Monday's Devotion

Monday, February 16, 2004

Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
(James 1.12 NRSV)

In the movie INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, Indiana Jones and the beautiful-but-evil Elsa Schneider after all kinds of difficulty have at last found the Holy Grail. But no sooner does Elsa hold the Grail--a vase-like object--in her hand than an earthquake causes the ground beneath her to tremble and split apart. Suddenly she finds herself dangling dangerously above a deep chasm. All that saves her is Indiana Jones desperately holding on to one of her arms. The Grail has slipped out of her hand and landed on an outcropping just out of her reach. Elsa stretches her free arm in an effort to retrieve it. Indy warns her that his grip is weakening. "I can't hold you," he says frantically. "Give me your other hand!" Elsa ignores him. Only the Grail has her attention. "I can reach it," she insists. But as she reaches out one more time, she slips from Indy's grasp and falls to her death.
Indiana Jones now knows how dangerous it is to try to reach for the Grail. And yet, only seconds later, when he too finds himself dangling above the abyss, he also makes a grab for the Grail. This time, it is Indy's father hanging desperately onto one arm while Indy reaches with the other. "I can't hold you," says the elder Jones. "Give me your other hand!"
"I can reach it," says Indy. He is thinking only of how badly he wants that Grail, even though just minutes before he was pleading with the foolish Elsa just as his father now pleads with him. Luckily for Indiana Jones--and for his fans in the theater--he comes to his senses before he, too, drops into the deep.
Just like a person who is being tempted. He knows better, but the lure is almost irresistible.
Dear Jesus, keep me from temptation. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

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