Desert Dangers. <Read Mark 1:9-15>

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1 Rev. Joan Pell Sierra Pines United Methodist Church Sermon: 02/18/2018 Series: Wilderness Wonderings on the Way of Love Scripture: Mark 1:9-15 <Read Mark 1:9-15> Desert Dangers 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 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. 11 And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news. Lent is a time of journeying. It is our annual pilgrimage of following Jesus from his baptism to the cross. At the same time, we slow down and reflect on our own lives as we examine our own hearts and complicity in the sins of the world. It s a time for spring cleaning our hearts and as our Lenten devotional pointed out on Wednesday, a time to get ready for Jesus to enter as our special guest. With Lent beginning this year on Valentine s Day, I thought it was appropriate to think about the Wilderness that we are invited to enter each Lent as a journey along the Way of Love. (Red of course being the color we tend to use to represent love). As we wander along this way in the wilderness let s go deeper with some reflections and wonder at the same time. Mark was brief in his descriptions in our scripture. We don t get all the detail that the other gospels give us. So here today in 7 short verses, we have Jesus baptism, his wilderness experience, and the start of Jesus ministry. Mark tells us just four things about 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. So, we are going to have to use our imaginations. Let s wonder together. 1

2 Imagine you are going on a camping backpacking trip alone to the high desert. Arizona or New Mexico perhaps. What would you take? Backpack, Tent, Sleeping bag, Pillow, Stove & gas, Pans & plates, Utensils, Food, Water, Insect Repellant, Sunscreen, Hat, Clothes, Soap, toothbrush, towel, Camping stool, Fishing Rod, Book, pack of cards, Pen & Paper, ipod, Cellphone, Solar charger? Now you feel the weight of it. Are you really going to carry it all? Or are you going to discard some things? Pillow, Stove, Camping stool? What luxuries are you going to miss? Comfy bed, Computer, Kitchen equipment, Television, Clothes? Now you have lots of time on your hands. Perhaps it is no so bad! No worrying about meeting deadlines. No children or grandchildren to look after. No long to-do lists. No computer or phone to keep checking or maybe there is! No companions to talk to. There s time to unwind. Lots of time to exercise, or to sit still. Plenty of time to read if you brought a book, or your kindle if it doesn t run out of battery. What are you going to do with the silence? There s no nagging kids, spouse, boss! Will you hear the birds, the insects, the wind, running water? What will you start to notice? What wild beasts are you going to have to live with, or avoid? Snakes, spiders, mountain lions, ants, bears, mosquitos? What voices have you been shutting out of your life that you are now going to hear? What thoughts have you outrun that will now catch you up? What has been causing you to veer from the path you believe to be good and right? What temptations are going to grab you? Is the voice you hear from God or is it the devil tempting you? How do you know if it is Satan s voice or an angel? What will you do when you an encounter a wild beast? Are you going to stay or pack up? Where are you going to go? A wilderness is a hostile place, where you will experience trials and challenges. It is a place where you will be tempted whether to do something or to deny something. Perhaps your wilderness looks like a solo camping trip in the desert. Or it might be another physical place. Cities and towns can also be a wilderness. A place where many people live and congregate, and yet to some it can also be the loneliest place on the planet. It is a place where opportunities abound, and yet some of those opportunities can become temptations. It can be a dangerous place too, with high crime rates. Or maybe your wilderness is some other physical place, or perhaps it is a spiritual place. It could be a place that you choose to go, or one where you currently find yourself. It might be a place you can choose to leave or maybe you have no choice but to stay. Where s your wilderness? Is it a physical place or a spiritual place? There are two types of wilderness experiences that I d like us to ponder today. A wilderness could be a place where you did not go willingly, a challenging place 2

3 where you currently find yourself OR it can be a place where you choose to go and sometimes even the place where God sends you. FIRST. Let s wonder about the wilderness in the times that we do not go willingly wandering but when we simply find ourselves in the desert. In this case the wilderness is a place where the future feels dangerous and the path ahead unknown, when all hope seems to have vanished and we feel alone. It is a place of fear. The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert. As a group they were able to escape from Egypt, but I am sure that they did not know that they were signing up for 40 years of wandering desert time. During their time in the desert, they showed their allegiance to God, and they broke God s trust. They sought to provide for themselves instead of relying on God s promises, and they also learned how to be faithful to an unseen God. It was there that God made and renewed covenants with them. And it was the place where God delivered them. The wilderness is a holy place in the Biblical witness. In the wilderness we (1) become more aware of our dependence on God, (2) learn to trust God s way of being, (3) are connected to what God is doing in the world, (4) learn the value of things when all else is taken away, and the ultimate value of love. This week, on Ash Wednesday, saw us as a country unwillingly enter the wilderness together with 17 deaths at yet another school shooting, this time in Florida. We ve been there before, and nothing has changed. Perhaps this is the time to do that heart searching. What are we as a country being called to do? And what is your part in that? There is so much that I want to say on the topic of gun violence. The need for some sort of gun reform, the need for better access to affordable mental health services, help for bullies with anger issues and identifying and having a way to assist the loners and those who are bullied before they explode. As an article I was reading this week said, Violent crimes are committed by violent people, those who do not have the skills to manage their anger. The violence that is a part of anger disorders is fueled by chronic repressed rage that has found no socially acceptable outlet. There are many anger management skills that can be taught, such as: deliberate shifting from emotional to more objective thinking, deep breathing and other relaxation techniques, communication and listening skills, and identifying warning cues before anger boils over at_it_rather_than_mental_illness_to_stop_mass_murder.html 3

