March 6th: "Yes, And"
The First United Presbyterian Church of Loveland
“Yes, And”
Rev. Amy Morgan
March 6, 2022
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, 2 will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."
Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. 14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. 15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. 16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.
3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." 4 Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." 8 Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' 11 and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 12 Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
He was trying to make her think she was going insane. He snuck around upstairs and turned up the gas lights, making the lights on the first floor, where his wife was, dim and flicker. When she mentioned to him the footsteps and flickering lights, he claimed to have heard and seen nothing of the sort. In the 1938 play “Gas Light,” this man continues to undermine his wife’s trust in her own sanity, hoping to commit her to an asylum so he can steal her inheritance. He lies, questions her memory, and downplays her concerns to manipulate her into doubting her reality, memory, and perceptions.
This kind of behavior has been dubbed “gaslighting,” and it’s gotten a lot of attention in recent years. In fact, our society has become so skilled at gaslighting one another that we can scarcely agree on any shared sense of reality. Questioning each other’s perceptions of reality and historical memory has become almost a matter of course. One news outlet reports President Biden “nailed it” in his State of the Union address while another claims he put us to sleep. In recent weeks, I’ve heard declarations that wearing masks in public should be a permanent practice while others assert that masking never made the least bit of difference. People who have made racist or homophobic comments on social media simply remove the statement and declare it never existed. January 6, 2021 was either a violent insurrection or “legitimate political discourse,” depending on who you ask. All we have to say is, “that’s what they want you to think,” or “did it, though?” and gaslighting continues to thrive.
While the term may have been coined in just the last century, gaslighting is nothing new. This is precisely what is happening in our story from Luke’s gospel today. The devil is gaslighting Jesus, plain and simple.
The Greek word diabolos, which is translated devil, comes from the word for slander. The devil uses lies, questions, and trivializing – the gaslighter’s toolbox - to try to make Jesus question his reality, memory, and perception: the very definition of gaslighting.
The reality is that Jesus is the Son of God. He might remember that 40 days ago, as he was being baptized in the Jordan River, a voice from heaven declared, “You are my Son, the Beloved.” And his perception is that God anointed him for a redemptive purpose and will sustain him in fulfilling that purpose.
So what does the devil do? He attempts to undermine that reality, memory, and perception with seven little words – well, five little words in Greek: “If you are the Son of God…” He repeats it, like a mantra he’s hoping will stick in Jesus’s head long after he’s left this deserted place.
Gaslighting is the same trick the devil played in the garden of Eden, asking Eve, “God said you couldn’t eat from any of the trees in the garden? Did he, though? No? Just the one tree? Oh, you won’t die if you eat from the forbidden tree. That’s just what God wants you to think.”
And now, in the wilderness with Jesus: “You think you are the Son of God. Are you, though? Did you really hear a voice from heaven? Does God really have authority over all the kingdoms of he earth? Would God really save you from harm? Or is that just what God wants you to think?” Reality, memory, and perception are all being attacked in the devil’s attempt to steal Jesus’s identity from him, making him question everything he knows about himself – where he comes from, what his purpose is in life, who he can trust.
Jordan Hirsch, an actor-turned-career coach, writes in his blog that the antidote to gaslighting is “yes, and.” “Yes, and,” is a technique used in improvisational acting that allows the actors to maintain a shared reality, even as bizarre and sometimes unwelcome ideas enter the scene. This keeps the audience from getting confused and keeps the scene moving forward. If one of the actors says “no” during an improvisation, the scene devolves into arguing about reality, and the action comes to a halt.
For example, say two actors are improvising a scene in a diner. One actor comes up to the other and says, “Can I take your order?” The other says, “I’d like a plate of squid with a side of pine mush.” The other actor could say, “We don’t serve squid here, and there’s no such thing as pine mush. This is a diner.” The two could then devolve into a very un-entertaining argument about whether or not these items are available, or real. Or one of the actors can say, “yes, and.” A much more entertaining scene develops from the response, “yes, and you really should also try a glass of corn juice with that.” Or, “yes, and I forgot I’m in an earthly diner where you don’t serve such delicacies,” and that takes the scene in a whole other, creative direction. But the more the actors say, “yes, and” in improv, the more the action moves forward and stays interesting and gets creative.
But using “yes, and” as an antidote to gaslighting in the improvisation that is our real life is even more powerful. Hirsch claims that “yes, and” “fosters psychological safety.” He writes that “As opposed to gaslighting, which tries to make you think you’ve made a mistake even when you haven’t, psychological safety encourages a culture of trying new things, speaking openly, and creativity, among other benefits. By sending the message that you are really seeing and hearing what you think you are, and that we are all living in the same reality, “yes, and” builds psychological safety in teams and encourages behaviors that are critical to innovation and constructive change.”
