Nancy E. Petty
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church
February 10, 2008 – First Sunday in Lent
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
To Whom Do We Belong?
I can still hear their voices asking me the question: “Now who do you belong to young lady?” Whether it was distant relatives at a large family reunion; adults at the church of my childhood; the locals sitting around the wood burning stove at the gas station where my sister and I would stop every morning before school for our breakfast which consisted of a honey bun and a RC cola; the man who owned and operated the dry cleaning business that my family frequented; or the teller at the hometown bank the question was standard operating procedure. For the folks in that small rural community of my youth, my identity was directly related to who my parents were. Their question implied that if they knew “who I belonged to” they would, for better or worse, know something about me.
Thinking back on what it was like being asked that question, I am aware now that I felt a sense of comfort and belonging when the person asking me would respond, “So, you are Don and Cora’s daughter.” At that time in my life, the question of “who I belong to” seemed simple. But, like a lot of things in life, the older I got the more I became aware that answering such questions of identity and belonging was not quite so simple.
If someone came up to you right now and asked you the question, “Who do you belong to?” what would you say? Given the national political climate of our day you might say, “I belong to Hillary or Obama or McCain.” If you think of your identity and belonging being attached to your career, you might say, “I belong to SAS, or Wake County Public Schools, or the State of North Carolina.” I imagine that some of us would still hear the question in the context of our familial relationships and answer accordingly, either identifying our significant other or our children.
Implied in the question, “To Whom Do We Belong?” is the notion that we all belong to someone or in some cases, some thing. Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine, suggests in a recent article that this question, “To Whom Do We Belong?” is at its deepest level a question of worship, of baptism, and of fundamental Christian identity. Wallis writes, “It’s a critical question, because other identities—competing senses of belonging—are always tugging at Christians.” He asks, “Are we Christians first, as most believers would in principle agree that we should be, or are we first American, or middle-class, or white—or any other racial, economic, or national identity that would compete with our Christian identity?” While Wallis’ context for asking this question is that of the Iraq war stating that “many U.S. Christians listened more to George Bush’s American nationalism than they did to the global Body of Christ” his question is far more reaching than the current war waging in Iraq. No, none of us are exempt from this question; and all of us do answer. Whether intentionally or by default the way we live our lives, how we spend our time, the values that we choose to guide us, and how we respond to the temptations of this world all give witness to our answer.
It was precisely this question, “To Whom Do You Belong” that Jesus faced in the wilderness as he struggled with his tempter for forty days and forty nights. Matthew tells us that Jesus is tempted three times by the devil. The first temptation concerns itself with the physical facts of hunger, the basic need for survival and nourishment. The text makes it clear that we are talking about real hunger, not just a growling stomach before a meal. Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights and scripture tells us that afterwards he was famished. Hunger, real hunger, is one of nature’s most devastating devices. It can alter one’s personality, affect one’s judgment, and drive one to desperate lengths. In such a state, the devil approaches Jesus and offers him bread. He says, “If you are the Son of God, turn this stone to bread.” Did you catch what the devil said to Jesus? “If you are the Son of God…” In other words, the devil is saying, “Let’s see to whom you belong?” Not willing to buy survival at any price, Jesus declines the challenge and the offer, answering the question of his identity and belonging.
While the first temptation deals with the basic needs for survival, the second one appeals to the sense of identity and the need to prove who we are. “If you are really who you think you are,” says the devil, “prove it by casting yourself down to the ground. Surely God’s angels will come and pick you up before you crash.” Now none of us likes to have our identity challenged or threatened; most of us are insecure enough without someone always demanding proof that we are who we say we are. Our world is continually tempting us by asking us to prove ourselves…if you are really who you think you are then do this or do that and prove yourself. The world says, “It’s not enough to know who you are, you must prove it to the world.” And once again we are back to that basic question, “To Whom Do We Belong?”
The third temptation is more subtle than the first two. While the first dealt with basic survival, the third deals with almost as basic a human desire, if not need: power. Matthew tells us that the devil took Jesus up onto a mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and offered them to him if he would but pay homage to the devil. The commentaries tell us that the so-called Mountain of Temptation sits in a wasteland hundreds of feet below sea level, and that the view it affords is not of large kingdoms but of tiny, impoverished hamlets and sheepfolds, and that the only town nearby is the famous but humble Jericho. As we know, however, the devil wasn’t offering real estate so much as he was appealing to that human need for power and authority. And once again, Jesus faces the question, “To whom do you belong?”
Here’s the point that I am trying to make. Our world, our culture, the systems that make up our world, the evil in our world are constantly vying for us to place our sense of belonging in our places of weakness, in our insecurities, and in our insatiable need and desire for power and authority. Our world wants us to belong to all those things we think we need for survival. It wants us to believe that we have to prove our worth as individuals. Our world says, in so many ways, from the youngest to the oldest among us, prove that you are good enough and strong enough and important enough and then you will belong. And more than anything our world wants us to believe in and belong to the politics of power and authority that currently has our world torn apart.
This question, “To Whom Do We Belong?” is not a question of who your parents are or what your political alignment may be or what ethnic or racial or economic group you belong to. It is, however, a serious theological question that has powerful and transformative political implications. Here’s how I answer the question, “To Whom Do We Belong?” We—all people of every nation, race, tribe, and religion—belong to one universal God, regardless of what name we give that God, and as the people of this Creator God, we all belong to each other and are responsible for one another’s well-being, safety, and peace. That’s my answer. What is yours?