First Sunday in Lent 2/22/15
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-9
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15
The Great Litany BCP p.148
Jesus came down from his home in
Nazareth to the banks of the Jordan River. He descended down toward the banks,
searching for the man named John who was baptizing there. John had been waiting
for the one who was greater than him. He baptized with water alone, a baptism
of repentance, but he knew there was one who would come after him, and that
person would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus came to John in the wilderness by the water’s edge. He waded into
the water with John, and John quickly immersed Jesus in the water. There was a
crowd of John’s followers watching him, waiting to greet the newly baptized and
teach him about John’s ways. But just as
Jesus was coming out of the water the sky tore apart. There was a bright vision of what appeared to
be a dove, gliding down from the sky and resting on Jesus. John and his followers knew that this was the
Spirit. Jesus was the one who was
greater than John. He had the Spirit,
which he could give to others. But before John and his disciples could speak
with Jesus, he went off into the wilderness. The Spirit had cast him into it.
Jesus wandered in
the hot desert for forty days. There was little water and little shelter from
the heat. This was a dangerous place,
and Jesus had to protect himself from the wild beasts that resided there.
Venomous snakes and scorpions could attack his heels. Wild dogs and jackals
could strike in the night. He was alone in the sandy terrain, exposed to all.
Then Satan came and began to tempt him. All the things of the earth could be
his. He could be a king, a ruler of the
earth, with power over all. Satan could
make him rich and popular. Wasn’t that all a man could dream of? But Jesus had
a different dream, a different call; one that would make him poor and despised
but was also the will of God. It was a
call to proclaim repentance and the kingdom of God.
As he resisted the
urging of Satan, angels came down and watched over him. The wild beasts did not
attack him, nor did he die of thirst. He
was protected. For while the wilderness was a place of danger, it was also a
place where God had protected God’s children.
When the Israelites escaped the bondage of Egypt, God had led them in
the wilderness in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the Israelites were hungry in the
wilderness, God had provided them manna from the clouds. When they were
thirsty, the rocks were filled with water.
The wilderness was where God first came to dwell with the Israelites,
asking them to build a tabernacle, a tent where God could dwell among them. God
had never been closer to them than when they were in the wilderness. While the
people of Israel struggled and fought with God, God remained steadfast beside
them, leading them slowly and surely to the Promised Land.
And so, Jesus was
driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, not just to be tempted, but to come
closer to the one who had provided in the wilderness. Yes, Jesus was fully
divine, but he was also fully human, and he searched for that thin spot where
he could find the closest connection to the divinity while in his humanity.
This was the wilderness, the place where despite the struggles and because of
the struggles, God’s presence was near. And just as his ancestors had spent
forty years in the wilderness, learning from God and learning about the
struggle to follow God, Jesus spent forty days dwelling with God, learning to
resist the tempter. It was a time of struggle and a time of growth.
And after he had
dwelt in the desert for forty days, Jesus came out of the desert and went back
to Galilee. He was ready to begin his ministry, having communed with the divine
and learned the ways to resist temptation and the forces of evil. He spoke his message clearly and boldly, “The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in
the good news."
And now we have
come to our own time in the wilderness. For forty days we are called to resist
those things that tempt us and look for God who is near in the wilderness. God
is near to us today, as close as the very bread we eat and the very wine we
drink. But there are still dangers in
going into the wilderness with God.
There are those that can attack us, harm us, or destroy us. One needs to look no further than Syria to
find those who have given their very lives for this faith. In the wilderness, we may be called to places
we don’t really want to go, or to things we would rather not do. We are tempted to remain where we are
comfortable. But God is calling us into the wilderness to resist temptation and
to live anew.
What is it that
God is calling you to in this season in the wilderness? Where do you feel the
stirring of the Spirit calling you to consider a new way of being? Do you need
to repent of unhealthy patterns of living, of apathy, of broken relationships?
Do you try to hold onto too much and do not give things over to God? What is it
that you want the good Lord to deliver you from?
In this time in
the wilderness, open yourself up to the struggle that comes from being in the
wilderness. Allow yourself to be real and honest with God. Seek help if you
need it. God is calling us into something new. There will be a new ministry and
a new birth on Easter morning, but first we need to live into the wilderness
and seek the thin spaces between God and us.
This Lenten
season, we will be praying the Great Litany to begin our time of worship
together. This is a prayer that seeks to bring God into every corner of our
lives. We ask God to spare us from all the sinful things that we do and all the
fearful things we encounter. We then ask that God might forgive us, strengthen
us, and have mercy upon us. In the petitions and requests, I encourage you to
find yourself in that great prayer. In
the repetitions of our replies, I encourage you to lift your own petitions up
to God. And in the silence before the
reception of communion, I encourage you to ask God into those situations and
bring you new life. In your daily life, I encourage you to seek a richer and fuller
prayer life. Try new ways of speaking with God. See how God is answering you.
I also encourage
you to make a confession if you have not done so before. It is scary to voice all that you have done
to a priest, and you can go to another priest if you would feel more
comfortable, but there is something in sharing your sins and receiving
forgiveness that is invaluable. It is a time when you can truly be honest and
humble before God and seek advice to address your greatest needs. Weights have
come off shoulders in the rite of reconciliation. Wounds have been healed.
Miracles happen in the confidential confines of confession.
In this season,
seek the closeness of God in the wilderness, knowing that struggle does not
mean that you have been abandoned, and temptation need not be fulfilled. And in all things, seek Christ, the bringer
of the kingdom of God. Repent, and believe in the good news.
No comments:
Post a Comment