Innovation and constructive change is exactly what is supposed to be happening for Jesus during his time in the wilderness. Remember that it was the Holy Spirit who led him there, not the devil. Anytime wilderness comes up in scripture, it signals a time of transformation. Jesus has been given this identity as the Son of God in his baptism, and then he’s sent out into the wilderness to take hold of that identity and be prepared to live into it.
And so when the devil comes at him with gaslighting, Jesus responds with “yes, and.” “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” “Yes, I could do that, and one does not live by bread alone.” The scene moves forward. There is a shared reality where Jesus is indeed the Son of God with the power to turn stones into bread, or to feed thousands of people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. And he doesn’t need to use this power to satisfy his own desires.
“If you will worship me, I will give you authority over all the kingdoms of the earth, because it has been given to me.” Yes, humans have given the devil authority over the kingdoms of the world. Yes, yes, yes. And scripture says we are to worship and serve only God, who has true glory and authority. There is a shared reality that admits to the devil’s authority in this world – given to the devil by humans, not God. And Jesus moves the scene forward with the commitment to follow scripture’s command to worship and serve an authority greater than the devil – God.
“If you are the Son of God, try to destroy yourself, and see if God protects you.” Yes, God would protect Jesus, and Jesus doesn’t need to put God to the test. There is a shared reality where Jesus is the Son of God with divine powers, God does have ultimate authority, and God will not let Jesus dash his foot against a stone. And Jesus is going to be the Son of God, use those powers, teach with authority, and experience God’s power over death in ways the devil can’t begin to imagine.
When actors commit to using “yes, and” in a scene, and when we commit to using “yes, and” in our lives, we will sometimes have to acknowledge things we don’t like or agree with. Maybe the first actor in the scene I described earlier really wanted the scene to be about a romantic encounter, and instead it starts out as a scene about strange food. But the more that actor tries to deny the strange food reality of the second actor, the more the scene just becomes about conflicting realities, which is no fun to watch. But if the first actor can acknowledge the reality of the second actor, they can add their romantic intentions to that reality and still get the scene they were hoping for, especially if the second actor is also committed to the “yes, and” principle.
Likewise, we can shut down gaslighting behaviors and commit to a shared reality with “yes, and,” but it will require us to acknowledge and incorporate perspectives that we may not like. Jesus didn’t like that the devil was questioning his identity and abilities as the Son of God, but he would not be the last one to do so. His identity is questioned right up until he is crucified for this claim, and then a soldier testifies, “truly this was the Son of God.” Jesus has to say, yes, I understand that in reality, a lot of people are not going to believe this about me. And I am going to keep living into this reality. And some people will see the truth of it in the end.
Jesus didn’t like to acknowledge that the devil had authority over the kingdoms of the world, but he had to see the truth of it. He had to acknowledge the reality that humanity worships and serves greed and power, and that part of his mission as the Son of God was to turn humanity back toward worshiping and serving only God.
Jesus didn’t like to acknowledge the frailty of his human nature, but he had to accept his humanity as part of his identity as the Son of God. And he knew that, though he would die, death would not be the final reality.
People will try to gaslight us, make us question our identity as beloved children of God, make us doubt the reality of God’s reign on earth, make us insecure in God’s provision for us. It happens all the time. Not just from people who don’t believe in God. Other Christians will gaslight us into believing that if we aren’t a certain kind of Christian, we aren’t really part of the family of God. Cynics of all religious and political persuasions will gaslight us into believing that God is powerless to address the suffering in the world and that everything is terribly awful and only getting worse. Our death-denying culture will gaslight us into believing that with the right diet, exercise, and attitude we can live forever. Other Christians will gaslight us into believing that if we just pray hard enough, live right enough, and give generously enough, God will magically provide health, wealth, and a brand-new Cadillac. We are being gaslighted all the time, friends.
And the answer is not what we’ve been doing – arguing about reality, truth, identity, theology. The answer is “yes, and.” Yes, I see where you’re coming from. I may not like it or agree, but I will acknowledge it. And, I’ll tell you something else. I’ll contribute something more. I’ll offer something innovative and foster creativity. I’ll acknowledge the reality of your cynicism, insecurity, and despair, and offer hope, comfort, and peace. I’ll acknowledge the hunger, suffering, sin, and selfishness of this scene we are living in, and I’ll speak a word of abundance, show you a balm of healing, help turn us in another direction, and set aside my own desires to keep us moving forward.
Paul says in 2nd Corinthians that in Christ every one of God’s promises is a “yes.” “And,” Paul says, God establishes and anoints us, puts God’s seal on us, and gives us the Holy Spirit. Christ is God’s “yes, and” to the world. God acknowledges the reality of our sin and brokenness. And God ensures that sin and death do not get the last word in the scene. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment