Preacher Man...first sunday in Lent

Within the Uniting Church in Australia is a network of normal everyday believers who with some study and training can be considered to help share the load of preaching and leading church services. I am going through the preparation phase for this at the moment...its called accreditation for Lay Preacher. Last night was my second time being assessed as I lead the worship service which I had put together and preached. I really enjoy delving into scripture and seeing what comes through study and inspiration. So I have posted below my sermon which focuses on Mark 1: 9-15..the revised common lectionary reading for Year B first sunday in Lent.
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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.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming
the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good
news."

I love a good book. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had an insatiable appetite for a good novel. I’ve never really been a reader of biographies or nonfiction books, much preferring to lose myself in a world that the author has created. Some of my favourite authors over the years have been Bryce Courtenay, Matthew Reilly, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Jack Higgins, John Grisham…they all have the knack for weaving a story and sometimes having it just packed full of action – everything just rockets along at breakneck pace.

Imagine my surprise when many years later, I actually sat down and read through books of the bible properly…not just flicking through verses we read in church. There are many parts of the bible that just grab your attention and draw you in as the story unfolds. The gospel of Mark, which we heard from tonight is especially a great example of this. Mark has a sense of urgency about his writings, and it reads like a blockbuster novel. The other gospels take their time… set the scene… & maybe delve into the characters in a bit more detail, but not Mark, he doesn’t muck around!

So it’s probably no surprise given this; that in the first chapter and within only a few verses of the book beginning that Mark has already told us his intentions for this book, introduced a couple of key players and already has the hero of the story facing the first challenge. But that’s just the style of this gospel – no mucking around, lets just get straight to the point.

So what is the point? This gospel is a narrative, a story, and as we can see from the very opening lines of this book that this is “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1)

But we’re focusing in tonight on 3 events that Mark covers in merely 7 verses. Three major events that actually set up the hero of this story and identifies exactly who it is Mark wants to tell us about. We have Jesus baptism, his temptation and a proclamation to the people of who he is and what he’s here to do. But more than that, this reading actually helps us understand a little more about the season of Lent in which we find ourselves at the moment. But I’ll expand more on that shortly.

The first part of this narrative that we’re looking at tonight, deals with baptism. We’re told simply that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the River Jordan. Just by reading this gospel we have no idea how far Jesus has travelled, I’ve never been to Israel and just by looking at some maps of the region during Jesus time, it is difficult to determine exactly the area, but there seems to be a few days journey from Nazareth to the river, in fact biblical scholars tell us that Nazareth is a small village about 25km west of the Sea of Galilee and that the river runs out of the sea of Galilee 

This means that it wasn’t by chance that Jesus was at the river when John was there. In fact you could probably jump to the conclusion that this was not a chance encounter that one or both of them knew that Jesus would be there.

Verse 10 & 11 tells us exactly what happened here though (read verse). The sky tears apart – it doesn’t open, it doesn’t have something appear – it is literally TORN apart. And then through that tear, the spirit of God comes down and God’s voice is heard…this is what actually shows that Jesus is the one that John has been preaching about…the one greater than him etc etc Jesus, through Baptism, is anointed as the Son of God.

All of a sudden though, after we read of this spirit coming down on Jesus, we’re on to the next part of the narrative – Mark doesn’t even let us digest this moment because IMMEDIATELY Jesus is driven out of the River and into the wilderness. The wilderness is a dark place. The only things there are the wild beasts and Satan. It is place of hopelessness and it is here that Jesus encounters Satan.

But it’s interesting how Mark has written this account of Jesus time in the wilderness and how it differs from the other gospel accounts. In Matthew’s account we see that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and it was only then when he was completely exhausted, famished and thirsty that Satan came to him. Here, we read that Satan was with Jesus for the entire 40 days…a constant time of temptation and struggle. But we also read that the angels waited on Jesus…they waited on him the entire 40 days. 

Here is Jesus fighting back the temptation of Satan, everything that Satan could throw at him no doubt. But he’s not there alone. The Angels of God are with him. In around 600 AD Catholic Pope Gregory the first…later known as Saint Gregory or Gregory the Great and recognised for his prolific writings – even by John Calvin who claimed he was the last good pope…wrote about this particular encounter “he dwelt among beasts as a man, he was ministered to by Angels as God”.

What a powerful image…here is the best example without actually spelling it out in big bold letters…Jesus is fully human and yet fully divine. He suffered temptation, he spent time in the wilderness, and was vulnerable to Satan. I think we can all understand that it would have been a very long 40 days and yet he overcame it all.

After this Jesus returns to Galilee – John has been arrested and is no longer out in public telling everyone to prepare the way of the Lord. Now it is Jesus, the one John baptised and called greater than him, who starts proclaiming something pretty spectacular. 

Jesus comes into the region and tells everyone that what John had been saying has now come true… (read V 14) Jesus fulfills this prophesy and is showing people that the messiah, the one the prophets wrote about centuries ago is right there in front of them. In Mark's account of "the good news" this is the official beginning of Jesus’ adult ministry…the beginning if you like of the progression towards the cross.

So how does this relate to the season of Lent? Lent is one of the oldest observations on the Christian calendar. Like all Christian holy days and holidays, it has changed over the years, but its purpose has always been the same: self-examination and penitence, demonstrated by self-denial, in preparation for Easter.

In actual fact...In 325, the Council of Nicea discussed a 40-day Lenten season of fasting, but it's unclear whether its original intent was just for new Christians preparing for Baptism, but it soon encompassed the whole Church.

The significance of the 40 days, you've proably already noticed. Jesus spent 40 days before he started his ministry in the wilderness. We guess that this was a time of fasting as there was no mention of eating and drinking and also because of the influence of the accounts in the other gospels.

But why 40 days? Why not 10 or 20 or more or less? 40 is a significant number in biblical history. When God wanted people to get the message, it usually involved the number 40…(audience participation time) OK lets do a quick poll…who can think of some significant 40 events in the bible…well here’s some that I have here (thanks to Anne Hamilton author and BIBLICAL mathematician/numerologist and creative writer at UCB Australia for more about check out http://www.wombatbooks.com.au/authors.html) 

So lent is not only a time that is reminiscent of Jesus 40 days in the wilderness but also applies to many other significant moments in the bible.

Another thing sbout Lent is that it does not include Sunday in the fasting, prayer and goodworks – all the other days of the week are set aside as time in which to prepare ourselves for the Easter observance.

But why not Sunday?? Sunday is a day of celebration. A day that in the Christian church celebrates the resurrection of Christ. In fact it was in the early church a day of feasting, that would sustain you for the entire week of fasting.

The reading we’ve focused on today is a great way to introduce us to this season of preparation and reflection…

We see the progression of Jesus that is also our progression.

First, God places a call upon our lives. It doesn’t matter what sort of a call it is, there is always one there. Maybe its to be in leadership, not necessarily in the church- could be at work, could be at uni, could be in the community. Maybe its simply to be a true and faithful witness to Christ. Be that shining light of truth to others. No matter what it is, you are called to do it. Jesus was called by God to be our savior…his journey started with baptism, then temptation and then and only then was he able to proclaim God’s truth.

Our journey too starts with baptism. In fact the importance of baptism is reflected by the apostle Paul in Galatians 3: 26 -29 (read scripture page 316). This shows us how we are all part of God’s plan and all part of God’s ministry in this human realm. But that’s not where the journey ends. Lent is a great time for us all to reflect on our own personal journey and how that is influenced by the Journey of Jesus towards the cross and of course the significance of the cross event itself.

We all have our time in the wilderness where Satan will throw everything at us…lies, tricks, half truths, they are all part of the enemy arsenal and Satan has no qualms about how and when he will use our past mistakes to make us think that God has abandoned us…to make us question our belief and our trust in Christ the savior. But just as Jesus was tempted and tested for 40 days and survived – the same is true for each one of us.

It’s the next part of tonight’s scripture passage that should ring true for us as well. Jesus bounced back from his time away, stronger and more certain than ever. He knew what it was that God had planned for him and he knew his place in the whole event. But more than that he was now ready and prepared to preach and begin the journey towards his destiny.

For the people of Galilee they could see Jesus in flesh and blood and hear him proclaim the good news. For us now though, Jesus is actually present in the proclamation. We experience Jesus through the scriptures and through our own personal encounters with God as we come near, repent and believe in the Good News.

To discover this Good News for your self, read your bible. Both the blockbuster novel parts that just grab your attention and draw you in as the story unfolds, and those that take their time… set the scene… & maybe delve into the characters in a bit more detail.

So as we all travel through this season of lent, can I encourage you to find a way to engage and to draw closer to God in preparation for easter. Maybe you would like to journey through the Lent Event (www.lentevent.com - for more see last blog) with one of the study sessions in the notices, discovering more about the way we engage with the world around us. Maybe you’ve already given something up for lent…that sacrifice that can lead to understanding and commitment. Or maybe its something else entirely. Whatever you choose, I pray that God will speak to you and encourage you and prepare your heart for the dark times and the Joyous times of this Easter Season.

AMEN