Pastor Laura Gentry
Mark 1:9-15
A little girl asked her mother, “Mom, where’d I come from?”
“God sent you,” said mom.
“Where did you come from?”
“God sent me.”
“How about Grandpa and Grandma?”
“God sent them.”
“Gee,” said the little girl. “There hasn’t been a normal birth in this family for 150 years!”
In today’s Gospel lesson we have Jesus, the one of extraordinary birth, doing something quite ordinary: he’s going into the wilderness.
In Mark’s Gospel there isn’t a whole lot said about this encounter. We simply read that he is baptized by John in the Jordan and then the Spirit of God drives him out into the wilderness where he is tempted for 40 days.
Now what kind of Spirit is this anyway? While Jesus is still dripping with the waters of baptism, it drives him out into the cruel, harsh wilderness of the Middle Eastern desert? Didn’t that same Spirit look really harmless a moment ago when it decended upon Jesus like a dove as God claimed him as his son? Now the Spirit picks up speed and pushes him like a gust of mighty wind. But we remember that this Spirit is powerful and it can do great things like in the vision Ezekiel has of the Valley of the Dry Bones. There the Spirit lifts dry, lifeless bones and gives them life again. It gives hope to a hopeless nation by promising God’s faithfulness.
Yes, Jesus is driven by the Spirit and now finds himself in the desolate desert with it’s life threatening climate and he is tempted by Satan not just for an afternoon, but for 40 days. Mark doesn’t tell us about the particular temptations Satan offers, as Matthew and Luke do. No, he just tells us that Jesus is there being tested.
Yet he does tell us a couple of very interesting things. First, that Jesus was not alone. He was with the wild beasts. And second that the angels waited on him.
Now this reference to the wild beasts in the wilderness makes us recall the words of the prophet Isaiah when he said: “Behold, I am about to do a new thing...I will make a way in the wilderness...and wild animals will honor me.” (Isaiah 43:19-20) This shows how Jesus is a fulfillment of ancient prophesy.
The aside about the angels is fascinating, isn’t it? They waited upon him—that is, they provided food for him. You can imagine an angel standing there in the desert with a notepad saying, “Okay Jesus, do you want fries with that?” Yes, even the Son with whom God is pleased needs help and is given it. The angels are there carrying him through this wilderness experience, especially as Satan hurls temptations at him. He is protected by these heavenly helpers.
And here we are in the midst of our own 40 day journey through the season of Lent with that same life-giving Spirit driving us. It is an opportunity to think about our own wildernesses. What troubles and temptations do we face? Do our loved ones face? Does our town face? Our country face? Our world face? It is all to easy to feel overwhelmed by all the things we must deal with. Just keeping our head above water is all we can do at times. The wild beasts are ever after us along with the presence of evil.
Nevertheless, we are driven by the Spirit of God. We are empowered by this life-giving Spirit who brings wisdom and wholeness and sends us angels just when we need them. In fact, God uses our wilderness experiences to strengthen and deepen our faith so that we will learn to hold fast to the faith that is within us.
This scripture ends with Jesus on the other side of the wilderness. Having survived these temptations, he rejoins civilization and moves around the Galilee with a powerful call to action. He cries: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
We need to believe the good news. Our wildernesses are deep, complicated and debilitating. We find trouble at every turn, temptations when we least expect them, tests all the time. And so God says we must embrace God’s kingdom, which has come marvelously near us in Jesus Christ. We must repent of our old ways, turn to Christ and live. Really live.
Lent is more than just a time to give up watermelon or water skiing or whatever it is you may have given up. It is more than just a time to attend extra worship services. It is a sacred, 40 day journey that bids us walk with Jesus, to live his way, to repent and believe the good news. The Spirit of God is driving us on to more dedicated discipleship. No matter how many Lents we’ve journeyed through, the call remains as urgent as ever. Let us heed the call today: repent and believe the good news! Amen.
“God sent you,” said mom.
“Where did you come from?”
“God sent me.”
“How about Grandpa and Grandma?”
“God sent them.”
“Gee,” said the little girl. “There hasn’t been a normal birth in this family for 150 years!”
In today’s Gospel lesson we have Jesus, the one of extraordinary birth, doing something quite ordinary: he’s going into the wilderness.
In Mark’s Gospel there isn’t a whole lot said about this encounter. We simply read that he is baptized by John in the Jordan and then the Spirit of God drives him out into the wilderness where he is tempted for 40 days.
Now what kind of Spirit is this anyway? While Jesus is still dripping with the waters of baptism, it drives him out into the cruel, harsh wilderness of the Middle Eastern desert? Didn’t that same Spirit look really harmless a moment ago when it decended upon Jesus like a dove as God claimed him as his son? Now the Spirit picks up speed and pushes him like a gust of mighty wind. But we remember that this Spirit is powerful and it can do great things like in the vision Ezekiel has of the Valley of the Dry Bones. There the Spirit lifts dry, lifeless bones and gives them life again. It gives hope to a hopeless nation by promising God’s faithfulness.
Yes, Jesus is driven by the Spirit and now finds himself in the desolate desert with it’s life threatening climate and he is tempted by Satan not just for an afternoon, but for 40 days. Mark doesn’t tell us about the particular temptations Satan offers, as Matthew and Luke do. No, he just tells us that Jesus is there being tested.
Yet he does tell us a couple of very interesting things. First, that Jesus was not alone. He was with the wild beasts. And second that the angels waited on him.
Now this reference to the wild beasts in the wilderness makes us recall the words of the prophet Isaiah when he said: “Behold, I am about to do a new thing...I will make a way in the wilderness...and wild animals will honor me.” (Isaiah 43:19-20) This shows how Jesus is a fulfillment of ancient prophesy.
The aside about the angels is fascinating, isn’t it? They waited upon him—that is, they provided food for him. You can imagine an angel standing there in the desert with a notepad saying, “Okay Jesus, do you want fries with that?” Yes, even the Son with whom God is pleased needs help and is given it. The angels are there carrying him through this wilderness experience, especially as Satan hurls temptations at him. He is protected by these heavenly helpers.
And here we are in the midst of our own 40 day journey through the season of Lent with that same life-giving Spirit driving us. It is an opportunity to think about our own wildernesses. What troubles and temptations do we face? Do our loved ones face? Does our town face? Our country face? Our world face? It is all to easy to feel overwhelmed by all the things we must deal with. Just keeping our head above water is all we can do at times. The wild beasts are ever after us along with the presence of evil.
Nevertheless, we are driven by the Spirit of God. We are empowered by this life-giving Spirit who brings wisdom and wholeness and sends us angels just when we need them. In fact, God uses our wilderness experiences to strengthen and deepen our faith so that we will learn to hold fast to the faith that is within us.
This scripture ends with Jesus on the other side of the wilderness. Having survived these temptations, he rejoins civilization and moves around the Galilee with a powerful call to action. He cries: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
We need to believe the good news. Our wildernesses are deep, complicated and debilitating. We find trouble at every turn, temptations when we least expect them, tests all the time. And so God says we must embrace God’s kingdom, which has come marvelously near us in Jesus Christ. We must repent of our old ways, turn to Christ and live. Really live.
Lent is more than just a time to give up watermelon or water skiing or whatever it is you may have given up. It is more than just a time to attend extra worship services. It is a sacred, 40 day journey that bids us walk with Jesus, to live his way, to repent and believe the good news. The Spirit of God is driving us on to more dedicated discipleship. No matter how many Lents we’ve journeyed through, the call remains as urgent as ever. Let us heed the call today: repent and believe the good news! Amen.
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