“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.” Mark 1:9-15

“Mark — why so short? Not important? Should we be paying attention to something else? Maybe temptation doesn’t matter as much to Mark, or it matters differently. So then, what does matter? In asking that question it appears that I am giving more weight to the baptism of Jesus which is as brief as his temptation. Which wins? If you choose temptation, then you have to read forward in Mark. What tempts Jesus? What tempts us? Yet Jesus’ baptism totally matters for Jesus’ temptation, as you know. God rips apart the heavens. The Spirit descends. The Spirit enters into Jesus. It seems that no resistance of temptation is successful without the presence of God. And therein lies our promise. Not necessarily that we have the power to defend and deflect temptation. Not that we are capable of taking on Satan in the wilderness, or at least, I know I am not. Not so much that baptism is our guarantee that will shore up the walls to keep out that which seeks to threaten our belief, our trust, our relationship with God. It’s that now, all battles with evil, with that which tempts us, the game is changed because God is present. We are not asked to do this out on our own, which can be one major misinterpretation of giving up things for Lent. God tears away our every attempt to say, “While I appreciate your help, God, I’ve got this. I can figure it out.” We don’t want help. We don’t want to ask for help. Help is a sign of insecurity, exposes weakness, but more so, when it comes to issues of faith, intimates our inability to thwart sin. It seems we are even good at pretense before God. But that’s where Jesus’ temptation in Mark should shatter our carefully constructed faith worlds, or at least the ones we create for the eyes of others only. Jesus goes into the wilderness, not with the conviction of success but only because he knows that God has chosen to rip to shreds any boundary, any structure, any ecclesiology, any denomination, any doctrine that would separate him from God. He enters the wilderness only with the promise of God’s presence.” (Dear Working Preacher, workingpreacher.org, The Greatest Temptation, February 15, 2015, Karoline Lewis)

Here’s a short story titled “The Road to Holiness”

A man seeking truth came to a Saint for guidance.  “Tell me, O wise One, how did you become Holy?”   The Saint said, “Two Words.”   “And what are they?” said the seeker.   “Right choices,” said the Saint. The seeker was fascinated.  “How does one learn to choose rightly?” “One Word,” said the Saint.   “One Word, may I have it please,” said the seeker.   “Growth,” said the Saint. The seeker was thrilled.  “How does one grow?”   “Two Words,” said the Saint.   “What are they?” said the seeker.   “Wrong choices.”

Ash Wednesday has come and gone, and I am just a little sorry to see it have gone by so quickly.  I love the liturgy of Ash Wednesday – this opportunity publicly and personally to reflect on our sinfulness – all of the wrong choices we have made in the last year – not even that, just in the last week.  At the beginning of the Ash Wednesday liturgy, we recite the 51^st Psalm.  In this Psalm we hear familiar words, such as “Create in me a clean heart, O G-d, and renew a right spirit within me.”  Also we hear these words, “For you take no delight in sacrifice, or I would give it.  You are not pleased with burnt offering.  The sacrifice of G-d is a troubled spirit; a troubled and broken heart, O G-d, you will not despise.”

Lent is to be a time where we reflect on our decisions, our choices, our failings, our mistakes – those things that give us a troubled spirit.  This is what I like about Lent.  We have this time to remember that “We are dust, and to dust we will return.”  It is easy to get to feeling high and mighty about ourselves, since our society tries and tries to tell us that we are more important or better off than we really are – you know, that our lives seem to have a “No-fault” clause.  This is the delusion that twists us into thinking that everything is something or someone else’s fault.  Oh my friends we need Ash Wednesday – to remind us how dusty our souls really are.  We are not, my friends, we are not what we think we are – sin clouds our perception of ourselves, puffs us up, and impacts our choices.  Sin is, of course, an ever present presence in our lives – and our lives are defined by the choices we make.  Lent then is a time where we should take some time each day to reflect on how well we really are doing – in our choices that affect our own spiritual and physical health, in our relationships with each other, and in our relationship with G-d.

This Lent I want you to prayerfully reflect on your relationships – your relationship with G-d, your relationships with each other.  Do you have a relationship that needs reconciliation or healing in some way?  Is there someone out there who might have suffered in some way because of your wrong choices?  This is what Lent is about – why we need Lent.  We get forty days to wrestle with our sinfulness – to deal with our own “wild beasts” – our words and wrongful actions for which we might be embarrassed, or about which we might have some regret.  If we want to grow in our relationship with G-d, we need to recognize how dusty our souls are, and reflect on ways that we can right some of the wrong choices we have made.  Yes it may be uncomfortable – it may hurt – it does not always feel good to admit that we are wrong – to say I’m sorry – but what better time to suffer than Lent.  But of course, what better way to grow as Christians when we are finally driven to our understanding of our complete dependence on G-d’s Grace, that washes over us in our baptism, and to which we will rise in the glorious resurrection with Jesus Christ.

Pastor Dave

“Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” Luke 6:20-26

{“The China National Tourism Administration has created tips for its citizens when traveling abroad, including:

• Don’t steal life vests from airplanes to give as gifts.
• Don’t leave footprints on the toilet.
• Don’t dry your underwear on lampshades.”}

Why doesn’t life come with a handbook? Why doesn’t someone hand us a pamphlet when we turn 7 and say “If you memorize these tips, your life will be a lot easier”? There are those who believe the bible is such a book. There are others who would tell you the Koran, the Book of Mormon, or the Torah is the book to turn to when seeking advice about life, faith and relationships. Still others would want you to know that they believe the bible is out of touch with the 21^st century and we only need to look to our own minds and wills to determine the best way to make it through life.

I still wish I had a pamphlet, or a handbook – because life is not as simple as some people make it seem. Life is about experience – about failures and successes – about losses and gains – about standing tall, and falling flat on my face. And in all situations I can turn to scripture and find a word of Grace or a word of admonishment from G-d that gives me the courage to keep on, keeping on. Others will turn to the Koran and find the same word of guidance. If the G-d we worship has come down through the ages in the Bible, the Koran, and the Torah, than the words of G-d’s love and Grace are more expansive than we could ever have imagined.    

Pastor Dave