First Sunday in Lent - Sermon
Sermon
Location St. Luke – Date 3/1/2009
First Sunday in Lent – Year B
Primary Text: Mark 1.9-15
In 1942, a young girl in Amsterdam was given a diary. In it wrote about the next two years of her life, the joys and happiness, and the trials and temptations. Anne Frank was in the midst of what we could call a wilderness. She was not in a barren land, but she was secluded from society, and faced trials beyond comprehension. Anne spent 2 years in her attic wilderness. Jesus spent 40 days in his. How long do we spend in our own?
Wilderness is an interesting concept. We often think of flat barren land, like that of Death Valley, hot beyond comprehension, no plant or animal life of any kind. Simply emptiness. Now this is not quite what is seen when you look at the wilderness in Israel and Palestine or in Jordan, depending on which direction Jesus was sent out from the river Jordan. It is most definitely hot there, but as for empty it is not. Most of the terrain around the Jordan is similar to what you would expect around a large river, it is very hilly with valleys cut by rain runoff leading to the Jordan. It is not really bare, it contains vegetation, small bushes and straggling grass, and there would be some native wildlife, as mentioned in the reading, Jesus was with the wild beasts. But what is the same, is the concept of emptiness and loneliness. There is nothing else but the few animals, and some plants. We hear so much about shepherds in the bible, mainly because it was almost impossible to raise anything else. There is little to no rain in most of the country and when it does it quickly erodes the ground and flows away. And so most of the people of Jesus’ time depended on herds of animals that could survive on the little plant life there was. The life of a shepherd was a lonely life, there was no time to stop in one area for a while and visit, you had to continually keep moving in order to have enough food for your herd. You could travel for days and not see anything other than your flock.
That is where Jesus finds himself, in the midst of rolling hills, alone. The connections between Jesus in the wilderness and the Israelites in the desert during Exodus are many. The Israelites having too many people to depend on their flocks for food required Manna sent by God for food, Jesus not having any flock is waited on by Angels. There are 40 years for the Israelites and 40 days for Jesus. The Israelites are tested by their journey through the desert, it changes them from freed slaves to a strong nation devoted to God. Jesus is tempted by Satan and returns proclaiming the good news of God. But there is one major difference. The Israelites are constantly complaining about their situation, they feel that they do not deserve the trials that they are faced with, but Jesus was simply in the wilderness tempted by Satan, we have no sign of complaint. In fact there could be a connection between Jesus being with the wild beasts and Adam in the Garden of Eden. Just as Adam, in Eden, was simply in the presence of God, Jesus’ time in the wilderness is not one of complaint, but one of contemplation and meditation with God resisting the temptations of Satan.
We ourselves are often in the midst of our own wildernesses. We find ourselves feeling alone, lonely and in the midst of rolling hills, with no one who can understand where we are. This occurs many times during the year, but often it is a thing that arises during Lent. Lent can be seen as a way to enter the wilderness and face trials, a time to see Jesus’ suffering and then dwell on our own suffering. There are groups that work to inflict suffering upon themselves in order to relive Jesus time in the wilderness and his suffering during the last days of his life. But where do we draw the line? Are we suffering simply to suffer, forgetting that Christ himself entered that wilderness before us. That Christ is with us in all the wildernesses of our lives?
A quote from Anne Frank who died at 15 in a concentration camp after her two years in hiding:
The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.
The wilderness of our lives should not be seen as empty barrenness, but empty promise. During our entry in the wilderness of lent, we should not see it as a barren place with no chance for growth, but one of promise, ready to be filled.
It should not be a time to undergo suffering, but a time to refocus our lives upon Christ. Jesus words at the end of our reading are “Repent, and believe in the good news.” This can be also translated as, “Refocus, and trust in the good news.” During Lent we work to re-focus our lives back towards Christ, many choose to use a Lenten Discipline giving something up or adding something to reach that goal, others simply strive to meditate on what it is that Christ did for us. But in all of that, we trust in the good news. That Christ died for us, and that Christ entered the wilderness, and was tempted, and that Christ is with us in our own wilderness, and is with us in our temptation.
Jesus was sent out into the wilderness, while there he was alone, he was lonely, everything around him was emptiness. When we find ourselves in our wildernesses, we may feel alone, we may be lonely, and everywhere we turn we may feel empty, but we must remember that we are not alone. Christ walks with us. We are not lonely. Christ has reached out and picked us up. We are not empty. Christ has filled our hearts.
Let us Pray,
Lord of compassion, be with us in our wildernesses, hold us during our times of hurt. We ask you to help us re-focus our lives back to you. When we feel alone, remind us of your presence. We thank you for sending your Son into the wilderness before us, we thank you for your presence with us in our suffering. Be with all those through out the world, in their own places of emptiness, work to help them feel filled again. Be with all those who are suffering from violence, hold them in your arms and give them peace.
In your Son’s name,
Amen
Location St. Luke – Date 3/1/2009
First Sunday in Lent – Year B
Primary Text: Mark 1.9-15
In 1942, a young girl in Amsterdam was given a diary. In it wrote about the next two years of her life, the joys and happiness, and the trials and temptations. Anne Frank was in the midst of what we could call a wilderness. She was not in a barren land, but she was secluded from society, and faced trials beyond comprehension. Anne spent 2 years in her attic wilderness. Jesus spent 40 days in his. How long do we spend in our own?
Wilderness is an interesting concept. We often think of flat barren land, like that of Death Valley, hot beyond comprehension, no plant or animal life of any kind. Simply emptiness. Now this is not quite what is seen when you look at the wilderness in Israel and Palestine or in Jordan, depending on which direction Jesus was sent out from the river Jordan. It is most definitely hot there, but as for empty it is not. Most of the terrain around the Jordan is similar to what you would expect around a large river, it is very hilly with valleys cut by rain runoff leading to the Jordan. It is not really bare, it contains vegetation, small bushes and straggling grass, and there would be some native wildlife, as mentioned in the reading, Jesus was with the wild beasts. But what is the same, is the concept of emptiness and loneliness. There is nothing else but the few animals, and some plants. We hear so much about shepherds in the bible, mainly because it was almost impossible to raise anything else. There is little to no rain in most of the country and when it does it quickly erodes the ground and flows away. And so most of the people of Jesus’ time depended on herds of animals that could survive on the little plant life there was. The life of a shepherd was a lonely life, there was no time to stop in one area for a while and visit, you had to continually keep moving in order to have enough food for your herd. You could travel for days and not see anything other than your flock.
That is where Jesus finds himself, in the midst of rolling hills, alone. The connections between Jesus in the wilderness and the Israelites in the desert during Exodus are many. The Israelites having too many people to depend on their flocks for food required Manna sent by God for food, Jesus not having any flock is waited on by Angels. There are 40 years for the Israelites and 40 days for Jesus. The Israelites are tested by their journey through the desert, it changes them from freed slaves to a strong nation devoted to God. Jesus is tempted by Satan and returns proclaiming the good news of God. But there is one major difference. The Israelites are constantly complaining about their situation, they feel that they do not deserve the trials that they are faced with, but Jesus was simply in the wilderness tempted by Satan, we have no sign of complaint. In fact there could be a connection between Jesus being with the wild beasts and Adam in the Garden of Eden. Just as Adam, in Eden, was simply in the presence of God, Jesus’ time in the wilderness is not one of complaint, but one of contemplation and meditation with God resisting the temptations of Satan.
We ourselves are often in the midst of our own wildernesses. We find ourselves feeling alone, lonely and in the midst of rolling hills, with no one who can understand where we are. This occurs many times during the year, but often it is a thing that arises during Lent. Lent can be seen as a way to enter the wilderness and face trials, a time to see Jesus’ suffering and then dwell on our own suffering. There are groups that work to inflict suffering upon themselves in order to relive Jesus time in the wilderness and his suffering during the last days of his life. But where do we draw the line? Are we suffering simply to suffer, forgetting that Christ himself entered that wilderness before us. That Christ is with us in all the wildernesses of our lives?
A quote from Anne Frank who died at 15 in a concentration camp after her two years in hiding:
The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.
The wilderness of our lives should not be seen as empty barrenness, but empty promise. During our entry in the wilderness of lent, we should not see it as a barren place with no chance for growth, but one of promise, ready to be filled.
It should not be a time to undergo suffering, but a time to refocus our lives upon Christ. Jesus words at the end of our reading are “Repent, and believe in the good news.” This can be also translated as, “Refocus, and trust in the good news.” During Lent we work to re-focus our lives back towards Christ, many choose to use a Lenten Discipline giving something up or adding something to reach that goal, others simply strive to meditate on what it is that Christ did for us. But in all of that, we trust in the good news. That Christ died for us, and that Christ entered the wilderness, and was tempted, and that Christ is with us in our own wilderness, and is with us in our temptation.
Jesus was sent out into the wilderness, while there he was alone, he was lonely, everything around him was emptiness. When we find ourselves in our wildernesses, we may feel alone, we may be lonely, and everywhere we turn we may feel empty, but we must remember that we are not alone. Christ walks with us. We are not lonely. Christ has reached out and picked us up. We are not empty. Christ has filled our hearts.
Let us Pray,
Lord of compassion, be with us in our wildernesses, hold us during our times of hurt. We ask you to help us re-focus our lives back to you. When we feel alone, remind us of your presence. We thank you for sending your Son into the wilderness before us, we thank you for your presence with us in our suffering. Be with all those through out the world, in their own places of emptiness, work to help them feel filled again. Be with all those who are suffering from violence, hold them in your arms and give them peace.
In your Son’s name,
Amen
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