A few years ago during Bible School we had a brief scare with an outbreak of the flu, so to keep from spreading it around, some teachers brought bottles of a sanitary handwash. We don't have a washroom in the Fellowship Hall, and it was though if students or teachers were unsure about their cleanliness, they could clean their hands with the solution and be more assured they were sanitized. At the time I questioned the need for it. Kids are always getting a bit dirty, so why go overboard with sanitary handwash? So I asked parents, are we so fragile that we must do this? And their answer was - you bet we are! Teachers and parents put me straight on that very quickly.

          And a year or more ago word came from our insurance carrier, and from our Lutheran Church District Office, that we need to begin doing background checks for adults involved with our children. We were told we needed policies to make sure our little ones were protected at church at all times. I resisted this at first, saying this was unnecessary, and that we needed to trust folks more. So I asked parents, do you think we need background checks, even on those who help with the nursery? And their answer was - you bet we do. One parent told me not to worry about appearance, that safety was most important. "It's a more dangerous world today than when you were young, Pastor."

          It is a different world than a generation or two ago. Bad people are finding more ways to do bad things. Children and adults need to be aware of what to do and not do, so we can protect each other from those who would do evil to us.

          Someone has said we live in a sanitary world, where we do not expect disease or bad things to happen. But it's curious, that despite all the measures people today have taken to sanitize the world, despite all the policies and inventions to help keep us safe from crime and disease, still new diseases appear and new ways to do harm are invented.

          And most amazingly, opinion polls say people are believing less and less in the existence of evil. Despite evil raising its ugly head by school shootings and abductions and drugs and perverse sexual actions, still, many people say evil does not exist. They say there are bad decisions, or bad choices, but evil is an invention of those who would keep us in the dark, and we must abandon that old idea.

          Yes, we do live in a sanitized world, so it's not surprising many people avoid and even deny what we formerly believed as accepted truth. Today, young and old alike believe technology and advancement have moved us beyond belief in evil. We live in the 21st century now, and with all our vast knowledge, we must abandon old ideas. They are not the problem they say, ignorance is, or racism is, or bigotry, or intolerance, or refusing to give up "old" ideas.

          But sanitizing our thinking of evil will not make it go away. Denying evil helps no one. Hiding our heads in the sand about Satan only makes things worse. Real life means confronting reality. Real life means accepting the truth. We may live in a world that seems more sanitary than in the past, but we still live in the muck and mud of human sin and evil.

          Today's text shows us that Jesus confronted evil, evil that came to Him in the form of Satan, the source of all evil. We're all aware that Jesus was tempted by Satan, but do we know how He resisted it?

          Let's begin with the basics: temptation is not a sin. Hebrews 4:15 says, "We have [a savior] who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin." Temptation is common to all people - it will always be with us. Falling to temptation, however, giving in to it, that's the real problem. Luther is credited as having said, "You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair!"

          Today's text tells us Jesus was truly tempted. Luke 4 says, "Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." Jesus took time to face Satan. He knew it was inevitable and didn't wait for him to come; Jesus went to him. And He did it at the beginning of His ministry.

          Three times Satan tried to trip Him up. First, Satan appealed to His hunger, when His resistance was low. "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus was hungry and could have done just that! This was an appeal to satisfy human need ahead of eternal needs. People all have needs, and eating is natural, "So, Jesus, make these stones into bread!" But Jesus didn't need Satan to tell Him what to do about his hunger. He answered, "It is written: Man does not live by bread alone." Jesus would live on God's terms, not the devil's.

          Then Satan led Jesus to a high place where He could see almost everything. "If you worship me, all this will be Yours." Satan was appealing to a basic human need to get, to possess. I often wonder if Jesus would be tempted to want the fine things we have today, things we take for granted: a new car, fine clothing, nice bank account, even a computer - a powerful G5 Macintosh, perhaps! All He'd have to do is worship at the altar of money and possessions.

