And then Jesus emerges as a man with a mission, The time is now, the Kingdom of God is upon us, repent and believe!

Transcription

1 Mark 1:9-13 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved;with you I am well pleased. And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. This story of Jesus in the wilderness is one that raises far more questions than it answers. Obviously it s an important moment--in Mark s gospel, this is how Mark introduces Jesus, as a man who is baptized, then driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. He s there for forty days, tempted by Satan, living among the wild beasts, and waited upon by angels. And then Jesus emerges as a man with a mission, The time is now, the Kingdom of God is upon us, repent and believe! The gospels in Matthew and Luke fill in some of the details of what Jesus temptations looked like, but mostly we re left to wonder at what was going on for Jesus in this wilderness experience. Mostly, I m curious about Jesus motivation. The scriptures describe Jesus as kind of a passive figure in this tale--driven by the Holy Spirit, led around by the tempter, he s weak and famished. Yet he emerges with a clear sense of purpose and identity: the Kingdom is here and now, turn and live! Maybe that s what the wilderness experience was about, Jesus own turning, not exactly a repentance, but a transformation from passive to active, embracing God s vision for his life. Or maybe it was a time for discernment. At the baptism, a voice from Heaven declares Jesus to be God s beloved Son. What does that mean? What will Jesus do with that knowledge and power? That s nature of the three choices the Tempter offers to Jesus. Will Jesus use his power to feed himself or his people? To win over the religious masses? To conquer the nations? What kind of Messiah will he be? Maybe Jesus went into the wilderness to answer that question, and came out with a clear vision of the Messiah as one who suffers for and with the People of God. Or maybe it was less of a vision quest and more of a retreat, physical and spiritual preparation, toughening and gathering strength for the difficult journey ahead. Christian tradition has used this story as an example, that we are to follow Jesus into the wilderness, to face our fears, to listen and reflect, to endure physical fasts as spiritual discipline. That s what the tradition of Lent is all about, a 40 Day Spiritual Adventure, preparing and longing for the resurrection of Easter. It s interesting that Jesus doesn t explicitly ask his followers to do this. At this point in the story, he doesn t have any followers. It s just something that he does on his own.

2 From the narrative perspective, it seems that Jesus is enacting the ancient Exodus story, going through the water, into the wilderness for 40 somethings, and coming out on the other side into the Promised Land of God s Kingdom. The wilderness experience is a way of leaving his old life behind and entering into a new way of living that he calls the good news of the Kingdom of God. And so he s re-living the Story of the People of God, with himself at the center: If you want to know what God s People are meant to do, look at me, I m True Israel. And so when Jesus calls his followers, he s calling them not to go into the wilderness, but to join him in this new reality of the Kingdom of God among us. Like I said, this raises more questions than answers. Are we meant to seek out wilderness experiences, led by the Spirit, as Jesus was? Or are we to focus on life in the Kingdom, with Jesus example as a source of strength when the wilderness crashes itself upon us? Because it will. Whether it s a situational crisis, or relationship breakdowns, or physical limitations or mental illness, or the spiritual dark night of the soul, Wilderness happens. The World is not as it was meant to be, and we re not so hot ourselves The word that comes to mind is Desolation--ruin, emptiness, loneliness, without comfort. In our house right now, a couple of times a week, Nate s world will spin out of control and he ll melt down in anger or hurt or sheer tiredness. It s rough being 3 years old. And he ll give a list of what he needs: I want my blanket, and my soother, and warm milk in a bottle. Nothing else will make me feel better! The list of needs changes as we get older, but that feeling of I don t have what I need and nothing else will make me feel better lingers. The wilderness is part of what it is to be human. So maybe Lent is practice, a way to choose to venture into the wilderness, to explore it a bit, so that when the wilderness comes to us on its own terms, we ll be a bit less frightened and exposed. Or maybe that s not the point, maybe there s not a whole lot we can do to prepare for future wilderness-es, but maybe the practice of Lent is intended to mark us, to brand us with the reminder that God is with us even there. Whatever else it is, Lent is an invitation to spend some time in the wilderness. What s in YOUR wilderness? The primary feature of physical wilderness is space. Now that space can be different depending on what kind of wilderness we imagine. In Saskatchewan, we re most familiar with wilderness featuring wide open spaces and big skies. But wilderness space can also be filled with mountains, water, or vegetation. In theory, for a little while, wilderness looks beautiful. Want to get away for a while? That sounds great! But beyond a couple of days, life in the wilderness can get pretty rough. The primary feature of wilderness space is the wild-ness, it s untamed and out of control.

