Lent 1 B + In the wilderness + 2.18.24

 

Melissa Campbell-Langdell

All Saints, Oxnard

(Genesis 9:8–17; Ps. 25:1–9; 1 Peter 3:18–22; St Mark 1:9–15)

Michael Card’s song “In the Wilderness” begins like this:

In the wilderness
In the wilderness
He calls His sons and daughters
To the wilderness

But He gives grace sufficient
To survive any test
And that's the painful purpose
Of the wilderness

The readings today talk about seemingly ordinary moments that symbolize something at the cosmic level.

A flood across the whole earth is seen as a cosmic cleansing- the rooting out of evil and the establishment of a new covenant. Covenant in fact is a theme for the entirety of Lent this year.
Jesus is baptized and something happens at the cosmic level to spur him out into the wilderness.
Peter is trying to tie the salvation we have received back to the times of Noah, and show how Jesus may have harrowed hell exactly in order to redeem those who perished in the flood.

And our Psalm shows the voice of a faithful person just asking God to be very present in a time of need.

Card’s song continues:

In the wilderness we wander
In the wilderness we weep
In the wasteland of our wanting
Where the darkness seems so deep

We search for the beginning
For an exodus to hold
We find that those who follow Him
Must often walk alone

All we know from Mark is that Jesus suffered, was hanging out with the wild beasts and that angels served him – the term here is diakonia- so they ministered to him. He was alone but he was not alone. As he was surrounded by God’s creation and felt the presence of the angels.

Bishop Steven Charleston’s book The Four Vision Quests of Jesus points out that this time in the desert is a vision quest. Much like many young adults all over the world, Jesus was propelled out into the wilderness, beyond the bounds of civilization, in order to find himself and his purpose for ministry. Or perhaps it was to refine it. All we know is that, by being outside of his normal environment, he finds perspective and power from God to begin his ministry in earnest.

Here the time is fulfilled and we see the ministry begin. John the Baptist is in prison, has literally decreased and left the scene, and here Jesus increases, coming into his role in a baptized, tested and empowered role for ministry.

Card’s song continues
In the wilderness we're wondering
For a way to understand
In the wilderness there's not a way
For the ways become a man

And the man's become the exodus
The way to holy ground
Wandering in the wilderness
Is the best way to be found

And it definitely seems that Jesus finds a sense of how to be a man (read: mature person) and also how to live into his divine birthright. He is lost in order to be found. Here in the wide-open space, there is space for God to act that allows Jesus to clarify his calling.

Each Lent, we are also called into a wilderness. I find it interesting it is also the time when, on Wednesdays, we travel church to church on our Lenten Caravan. Why is this important? Fellowship, yes, but also because when we wander in the wilderness, or even into another church, we see others and we see ourselves anew.

Jesus felt community – in his baptism, in his preaching ministry, but even in the desert, amongst the wild animals and the angels. But sometimes we also need to seek solitude in order to hear God’s voice anew.
The wilderness may require time alone. How can you clear some mental or emotional space this Lent to listen to God? Perhaps if you like to listen to podcasts or books, consider a guided meditation or prayer podcast from time to time. If you like to watch novellas, how about taking 10-20 minutes to watch something devotional or read the Living Compass reflection for the day? If you like to take a walk, turn it into a walking meditation. Come early to church to walk the mini labyrinth. The possibilities are endless, but the idea is to take time to reflect.

Over the years, I have learned that, as important as it is to reflect, what comes up may be challenging. During our Eco Theology series, a point was made about how difficult it is to process the level of destruction that occurred in the flood. At one level I like to remember that God does not cause evil to occur (despite some ways of reading this story) but is alongside us as we experience things. Therefore people may have processed the experience of the flood as a judgment, but more likely it was caused by ecological events and God companioned the faithful, symbolized by Noah, through that experience. That all being said, we still wonder, why did God not save the others? Were all the rest so sinful? My image of God is not that of such a harsh judge, but of one who wishes to draw all to God’s loving arms.
Interestingly, the artist James He Qi’s depiction of Noah, which he endearingly refers to as his “Titanic” picture because of the outstretched arms of Noah’s wife, is a joyous image. He says that though Noah and his wife look like the doomed couple on the Titanic, that he wanted to convey the joy of God’s promise to us. But what do we do with those who perished?

One possible reading of Peter here is that Jesus went specifically to right the ancient wrong and released those who were in the underworld due to the flood. I would like to think this is even wider and that Jesus opened up salvation to all, not just to right an ancient wrong. But I love the idea that even God tries to correct God’s own mistakes.

This is what covenant is all about. Whether it is a marriage, a long-term friendship or our relationship with God, we must work out the difficult stuff together. We must navigate the waters of our lives and grow in relationship with God and each other.

And in order to do this, we must take time to wander in the wilderness. Usually this is metaphorical, but if you have a chance to get into nature this Lent, do that too! You never know what you might learn. About yourself, about others, and about God!