privilege and Temptation,” Out in Scripture (web site) for February 25, 2007.
[3] Bill Moyers, Welcome to Doomsday, New York: New York Review Books, 2006, 20.