The First Sunday in Lent - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr
First Sunday in Lent - Mark 1:9-15
John was a seasoned hiker and nature enthusiast. He was heading out on a backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail, where he could spend a week in the wilderness, seeking solace and connecting with nature. After he started his journey, he wandered off the trail, got lost in the dense woods, and kept wandering deeper into the wilderness, away from the trails. Panic started to set in as John realized that he was lost.
As John was navigating through the dense woods, he started facing both physical and emotional trials. He was getting low on food. Being isolated from civilization weighed heavy on his spirit. He was gripped with fear when he came upon wild animals. As he was feeling more and more vulnerable, John sought guidance and strength in prayer.
As he continued to struggle, angels appeared to John in the form of two hikers who ran into him. They provided him with food and other essentials. But more importantly, they provided a lifeline of human connection. John thought it was divine intervention in the heart of the wilderness.
If you know the story of Jesus in the wilderness, you know from Matthew and Luke’s Gospels that it was a time of temptation. Both writers name the ways Satan tempted Jesus – wanting him to turn stone into bread, asking Jesus to worship Satan, wanting Jesus to throw himself off the roof of the temple to see if the angels would protect him. There are over ten verses in each of these gospels dedicated to those 40 days in Jesus’ life.
Mark’s account of these 40 days, that we read today, is very vague. Much different from the accounts of Matthew and John. The 40 days only takes up two verses in Mark’s Gospel. Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit drove him into the wilderness. He was tested by Satan. He was with the wild beasts. The angels waited on him. That’s it. There are no other details.
I think that Mark’s vagueness gives us room to imagine. It leaves it to our imagination as to what Jesus dealt with in the wilderness. It gives us room to bring our own wildernesses into the story. Mark invites us to live into Jesus’ story.
Jesus had just been baptized. Baptisms are beautiful occasions. While we may not remember our own baptisms, we’ve all probably been present to see and feel the joy when someone is baptized. We watch as the water is poured over the head of the person being baptized. Using oil, the sign of the cross is made on their forehead. It’s a time filled with wonderful emotions as the person being baptized is welcomed into God’s family. Baptisms are beautiful moments to be cherished.
Immediately after his baptism, Jesus was sent into the wilderness. After baptism, we too are sent into the wilderness, where we are tested and tempted. We too are sent into the wilderness where we encounter wild beasts and angels. That very positive experience in our baptism immediately changes to the undesirable experience of our lives in the wilderness.
If you look up the word “wilderness”, words like inhospitable, neglected, abandoned, and wasteland are used to define the term. If we use those words to define wilderness, I think that we can all probably find times and places in our lives when we can without a doubt, say that we were living in the wilderness. Times where we were living with temptations. Times when we were being tested. Times of poor health. Times of joblessness. Times of struggle in our lives. Times of conflict. Times where we were so overwhelmed beneath such piles of self-doubt and expectations, that we didn’t know where to go or what to do next. All of these things are wild beasts in our lives; maybe like the ones Jesus encountered in the wilderness.
What if we didn’t use the terms inhospitable, neglected, abandoned, and wasteland to define the word “wilderness?” What if we thought of the wilderness as a place to learn and grow? What if we thought of the wilderness as a place of transformation and discovery?
The wilderness is not just a place of neglect and abandon, of pain and sorrow. Living in the wilderness is where we learn to not fear the wild beasts. It’s where we recognize who and where the angels are in our lives. It’s in the wilderness where our faith is tested and refined. It’s in the wilderness where we find God’s presence in the midst of all our challenges. It’s where God provides comfort, strength and support – many times in unexpected ways.
Jesus was in the wilderness not just with wild beasts, but also with angels. And Jesus came out of the wilderness victorious. He came out of the wilderness proclaiming the good news of God and so should we.
John, the hiker I told you about earlier, said that he came from his ordeal, not defeated, but transformed. The challenges he faced became a catalyst for a renewed sense of purpose and faith in his life. It was in the wilderness that he found sacred ground, where he discovered the strength within himself, and the presence of God.
This Lent, I invite you to live into the wilderness of your life. The wilderness can be a place of isolation where we face our struggles and doubts. But it can also be a place of solace. It’s where we can feel the presence of God.
It’s important to be present in the midst of whatever is happening in our lives. Listening to the voice of God. Creating a space with no distractions. Embracing the beasts and the angels, so that we can come out from the wilderness renewed and refreshed.
Think about your wilderness journey this week. What or who are your beasts and who are your angels? How can you set aside time to live into your wilderness, emerging refreshed and renewed?
The wilderness is a place of beginnings, that we are thrust into immediately after our baptism. It’s at our baptism that we are given the promise that in the wilderness we will not be alone and where we are assured that the wilderness will one day turn into paradise for us.
Just like John’s journey in the wilderness, the trials we face can be transformative. When we are lost and vulnerable, we turn to God and emerge victorious, strengthened by the challenges we faced and the support we received along the way.
