The Shepherd’s Voice

Readings for March 1st
Gen 9:8-17
Ps 25:1-10
1Pet 3:18-22
Mk 1:9-15

In our Gospel lesson today we see some things that are somewhat difficult to understand. In reality some might say the whole lesson is difficult to understand. We see Jesus being baptized by John and immediately the heavens are torn apart with a voice saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” That’s pretty spectacular. What if that kind of thing happened to you?

Next it says “the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” What spirit, not God’s Spirit right? Was this an evil spirit of some sort? The ancient’s used to have a more vivid understanding of the spirit world than we do today.

Why should he (Jesus) be driven into the wilderness? It seems kind of strange to me.

Next we see Jesus is tempted by Satan, σατανᾶ (Santanas,) the adversary a term that we rarely use in this post modern world. When was the last time you were tempted by Satan? What or who is Satan anyway? What is your vision, idea, or understanding of Satan?

Next we see angels waited on him. Wow! This is some story. Mark also tells us, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news.”

I don’t know about you, but my head’s about ready to explode. There are so many things happening in this story that are hard for the modern mind to comprehend, some can’t.
How can we make sense out of this lesson in today’s world?

So we don’t get wrapped around the axel by the details let’s look at the bigger picture and see how God may be speaking to us through this text this morning.

First, Jesus baptism, we get it, Jesus was very special, history and lots of it, supports what Mark is saying here. Jesus, God’s only Son is someone with whom God is pleased. Jesus is part of the Godhead, the deity. If you’re a Christian this is one of those fundamental elements that have to be accepted on faith. Faith in a Creator, faith in a higher power, faith in a world we cannot see, where we can not be the center is a basic and necessary step.

C. S. Lewis, an educator, turned theologian after being a skeptic much of his early life makes an argument in his book Mere Christianity that there is much about God we know because it’s inherent within us. We don’t merely observe people, we are people. We know that it’s not right to cut in line in front of someone else. We know it’s not right to take something from someone else by force whether it be property or another persons spouse. We know these things even before we know something or someone called God. As we hear about a higher power, something or some spirit that put all this in place makes sense. Christianity is our way of making sense out of a world that does not make sense without it.

Our Gospel today can only make sense if we believe in a creator, a higher power who spoke this world into existence and established order in this world, which results in harmony if we embrace this model for the world. If we don’t chaos reigns. Chaos theory tells us it is an exponential growth in perturbations in the initial conditions – it means everything is random.
Jesus, God’s Son is meant to bring order out of chaos in this world. God made order out of chaos through creation and Jesus is the primary element in that ordering process.

Secondly, if order out of chaos is required in this world then this is one of Jesus’ primary reasons for being, for existing, it makes sense that in Jesus early stage of ministry he is going to be tested.

Our Gospel lesson says he is driven out into the wilderness and there he is tempted by an adversary, Satan. One of the things we can say about evil is that it exists in a chaotic state. When our lives are in chaos, sin crouches at the door. It was no different for Jesus.

This is part of the humanity of Jesus that we must understand in order for us to realize the extent of the sacrifice Jesus made for us dying on the cross. If we think of Christ death and resurrection only in a divine terms we miss out on recognizing the pain, the terrible suffering that Jesus had to go through on our behalf.

Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted, we have 40 days in Lent where we are in a wilderness and likely being tempted in many ways. If you have decided to give up something for Lent, be it coffee, chocolate, candy, or eating fast food it’s a way of having our humanity boldly confronted by limitation.

Tempted by Satan, by chaos, by the adversary is what all of us deal with and during the season of Lent it’s made abundantly clear. Jesus’ humanity was tested by Satan. We are tested by evil, by distress, by pride, by thinking we are better than that, but in contrast to Christ a perfect human we are less so. Does this make life a frustrating mass of chaos for all of us. Not necessarily….

A wise seeker after truth came to a saint for guidance one day.
“Tell me, wise one, how did you become holy?”
“Two words.”
“Well, what are they, please?”
“Right choices.”
The seeker was fascinated. “How does one learn to choose rightly?”
“One word.”
“One word! May I have it, please?” the seeker asked.
“Growth.”
The seeker was thrilled. “How does one grow?”
“Two words.”
“What are they, pray tell?”
“Wrong choices.”

I believe God’s purpose in times of testing is to help us grow and become mature in our faith. Most character development takes place in the struggles and hazards of life.

When it comes to the military, people go to boot camp because it tests the metal of the soldier before the heat of battle. When it comes to most any difficult endeavor in life people are put through tests, required to perform under stress, and they are challenged so that there is hope for success in the future. Why would God’s training for Jesus or for us for that matter be any different?

So tempted by Satan – Jesus was, we certainly are, but God has an answer. Often it’s a simple answer, but we don’t like to hear it.
I was watching the news a few nights ago and they were talking about diets. They had just completed a study on many different diets. There were many different plans, or paths and they were all virtually successful when you held firm to the plan, but they also all had something in common, exercise. They all included a small amount of exercise. Then at the end of the report the reporter said and oh BTW they also had one other thing in common, everyone ate about 550 calories less a day than they normally would. Duh….

Imagine that, the diets were all successful when people took in fewer calories. Eat less, lose weight, Sometimes the answer to temptation is a simple one, but we don’t want to embrace it. Certainly less temptation leads to less corruption, but there is even a simpler answer.
Don’t you hate it when people say that? According to Paul in his 1st letter to the Corinthian church he told them, “Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will NOT allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.”

God has made us a promise when it comes to temptation to sin that there is a way through it. After Jesus was tested he proclaimed the “Good News,” the kingdom of God has come near. Life can we different when God comes along side us.

During our Lenten journey we have an opportunity to think about our own temptations, our own testing and we can do what Jesus proclaimed, “Repent and believe the good news.”

Our God does not leave us out on a limb. Our God does not abandon us in times of testing. Our God has told us, “My grace is sufficient for you because my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9) Paul said I am content in weakness, in hardship, with insult…..
We’re just talking about the obvious here. If our focus needs fixing, let’s fixit! When we take our eyes off the cross, when we take our eyes off Jesus suffering, death and ultimate victory over death, we lose our way.

There’s power is Jesus name, there’s power in the cross – repent and believe the good news.

Amen

The Shepherd’s Voice – Sermon Audio

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