3 Perhaps that s the nature of spiritual wilderness as well. It can look very different depending on the person and situation. Sometimes, wilderness is empty, it s inactivity and disconnection, inability and loneliness. Other times, wilderness is too much, an overflowing of activities and pressures and expectations. Whether too much or not enough, the feeling of wilderness can be overwhelming and out of control. In the wilderness, space can be terrifying and depressing. But wilderness space can also be useful. When we re overwhelmed, we lose perspective, we get so caught up in the emotions that we can t see anything else. And what we need is, space. Some distance, so that we can see what s happening to us and in us, so that we might find some meaning and purpose in it, so that we can re-engage in healthy ways. This congregation is getting good at practicing this. This is one of the things that Krista has done really well in her time of leading us. Preparing Space to Listen and Speak is one of the key focuses of our church s identity statement, and that s what so much of Krista s work has been about. From the Speaking Out events on sexuality and mental health, to last year s Church Retreat, to various discussion groups to private moments, Krista has brought people together for meaningful conversation. She s done this with hospitality and openness, willingness to ask questions and the assurance that she s walking alongside us. She s encouraged us to pay attention to what s really going on under the surface, and she has faithfully sought out and pointed to the Spirit of God at work. What that has done for us, collectively and individually, is that we ve had space to take what s in the wilderness and bring that into focus. Whether that s anxiety about sexuality, the pain of rejection, fears about parenting, or loneliness or exhaustion, we ve been able to lay those things out and look at them, to consider their meaning, and most of all to share them together. That is how wilderness space becomes transformative space. I was reminded this week of the movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. The main character is an 8-year old boy whose life is full of typical eight-year old stuff, boredom at school, anxiety over his mom s relationship, anger and fear at his older sister and her friends. So, alone in his bedroom he retreats, to an imaginary world full of strange beasts. And from there, the story makes no sense as they break stuff for no reason, and throw gleefully wild rumpus parties, and throw rocks at each other and say awful things to each other and snuggle together, and cry bitterly at their parting. The plot is all over the place, but the story is true and full of the real stuff of childhood and, life.

4 What you ll find in the wilderness is mostly a bunch of stuff that you bring with you. Lent is an invitation to own that stuff. Again, to pay attention to it and name it and admit that a lot of what bugs you about the world is ultimately about you. Which is okay, because in the end that s the only piece that you can change anyway. This is another thing that Krista has modelled for us very well. She has brought your whole self into this pastoral thing. Sometimes that s meant bravely doing something, even if she was unsure of the right thing or the right way to do it. Sometimes that s been living in awareness of her limitations, naming it when our expectations are too high or when she needed more time to process things. Often, she brought sensitivity and tenderness to her work, and she has had the courage to lead with that vulnerability. That hasn t been without cost to her, and it has been a great gift to us. Mostly, she has paid attention to both her own spirit and God s Spirit, and that has encouraged others to follow her example. Myself included. The heart of the wilderness experience is about seeking the presence of God. As I said, Jesus story enacts the Exodus journey of Moses and the people of Israel. In that story, God meets them in the wilderness and names it holy ground. God lifts them up, speaks to them, gives them the gifts of justice and holiness and identity. And so too, when Jesus emerges from the wilderness, this the message that he s convinced of: Here in this place, new light is shining--now is the Kingdom, now is the day! Whatever happened in the wilderness, Jesus came out declaring that God is with us, and he made that the central message of his life.

5 It s weird that the place of desolation is also the place of God s presence. It certainly doesn t feel that way when you re in the middle of it. And it doesn t mean that the wilderness reality will be shaped to our liking. But the point isn t the finding, but the seeking. God is in the longing, the desire, the search. On this past Wednesday, Christians around the globe were marked with ashes. The mark of the cross, on foreheads and hands, saying boldly, I am weak, yet I am God s. That s the work of Lent, to mark us and claim us as God s beloved, not because we re tough or deserving, but because we re weak and needy. That s the promise, that God is with us, that we are God s beloved. And that s the witness of the community. We stand together, because together we can see the presence of God where individuals might not. I love this quote from The Fellowship of the Ring. Elrond is a wise elder who is giving a blessing to the Nine Companions as they set out on their impossible journey: This is my last word,' said Elrond. 'The Ring-Bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid... The others go with him as free companions, to help him on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside into other paths, as chance allows. The further you go, the less easy will it be to withdraw; yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not yet know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road.' 'Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens,' said Gimli. 'Maybe,' said Elrond, 'but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.' 'Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart,' said Gimli. 'Or break it,' said Elrond. 'Look not too far ahead! But go now with good hearts!' - Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien That s how I see belonging to the church. We re formally welcoming new members into our church today, and with that comes commitment. We make a commitment to each other, to walk together even into the wilderness. And yet, we can t know what that will mean when we make that pledge, so it s a vow that is constantly renewed and tested, and even broken, and yet picked back up again. The wilderness is a mystery. And Lent is an invitation to pursue that mystery, together. I m excited about what our Lent planning team is working on for the next six Sundays. They re inviting us out of our comfort zone just a bit, creating space to consider the journey from brokenness to healing. It s wilderness time. May we be open to God s leading in this journey.

6 A blessing for Krista (and all who walk the pathways of faith) "Beloved Is Where We Begin" by Jan Richardson If you would enter into the wilderness, do not begin without a blessing. Do not leave without hearing who you are: Beloved, named by the One who has traveled this path before you. Do not go without letting it echo in your ears, and if you find it is hard to let it into your heart, do not despair. That is what this journey is for. I cannot promise this blessing will free you from danger, from fear, from hunger or thirst, from the scorching of sun or the fall of the night. But I can tell you that on this path there will be help. I can tell you that on this way there will be rest. I can tell you that you will know the strange graces that come to our aid only on a road such as this, that fly to meet us bearing comfort and strength, that come alongside us for no other cause than to lean themselves toward our ear and with their curious insistence whisper our name: Beloved. Beloved. Beloved. Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace