Anybody been watching the Olympics? I have--or I've tried to--whenever I've been home. And, even though I know NBC is toying with me, I'm a sucker for the way they manipulate me with their coverage. Just as they’re about to show some athlete competing in an event, they cut away to show an “up close and personal” segment on the back story of an athlete and, suddenly, I'm hooked!

I'll give you an example. I don't follow men's figure skating. For three years and 363 days, I don't know who skates and I don't care. However, I watch one little “up close and personal” segment on a French skater by the name of Florent Amodio--abandoned as an infant on the streets of Brazil; adopted by French parents; recognized as a natural talent from a professional coach from the very first time he put on skates at four years old--and, suddenly, I care! Suddenly, I’m connected! Suddenly, I’m pulling for someone who, until that very moment, I had never heard of, in a sport I, otherwise, don’t follow.

Such is the power--and the purpose--in knowing the “back story.”

Thinking about the Olympics is not a bad way to think about today's gospel reading--and what I think God is trying to say to us through it. Jesus passes the test! He wins the gold! But--at least as is true for me with the Olympics--to really appreciate Jesus' accomplishments--to care; to be connected--it's good to get the back story first.

The tests that Jesus is facing are familiar ones. Israel--whom he represents (more on that in a minute)--has been here before and had its--and God's--heart broken. Nearly fifteen hundred years earlier Israel had been in the wilderness--just as Jesus is now in the wilderness--and they had been tested--just as Jesus is now being tested. And it had not gone well.

This is part of the Exodus story. Specifically, it’s that part of the story where God has chosen Israel as his own people, delivered them from slavery, and is now leading them through the wilderness toward the Promised Land.

Throughout the journey, Israel is being tested. Will they be faithful? Will they trust God? Will they be the people God needs them to be: a light to the nations; the hope of the world?

Time and again, they fail. Not trusting that God will take care of them and provide them with daily bread, they complain and say they even prefer slavery to freedom if it guarantees being fed. Despite their grumbling, God gives them manna.

They complain about knowing where they’re going and how long it may take until they arrive (“Are we there yet?”). God leads them by a pillar of cloud by day and a fire by night. Then, when they finally arrive at God’s holy mountain and Moses goes up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, it’s like, “out of sight; out of mind.” The people put their trust and faith in a golden calf of their own devising rather than trust a god whom they cannot see.

So. The “back story” to today’s gospel reading is that Israel has already been in the place where Jesus is now. And, when they were tested, they failed. Despite being chosen and beloved by God, they did not trust God. They did not let God be God. They thought they knew better than God what was right for them and on what timetable. They failed.

Now, Jesus is in the same, exact position as Israel. And the question is, will history repeat itself? When tested, will Jesus be as faithless, as scared, and as arrogant as Israel had been?

I mentioned earlier that I’d say more about how, in his testing today, Jesus represents all of Israel. I suppose we could think of this like the Olympics. When Evan Lysacek beat Evgeni Plushenko and won the gold in the men’s figure skating finals, he wasn’t just representing himself. He was representing all of us! He was representing America.

When Jesus is being tested in the wilderness, he also isn’t just representing himself; he represents Israel. He represents all of us.

But it goes even deeper than that. In the Middle Ages, when two armies were facing off against each other, they would sometimes invoke what was called trial by combat. Instead of having both armies fight to the death to see which side was in the right, each side would choose one, single individual (often the king) to determine the outcome. If our representative won, we all won; if he lost, we all lost.

Jesus is this kind of representative, not only of Israel, but of all of us, in today’s contest. Will he be faithful under trial and testing? Will he trust God, no matter what? Will he be what God had hoped and called Israel to be all along?

You know what the answer is? GOLD! Jesus, for the very first time in history--and for the only time in history--passed the test. He gave God--he returned to God--the trust, the faith, and the devotion that God had been seeking from humanity ever since Adam and Eve.

Despite frightful hunger, Jesus refused to take matters into his own hands. He trusted that God could and would care for him. Despite believing in a God who cannot be seen, Jesus trusted in God rather than bowing down to a god right there in front of him. And, despite promises of God’s protection--he will give his angels charge of you lest you dash your foot against a stone--Jesus would not force God’s hand. He would not put God to the test to rescue him.

Jesus passed the test. He won the Gold. But, as I’ve already said, what that also means is that, because Jesus is Messiah, he represents all of us. He fought this battle for all of us. By winning, we are all victors.

But it isn’t even just that! When Jesus wins--and returns the faithfulness and trust that God seeks from each of us--Jesus doesn’t just win for us. He invites us to join his team and follow him.

We’ve now begun the season of Lent. Each Lent we’re invited to reflect on our relationship with God and to intensify it. In today’s gospel story we’ve heard about the three tests Jesus undertook. When he was hungry--when he was starving--he was tempted to take matters into his own hands and turn stones into bread. Jesus refused. He trusted in God. Jesus was tempted to worship a god whom he could see--a god at hand--instead of the invisible God. Jesus remained faithful. And, finally, Jesus was tempted to make God prove that he loved and cared for Jesus. Jesus refused to put God’s love to the test.

This Lent perhaps we can follow Jesus--each in our own way--in seeking to return the faithfulness and devotion that God seeks from us. Can we take concrete steps to trust in God’s care for us? Jesus trusted that God would provide him with his daily bread even when he was hungry. Can we trust that God will give us what we need--enough love; enough money; enough safety and security--despite the threats we face? Can we, consciously and deliberately, accept that we are creatures of God and not God himself? Can we accept our limitations, our needs, and our hungers, yet, like Jesus, trust that God both knows them and will fulfill them?

I’m going to try! If you watch the Olympics this week, notice how the “back stories” entire you identify with the contestants. When you do, remember the back story of Jesus’ contest in the wilderness. Israel--whom he now singlehandedly represents--had been there before, and failed.

Jesus won! And in his win, he invites us to join him in giving God the faithfulness and devotion God seeks.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.!