For the next six
weeks, we will be in the contemplative season of Lent. Lent began on Wednesday, the day we commemorate
each year as Ash Wednesday. This season
is an annual opportunity for us to reflect on our mortality….we were made from
dust and to dust we will return. We also
spend time in this season as we reflect on our actions and words over the past
year and ask God to forgive us our transgressions.
This is particularly poignant as we have been living in the time
of Covid-19. Almost a year ago,
everything changed in our lives. We shut
down. We went into a time of isolation. As
we journey into the season of Lent, we are also (we hope) journeying towards
the end of our pandemic. So, we spend
the next few weeks repenting and preparing for what we will do when we exit the
wilderness, when we exit the wilderness of Covid-time.
We spend 40 days in Lent because Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness. We model our “wilderness” time on Jesus’
wilderness time. The book of Mark doesn’t give us a lot of details about Jesus’
40 days of isolation, but as we listen to our scripture let us consider what it
would be like to be tempted by Satan, surrounded by wild animals, and attended
by angels. Hear the story as it is recorded by Mark chapter one verses nine
through fifteen:
At that time
Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the
Jordan.
Just as Jesus
was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit
descending on him like a dove.
And a voice
came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well
pleased.”
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,
and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Here ends the reading of the Word of God for the People
of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Understanding
Holy God, send us your Spirit to calm our thoughts and prepare our hearts and minds to hear your Word. Through your Word, teach us to see you more clearly and love you more deeply day by day. Amen.
We don’t spend
a lot of time in physical places we consider “the wilderness.” Most of us are more comfortable sitting on our
couch and watching Alaskan homesteaders on TV than we are becoming the homesteaders
ourselves. I certainly don’t feel the
urge to go off totally on my own and live out in the woods or the desert or on
an island. In fact, I saw a commercial
for the show “Naked and Afraid” the other day and I am still afraid for the
people I saw on the screen.
Before Jesus
got down to the business of his work as the Messiah, he spent 40 days alone in
the wilderness. He spent 40 days
preparing for his life’s calling. He
spent 40 days completely by himself, away from other people, living alongside
wild animals. Jesus must have had a lot
on his mind. To make things even more
complicated for Jesus, he had to contend with temptation. Satan tempted him. Evil tempted him. Jesus could have chosen not to do his work –
he could have taken the easy way out. He
had the capability to live life surrounded by luxury. Instead, he chose to become a nomadic
prophet. Jesus could have taken the easy
way out. Instead, he chose to sacrifice himself so that humanity could be
redeemed.
Jesus went to
the wilderness after his baptism. At the occasion of his baptism, Jesus was
fully immersed by his cousin John in the waters of the Jordan River. Jesus walked out into the river, John grabbed
him, and drew him down into the water. It
covered his body. It covered his head. It
cleansed the dirt from his body.
When Jesus came
up from being immersed in the water, he saw the sky open up and the Holy Spirit
descended on him live a dove. A dove is
a gentle bird, so the Spirit ascended gently upon Jesus. It poured into Jesus. And, Jesus heard an affirmation from God: God
said to him “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
The combination
of God’s affirmation and the presence of the Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to
survive his wilderness journey. They
enabled Jesus to resist temptation – the external temptation of Satan and the
internal temptation Jesus must have felt knowing he was capable of choosing a
different life for himself. God’s affirmation and the presence of the Holy Spirit
were a tremendous comfort for Jesus during his ordeal. And, when Jesus returned
to his regular life, God’s affirmation and the presence of the Holy Spirit
helped Jesus to do the work he was called to do as the Messiah.
Like Jesus, God
has made many affirmations of us. We are
God’s children and God’s beloved. In the
First Letter to John, we are reminded of God’s love:
“This is how God showed God’s love
among us: God sent God’s one and only Son into the world that we might live
through him. This is love: not that we
loved God, but that God loved us and sent God’s Son as an atoning sacrifice for
our sins.”
Through the prophet Isaiah, God says to us:
“”Through the mountains be shaken and
the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my
covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
Psalm 86 reminds us:
“But you, Lord, are a compassionate
and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
God’s affirmations guide us and support us as we journey through
the wilderness.
At the
beginning of the pandemic, I started posting little reminders of God’s love for
us on the Trinity facebook page. God has
made the beauty of the earth and the glory of the skies for us to enjoy. We are reminded by God’s word that is
recorded in the Bible that we can endure much because of the ways God
strengthens us. I have been including a
photo and a scriptural affirmation on each post to remind us that we are not
alone, God is always with us to love us, encourage us, and guide us.
Likewise, the Holy
Spirit is poured out onto us just as it was poured out onto Jesus at his
baptism. We believe the Holy Spirit is the part of God that is present with us
all of the time….the Spirit is the living presence of God that is nurturing us,
comforting us, and abiding with each of us.
We believe the Holy Spirit is poured into us when we are baptized – a part
God is poured into our souls. The presence of the Holy Spirit has been guiding
us as we have endured this time of pandemic.
We have been scared, lonely, and isolated, but the presence of God as
the Holy Spirit has been with us during this time of trial. The Holy Spirit accompanied Jesus as he
journeyed in the wilderness, and the Holy Spirit accompanies and guides us as
we journey to the end of our journey through the season of Covid-19.
We will
remember this time of Covid as the longest and perhaps strangest wildness
journey of our lives. Let us take comfort in knowing that we have not done this
journey alone, God is with us. God’s
presence in the Holy Spirit guides and sustains us. The journey will be over soon. The next 40 days we spend in the season of Lent
is actually the end of the journey. Easter
is coming.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