Amen.
John was a seasoned hiker and nature enthusiast. He was heading out on a backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail, where he could spend a week in the wilderness, seeking solace and connecting with nature. After he started his journey, he wandered off the trail, got lost in the dense woods, and kept wandering deeper into the wilderness, away from the trails. Panic started to set in as John realized that he was lost.
As John was navigating through the dense woods, he started facing both physical and emotional trials. He was getting low on food. Being isolated from civilization weighed heavy on his spirit. He was gripped with fear when he came upon wild animals. As he was feeling more and more vulnerable, John sought guidance and strength in prayer.
As he continued to struggle, angels appeared to John in the form of two hikers who ran into him. They provided him with food and other essentials. But more importantly, they provided a lifeline of human connection. John thought it was divine intervention in the heart of the wilderness.
If you know the story of Jesus in the wilderness, you know from Matthew and Luke’s Gospels that it was a time of temptation. Both writers name the ways Satan tempted Jesus – wanting him to turn stone into bread, asking Jesus to worship Satan, wanting Jesus to throw himself off the roof of the temple to see if the angels would protect him. There are over ten verses in each of these gospels dedicated to those 40 days in Jesus’ life.
Mark’s account of these 40 days, that we read today, is very vague. Much different from the accounts of Matthew and John. The 40 days only takes up two verses in Mark’s Gospel. Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit drove him into the wilderness. He was tested by Satan. He was with the wild beasts. The angels waited on him. That’s it. There are no other details.
I think that Mark’s vagueness gives us room to imagine. It leaves it to our imagination as to what Jesus dealt with in the wilderness. It gives us room to bring our own wildernesses into the story. Mark invites us to live into Jesus’ story.
Jesus had just been baptized. Baptisms are beautiful occasions. While we may not remember our own baptisms, we’ve all probably been present to see and feel the joy when someone is baptized. We watch as the water is poured over the head of the person being baptized. Using oil, the sign of the cross is made on their forehead. It’s a time filled with wonderful emotions as the person being baptized is welcomed into God’s family. Baptisms are beautiful moments to be cherished.
Immediately after his baptism, Jesus was sent into the wilderness. After baptism, we too are sent into the wilderness, where we are tested and tempted. We too are sent into the wilderness where we encounter wild beasts and angels. That very positive experience in our baptism immediately changes to the undesirable experience of our lives in the wilderness.
If you look up the word “wilderness”, words like inhospitable, neglected, abandoned, and wasteland are used to define the term. If we use those words to define wilderness, I think that we can all probably find times and places in our lives when we can without a doubt, say that we were living in the wilderness. Times where we were living with temptations. Times when we were being tested. Times of poor health. Times of joblessness. Times of struggle in our lives. Times of conflict. Times where we were so overwhelmed beneath such piles of self-doubt and expectations, that we didn’t know where to go or what to do next. All of these things are wild beasts in our lives; maybe like the ones Jesus encountered in the wilderness.
What if we didn’t use the terms inhospitable, neglected, abandoned, and wasteland to define the word “wilderness?” What if we thought of the wilderness as a place to learn and grow? What if we thought of the wilderness as a place of transformation and discovery?
The wilderness is not just a place of neglect and abandon, of pain and sorrow. Living in the wilderness is where we learn to not fear the wild beasts. It’s where we recognize who and where the angels are in our lives. It’s in the wilderness where our faith is tested and refined. It’s in the wilderness where we find God’s presence in the midst of all our challenges. It’s where God provides comfort, strength and support – many times in unexpected ways.
Jesus was in the wilderness not just with wild beasts, but also with angels. And Jesus came out of the wilderness victorious. He came out of the wilderness proclaiming the good news of God and so should we.
John, the hiker I told you about earlier, said that he came from his ordeal, not defeated, but transformed. The challenges he faced became a catalyst for a renewed sense of purpose and faith in his life. It was in the wilderness that he found sacred ground, where he discovered the strength within himself, and the presence of God.
This Lent, I invite you to live into the wilderness of your life. The wilderness can be a place of isolation where we face our struggles and doubts. But it can also be a place of solace. It’s where we can feel the presence of God.
It’s important to be present in the midst of whatever is happening in our lives. Listening to the voice of God. Creating a space with no distractions. Embracing the beasts and the angels, so that we can come out from the wilderness renewed and refreshed.
Think about your wilderness journey this week. What or who are your beasts and who are your angels? How can you set aside time to live into your wilderness, emerging refreshed and renewed?
The wilderness is a place of beginnings, that we are thrust into immediately after our baptism. It’s at our baptism that we are given the promise that in the wilderness we will not be alone and where we are assured that the wilderness will one day turn into paradise for us.
Just like John’s journey in the wilderness, the trials we face can be transformative. When we are lost and vulnerable, we turn to God and emerge victorious, strengthened by the challenges we faced and the support we received along the way.
Amen.
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