4 As a culture, we have been unwilling to do anything. Perhaps we need these 40 days in the wilderness to wonder about the solutions and what each of us is called to do. Each of us can vote; we can write letters or make phone calls to lobby our representatives. And we can all carry out difficult conversations with our neighbors. I have been horrified locally on social media since Wednesday by the anger, fear, accusations, divisiveness, and vitriol that is held and expressed by those we live, work, and shop with. It is up to all of us to speak up. I also recommend reading this 48-page document and study put out by the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church that reflects on Gun Violence and the teachings of the prophet Micah about beating swords into plowshares. 2 I will post the link later. Can we learn to trust in God s way of being? Can we see that the welfare and engagement of all regardless of our politics is vital? Can we see that the way forward is following God s path of peace, the way of love? All of us must take a close look at ourselves. How are we cultivating a culture of violence, hatred, anger and fear, and how can we participate in building a counterculture where people can experience God's intended peace and life abundant for all? 3 Now, listen for a moment to the opening verses of Mark 1:1-4. The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight, 4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark opens by telling us that this gospel is the beginning of the good news. It is not the total story, it is an ongoing one. God is still in the process of making all things new. Mark then goes onto to talk about John the Baptizer as he refers to the prophet Isaiah. This new story of Jesus is connected to what is foretold by the prophets and the ongoing story of God. And it begins with John offering baptism with God s gracious act of forgiveness of sins. John offers baptism in the desert (the wilderness) not in the temple. He offers it to all who come forward, not just those who can afford to offer the appropriate sacrifice. God was doing a new thing in the desert. God spoke a fresh word. 2 Kingdom Dreams, Violent Realities: Reflections on Gun Violence from Micah 4:1-4 (General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church)

5 So, when we find ourselves in the desert, let s remember to find the holy in the moment, to recognize that God s work is ongoing and is not finished, to listen to God s word in the desert, through the words of the prophets that still speak to us today, and that no desolation is so complete that God is not there with us speaking fresh words to us. God is always present. Indeed, as we face the wild animals, God sends us angels to wait on us. And I will say a bit more about that in a moment. SECOND. The wilderness can be a place where you choose to go, or perhaps where the spirit sends you to prepare for something. In this case the wilderness is a place of temptation, a place where we must resist trouble. What has been causing you to veer from the path you believe to be good and right? Yes, that s an area I struggle with! Jesus stood up to temptation, not because he was divine, but because he didn t use only his own resources. The angels ministered to Jesus. Angels could be divine beings with wings, but I don t believe that they usually are. Angels are those that God places in our lives to minister to us. We have the angels in our lives who are our role models and inspire us, who motivate us in some way by their actions or words, who bring the gift of laughter, who offer comfort, who share their own stories of temptation and those who come alongside us and travel with us What should we do with Satan and the wild beasts? Theologian Karl Barth taught that the devil and demons are subjects we should not linger over for long. The very thing they are waiting for is for us to find them dreadfully interesting and give them our serious attention 4 So, when we find ourselves tempted and troubled in the wilderness, let s remember to look for the angels that are all around us, and that God sends to us and places in our lives. The good news is that those angels are there even if the wilderness has Satan and wild beasts. LENT is traditionally a 40-day journey, of praying, fasting and giving. You can choose what spiritual disciplines you take up or give up on your personal Lenten journey this year. But as a way of deepening the way scripture is a living word in your life, I encourage you to read and meditate on the Gospel of Mark, to read the reflections in our devotional Lent for Everyone and to join me on Thursday mornings as we talk together about what is stirring in our hearts. 4 As quoted by Mark E. Yurs in Feasting on the Gospels: Mark, Eds. Cynthia A. Jarvis and E. Elizabeth Johnson (Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2014), 18. 5

6 And so, I invite you, in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by works of love, and by reading and meditating on the word of God. 5 Thanks be to God. Amen. Let us pray. Resources Almighty Creator, God of Love, lead us through the wilderness this Lent. As we wander on your path of love, show us, guide us, and remind us of your presence with us. Send us angels to walk alongside us, and to keep us safe from the dangers we will encounter. Enrich this time as we dig deep and do our soul work. Connect us to you and each other as we journey towards the cross. Amen. Bartlett, David L. and Barbara Brown Taylor, Eds. Feasting on the Word. Year B, Vol. 2. Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, Jarvis, Cynthia A. and E. Elizabeth Johnson, Eds. Feasting on the Gospels: Mark. Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, United Methodist Book of Worship. 6