The Gray Monk

+ In the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost
Amen +

"God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able; but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

I suspect one rarely thinks of God putting temptation in our way, yet our translation of the Lord's Prayer includes the passage "lead us not into temptation" and as a child I often wondered why God would want to tempt me! Surely there were quite enough other things around that did it even more effectively? I still haven't found a complete answer and I suspect many others have wondered the same thing.

Temptation comes in many forms; some are relatively easy to put aside; others less so. A story I stumbled across some years ago in the biography of the first Bishop of Cape Town, Robert Gray, serves to illustrate my point quite nicely. The Bishop and later Archbishop had as a diocese all the lands between the Cape and Cairo except for West Africa. Patently there were parts when he was appointed in 1847 that had not been explored and opened up to travel, but he did his best to reach all parts that he could, which meant traveling between Cape Town and the Goldfields to the North, and between the Cape and Natal to the East. A lot of open, "uninhabited", and sometimes frankly hostile territory lay between towns and budding cities. Nothing daunted, the good Bishop set off to walk to those parts of his diocese he could not reach by sea. And, as he tells us, sometimes temptation walked beside him in the veldt. Frequently this was no more than the temptation to linger in one place, or to turn back in foul weather or in the face of opposition, but sometimes he faced other challenges as well.

For a lot of the time he was, as he considered himself, alone, just a servant to carry a bag, a tent and any other items he might need. It was his custom, when he found himself near a farmhouse as night fell, to stop and ask if they could provide a room. He was never refused, but on one notable occasion the farmer and his wife insisted he share the only bed in the house with them. The details are glossed over, but one gathers the Bishop took care to ensure that he was not next to the Farmers wife. However, he awoke in the morning to find that the farmer was a very early riser and had gone to tend the stock - leaving his sleeping wife and the Bishop alone in bed together!

The Bishop did not tarry.

It is only fair to add that Mrs Gray accompanied her husband on his travels wherever she could, and it is she who left the legacy of fine Victorian Churches - all very much in the tradition of the Oxford Movement. Such are the workers in Christ's fields that we have followed. One wonders what our legacy will be.

In addressing the Corinthians, Paul is attempting to address a number of issues that inevitably arose for the wealthier Christians living in a Pagan society. For one thing, almost all meat available in the markets came from the temple sacrifices. How could someone eat meat, without actually taking part in the sacrificial "meal" such an offering suggested. As Christians we cannot partake of our Lord's sacrifice - and the sacrifice made to an idol. Yet there was a further complication for the tradesmen and merchants - the Guilds met in rooms often beneath the sanctuary of the pagan temples - and feasted on the sacrificial offerings. It must have been hugely tempting to wish to stay within the companionship of the guild and eat convivially at such functions, yet how could one? To Paul it is obvious, if you do not know that you are eating a sacrificial offering, you are not partaking of that act of offering, if someone tells you it is an offering - you need to be firm and not partake.

One aspect of Paul's letters that I find fascinating is the fact that you can see the development of his ideas. We tend to forget that Christian theology was being invented as these letters were written, thus some of his thoughts in the early years of his ministry did not survive into his late ministry.

One which did is this concept that God will always provide a "let out", an escape route for someone under temptation. He is always there to lend you his strength and to provide you with the will to deny self and refuse temptation, but it remains your choice.

In our Gospel today, we see a somewhat dishonest Steward apparently being commended for his frankly dishonest actions! Yet it is not the dishonesty which our Lord commends, but his astuteness in taking an action which ensures that those he has helped will help him. Here too was a man obviously tempted to "fiddle the books", presumably none too wisely or he would not have had to embark on a further fiddle to ensure his own future.

That put his master on the spot, since he was actually embarked on waiving usurious contracts - something frowned on by the Law of Moses. Thus, to denounce the steward would show himself to be an unjust man, so his only course of action is to praise the man and endorse what he has done!

In the tailpiece to the Gospel it almost appears that Christ is advising His listeners to take similar action to cover their unjust dealings, but this is not the case. In fact, He is commending us to use our wealth wisely in almsgiving and charity, so that we may lay up a heavenly treasure. Then those that you have helped will welcome you into heaven.

Here, too, lies a temptation, one which is almost as bad as the lusting after earthly wealth. Since we can in no case "earn" our way into grace, we must not be tempted to "lust" after it.

As St Paul reminded the Corinthians, temptation takes many forms, some obvious, some not so obvious. Where Bishop Gray may have been tempted - and he certainly didn't say - he chose the safest course and left swiftly!

We are all subject to temptation - sometimes it's a little thing, sometimes it's a big one, and sometimes it's something which burns within us - anger, loathing, contempt, or even hatred. These are insidious temptations and we need to rise above them as well. It is no longer a problem for us as to whether or not the meat on our table came from a temple or not, that age has passed, but we must now face new temptations, just as subtle and insidious. Are we prepared to face them and deny them.

"there hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

Amen