TEMPTATION

 
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]
(Matthew 6: 13 – NAS)

 
When I was younger, I would vaguely wonder why the request was “lead us not into temptation.” Why would anyone think that God would lead us to temptation, for isn’t temptation about all those things that we might want but shouldn’t have? God doesn’t deal with us that way, does He? At least, I had not found it to be so.

So why does Jesus include this here, this way?

He certainly knew that we would be tempted by things we met in the world. Relationships we ought not to have, because it would disrupt other sanctified unions. Objects that belong to someone else and we have no rightful claim to possess. Can we really hope to avoid all those things? We’re going to encounter them every day. So how would this work, this not-being-led-to-temptation?

We can quickly dispense with the idea that God would intentionally dangle in front of us those things which could cause us to sin. He does not want us to sin, so why would He even create situations where our weaknesses would allow us to fall into wrong behavior? He just wouldn’t. So Jesus must be looking at something else with this prayer petition.

“Do not lead us into temptation.”

It could be that in this petition we are asking to be led by paths that will not provide those delicious distractions. I’m sure we’ve all wanted occasions where we could just get on moving forward in peace and calm, with nothing that would delay us or distract us from our destination. 

“Make a pathway straight before me. Do not let me be distracted by things I might want.”

Except ... let’s be honest here: we do like the occasional temptation, and we do give into them when they come alongside us. A temptation here, to distract myself from a chore by enjoying “just one” television program. And four hours later, I still haven’t gotten to the chore. A temptation there, to indulge in an excessive meal, because after all, I’m a bit hungry. And four hours later, satiated and drowzy, whatever task was at hand is still sitting there waiting.

There are so many temptations to act inappropriately, that we sometimes forget about the temptations to feel inappropriate reactions. To give into fatigue and frustration and wallow in our helplessness resentfully. And then it becomes inaction that tempts us, to do nothing, to say nothing, to stop moving.

So perhaps it is not such a bad idea to ask Our Father to lead us away from such situations. “Steer us rightly, Lord, so that we may stick to the course we’ve set.” 

The second part of this particular petition seems far more clear. “Deliver us from evil.”

We all call for deliverance at some point or another. Deliver us from joblessness, from debt. Deliver us from this war. Deliver us from this drought. Deliver us from this oppressive situation. “Help me, Lord! I can’t do it myself!” Whether it is a matter of being literally stuck in a whole in the ground and needing help in climbing out of it, or a metaphor for emotional stresses we are enduring, Jesus makes it clear that we have the right and priviledge of calling upon the Lord for help in time of need.

But Jesus is going beyond our simple needs here. He had addressed those with the “daily bread” request, after all. Here He tells us to ask for deliverance from evil. I think this covers not just the consequences of our own poor choices but also the evils that might be directed at us intentionally by others, evils we may have accidentally entered into by whatever means. 

“Deliver us from evil.”

Get us out of the places that will keep us far from You, Lord. Get us out of the circumstances that stand between us and Your love. Gather us from the places of poverty of heart and spirit and deliver us into Your realm of plenty.

Do we really want to stay stuck in our ruts?

I think a lot of times we do not want to look too closely at our circumstances. We’d rather just roll along without disrupting our usual patterns, even if they are not the easiest things in the world. We don’t really want to consider them “evil.” They’re just “difficult.” Because, if we asked God to deliver us from them, we have no idea what He would put us into next. Deliver us from this to what?

Five years I knew I was stuck in a rut, and I couldn’t see a way to get out of it. So I asked God to turn my life upside-down (only requesting that I get to remain in my apartment). Which He promptly proceeded to do – bringing new people into my life to inspire me, preparing me for a change in job and then actually changing that. I was delivered from the old circumstances. Perhaps I have not made the best out of the new circumstances. And I certainly feel in need of deliverance from my current problems. But I want it to be a deliverance of the best sort: debts paid, tasks completed, and then learning the new territory, which (God willing) will be even better. I know that God is mighty to save. I know that He is a strong Deliverer. Yet, I feel I am waiting for it to happen, because I certainly cannot make it happen on my own. And all the while, I hold onto the request that I be delivered from evil. Please, Lord, let no evil thing come near me, and keep me safe.

These are not inappropriate requests for us to make of our Father. We’re not asking for special treatment in this prayer that Jesus taught us. We are asking for God’s love to be poured out upon us in some specific ways that affect our daily lives.

And the reason we can do this is included in the (apparent) interpolation that ends the prayer.

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Our Father is the one with the power to make these things happen. It is His realm we are in, after all. But more than that, it is His glory to spread His love over us. We don’t have a remote uncaring divinity watching over us, who may or may not choose to answer our requests. We have a loving Father, who knows our most secret prayers, and brings His power to bear on matters like our daily bread. The creator of the universe, who holds myriad galaxies in His hand, as if they were light playthings, that is who we petition for our small matters. And His glory is that He does not think they are small matters!

Amen.

So be it. We close and affirm and commit ourselves to our prayers. We need to remember that. The words are not rote to God. Our Father treats them as if we really mean them. So we should pay attention to what we are saying. We are asking for these things to be. Let us not be tempted into thinking we are doing anything less than asking the power and majesty of the Creator to enter into our small petitions.

Amen and amen.