          This temptation is to take the easy way. Instead of suffering, enduring the pain of the cross, He could take a shortcut. Life is full of attractive shortcuts, but for Jesus, world dominion would not come from worshipping at the altar of Satan. He would remain on course, going the way of sorrows. And so Jesus said, "It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." Again, Jesus resists the temptation with the Word of God.

          In his third attempt, Satan turns tables and quotes the Bible on Jesus. He led him to the pinnacle of the temple, it's highest point, and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off, for it is written." In other words, Satan said, "Hey, Jesus, show us your stuff! Nothing will happen to You. After all, the Bible says the angels will protect you." He tempted Jesus with His own Word! I've known people who use the Bible to prove human ideas. But to hear Satan try it! I mean, did he really think He was going to best Jesus by quoting the Bible? So Jesus turns the Word back on him: "It is written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

          Jesus resisted temptation with God's Word. So can we. We need no clever tactics, no counter attack, just God's Word, straight up. You see, Satan can't stand up to that. Satan melts before its power, and runs when it is spoken. A Bible passage will stop Satan dead in his tracks - every time! God's Word is power! That ought to make us take time to memorize a few passages.

          This event is recorded in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew also. It was important enough that all three of the evangelists told about it. Jesus defeated the devil! A few Bible passages knocked him out cold! You and I don't have to fear that Satan will overcome the world, or attack us personally. If he seems too close, one little Bible passage can send him on his way.

          Our world may seem sanitized, clean, and marvelous today, but my father always said that for every disease conquered, two new ones take its place. I can recall the first time we got water inside our farmhouse. No more old hand pump in the kitchen. No more walking to the good well and carrying pails of water that we drank from a dipper. Water came out of a faucet, and after a year or so we even had a flush toilet - amazing! That was 1955. I can recall my first TV program. Dad plugged in the Philco console and after a minute or so of warming up, there was Eddie Fisher, his face all snowy and his voice scratchy. That was 1953. One of my earliest memories is seeing my father cutting grass as he rode behind a team of horses. He sat on the sickle mower seat and spoke quietly as the team stepped carefully on the steep road ditches to the east and west of our farm. That was 1949 and I was four years old.

          I also remember the flies that came with the horses, and the outhouse we had to use, because the plumbing didn't always work. I remember blowing a fuse and trying to put in a new one in our cold, wet basement. I remember how muddy the roads were in the spring, getting the car stuck in the frost boils, walking a half mile to the next farm and asking to get pulled out. Life was hard work in those days. The heat of summer was unbearable as we did everything by hand: bailing the hay and shelling the corn and cleaning the barns with a pitchfork and carrying feed to the animals with that same pitchfork. And I vividly remember helping Dad butcher his last steer. He killed it, bled it, and hoisted it up on the rafters of the machine shed and skinned it. When we had the meat all cut and wrapped, he said that was the last one he would do. From then on, we took animals to the butcher shop in town.

          Maybe our life has been sanitized too much. When all is done for us, when we have insurance for everything, when our every need can be packaged and purchased at a store, we have little understanding of what it takes to live. When we have a drug for everything and when we are separated from death, we may think we don't need God. But, trusting God will never be out of date. We will never stop needing Jesus. He died for us on the cross, and shed His blood, that we might be forgiven. He is still most important in life, for without Him, we are lost.

          I realize that I am "old school" about much of life. I believe the church and its leaders should live by faith and not merely by sight. I believe each of us is responsible for our own Christian growth. I believe in the power of sin and Satan, but the even greater power of God's love in Jesus. I believe you and I should be givers first, not just takers. I believe in common sense rather than rigid policy. I don't believe life should ever become completely sanitized. Leave a little room for discovery and unexpected joy. I believe that God's work done in God's way will never lack God's provisions. And never let go of Christ's hand. In faith, hold on tight - it's the best thing you can do. Amen

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  Epiphany logo designed and provided by Dale Bargmann at daleb@ecentral.com