The lectionary readings this weekend give us the theme of temptation to consider. We see, in the first reading in Genesis, the story of humanity falling from its incipient stage of innocence and unknowing and gaining moral awareness. Eve engages in a dialectic with the tempter just as we see Jesus also dialoging with the tempter in today’s gospel reading.
Both narratives represent the dialectic of opposing forces encountering one another, struggling with one another, and emerging from the struggle is a new or successive phase in human history. Although the temptation narratives are not history in a scientific or historical-critical sense, they relate to our interpretation and understanding of salvation history.
In the temptation of Jesus, looking closely, the devil searched for a particular human weakness—trying hunger, belief, wealth and power. In many ways we might say that the same temptations continue to challenge us and are pervasive in our struggle. They relate to our situation as well as any in history. Temptation is a complex thing. It’s something we deal with daily. We encounter multiple temptations in our day-to-day discourse and encounter with lived experience; moreover, it’s something much closer to our actual lives than the ultimate existential either/or of both the Genesis and gospel narratives.
Often a view from another religion gives us a broader perspective. I recently found a social media discussion which referenced perspectives from the Talmud, so I thought we might look at a Jewish view, bearing in mind that it’s one Jewish view among many. Temptation is more connected here to personal sins than original sin, which is totally a Christian concept, rather than a Jewish one. It’s also important to realize also that not all Christian denominations have worked out the idea of original sin in the same way that it’s formulated in Catholic teaching. The second reading from Romans gives us the biblical source material from which the idea of original sin received further development. Understanding temptation from a unique non-Christian perspective gives insight into how sin occurs. Temptation is such that it evokes sin.
Three things evoke sin, according to Talmud (Berakhot 55a). In a view very different from ours they are: standing next to a wall that is about to fall; assuming that your prayer will be answered (say because of who you are, be it priest, President, or leader of the PTA), and lastly, passing judgment to heaven (or better, passing it off), and by this one should understand judgment as a just responsibility. In this case rather than taking responsibility the sin lies in asking heaven to make the judgment instead and thus relinquishing one’s rightful duty.
We recall that true judgment has more to do with pursing justice on earth, and therefore belongs to all of us. We do not pass judgment, rather we keep it ourselves and use it wisely. If we believe that we will stand in judgment then let justice be ours. Let us own judgment. Judgment is our job, our bound duty, but we must learn to see judgment positively as actions deep and sweeping, remaking, healing, rebuilding and renewing the earth (tikkun olam).
In all three talmudic cases, the leaning wall, assumed answer for prayer, and passing judgment to heaven, there is presumption about the height of one’s spiritual standing, clearly a dig at self-righteousness. Here Christians should recall the stance Jesus took against those who were righteous in their own estimation. The problem in each case is that they shift the responsibility of things that individuals should take care of themselves to the other, even to heaven. There are things that are our responsibility individually and collectively, and the temptation in our world is to pass them along. “YP not MP” we are prone to say. We’ve gotten sensitive about people saying, “I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers,” and for good reason. It’s a way to push off responsibility. “I’ll leave it in God’s hands.”
For many people faith involves letting go completely and turning everything over to God. For a long time I’ve considered faith to be something different than credulous assent to any proposition that somehow comes along and speaks to our religious sensibilities. We all know of someone who believes any large amount of irrational stuff hoping that it qualifies for faith. It does not. We have to learn what faith really is. Part of one’s identity in being a Christian does indeed involve faith, but we learn to see it as a dynamic part of life. Faith needs to be something more than merely believing certain things. Doing so succumbs to the temptation to abandon our responsibility for the world today, a responsibility that belongs to us.
The most important things about to happen in our world are completely and totally in our hands. We recall our responsibility to the hungry of our world. We claim to be followers of the teachings of Jesus, who taught us to love the poor and to prefer their company above that of the rich; who taught us to follow humility, and to offer ourselves to as he gave to us, and who saw power and wealth as a temptation to be avoided.
We live with temptation but we learn to deal with it. Perhaps we learn to speak to it, to dialogue with it. One of the greatest temptations is fear. Fear grips our society in a stranglehold; however, we should bear in mind that perhaps the opposite of faith is not unbelief, but rather fear. In coming to terms with temptation we find the courage to face life’s most difficult challenges.
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