Mark 1: 9-15
At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God’s Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”
At once, this same Spirit pushed Jesus out into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by Satan. Wild animals were his companions, and angels took care of him.
After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.”
Today marks the first Sunday in Lent for this year – the entrance into those 40 days in the wilderness, where Jesus thought hard and prayed hard about what was happening in his life. A time when he looked into an uncertain future, dealt with his doubts and fears, and, presumably, came out ready to act – with no guarantees – except that he was loved by God.
Traditionally, it has been the time when we too look into the wildernesses of our own lives and confront our fears and failures and uncertainties.
There are times when life seems to come at us too hard and too fast and we no sooner deal with one crisis before there are three more demanding our attention. Mark’s “hurry, hurry” style of writing shows us that Jesus was not exempt from this pressure.
It’s a very short reading today – just six verses – and in those six verses Jesus is baptized, called God’s own beloved son, wrestles with the demons of doubt, is cared for by angels, comes out of the wilderness, and immediately begins traveling the region and proclaiming the Kingdom of God – which is HERE! Which is NOW!
Six verses.
At the beginning of those six verses Jesus is a nobody. By the 6th verse, he is the Chosen Messenger of God.
For two thousand years both theologians and ordinary pew-sitters have wondered what actually went on during those forty days in the wilderness. Mark’s version here tells us almost nothing aside from being tested by satan. Mark is in his usual hurry to get Jesus out there, preaching the Kingdom of God.
Matthew’s version (and Luke’s, which appears to have been lifted pretty well straight out of Matthew) does give us more story details, but those of us who are unwilling to accept that version as literal fact are still left wishing for actual details of just what the process of being “tested by satan” really entailed. My own suspicion is that it was all pretty similar to what we all go through, at times, with “I can’t do that,” or “I hate that idea,” or “I never asked for this,” or “why are you dumping all this on me?” Or all the dozens of variations we find to wrestle with in our dark nights.
Jesus’ demons were just specific to who Jesus was and what he was being called to do.
It’s important to remind ourselves here that Mark’s is the first written gospel. The one closest in time to the living Jesus. Is Mark’s version without a lot of detail just because that was how Mark chose to write it – or because nothing else was really known about those first few weeks? The only one who would have known the truth would have been Jesus. Was he truly likely to have decided to reveal such an intimate story about that time spent in deep communion with his Father?
Matthew’s version was written fifteen or twenty years later. The story – or the mythology that always grows around the lives of heroes -- had grown considerably in those intervening years.
We seem to be living through a nationwide dark night of wrestling with the demonic.
It appears that kindness and compassion have, in many parts of our country, disappeared. These are dark nights indeed. Jesus faced them, too. None of the things I’ve listed here are new – they have existed in every century in greater or lesser degree.
And Jesus came away triumphant – not in his own power and wisdom, but in his faith in a Father-God who loved him and in his heart-knowledge that staying faithful to this God, no matter what the world might offer or threaten, would mean that God’s goodness would eventually triumph.
Jesus defeated the ugliness and heartlessness of this world by simply knowing the difference between right and wrong – and refusing to give in to “wrong” – and by standing up to it. And by showing the world – by his life – the ultimate powerlessness of evil.
We are called to do the same. As followers of Jesus, we are called to recognize evil – however much it may come disguised as “normal,’ or “for the greater good.” And we are called to stand against it until it can stand to longer ... with no guarantees except that we are loved by God.
May God give us strength and wisdom -- and courage.
Thanks be to God.
Traditionally, it has been the time when we too look into the wildernesses of our own lives and confront our fears and failures and uncertainties.
There are times when life seems to come at us too hard and too fast and we no sooner deal with one crisis before there are three more demanding our attention. Mark’s “hurry, hurry” style of writing shows us that Jesus was not exempt from this pressure.
It’s a very short reading today – just six verses – and in those six verses Jesus is baptized, called God’s own beloved son, wrestles with the demons of doubt, is cared for by angels, comes out of the wilderness, and immediately begins traveling the region and proclaiming the Kingdom of God – which is HERE! Which is NOW!
Six verses.
At the beginning of those six verses Jesus is a nobody. By the 6th verse, he is the Chosen Messenger of God.
For two thousand years both theologians and ordinary pew-sitters have wondered what actually went on during those forty days in the wilderness. Mark’s version here tells us almost nothing aside from being tested by satan. Mark is in his usual hurry to get Jesus out there, preaching the Kingdom of God.
Matthew’s version (and Luke’s, which appears to have been lifted pretty well straight out of Matthew) does give us more story details, but those of us who are unwilling to accept that version as literal fact are still left wishing for actual details of just what the process of being “tested by satan” really entailed. My own suspicion is that it was all pretty similar to what we all go through, at times, with “I can’t do that,” or “I hate that idea,” or “I never asked for this,” or “why are you dumping all this on me?” Or all the dozens of variations we find to wrestle with in our dark nights.
Jesus’ demons were just specific to who Jesus was and what he was being called to do.
It’s important to remind ourselves here that Mark’s is the first written gospel. The one closest in time to the living Jesus. Is Mark’s version without a lot of detail just because that was how Mark chose to write it – or because nothing else was really known about those first few weeks? The only one who would have known the truth would have been Jesus. Was he truly likely to have decided to reveal such an intimate story about that time spent in deep communion with his Father?
Matthew’s version was written fifteen or twenty years later. The story – or the mythology that always grows around the lives of heroes -- had grown considerably in those intervening years.
We seem to be living through a nationwide dark night of wrestling with the demonic.
- Children are shot down and left lying in their blood
- The survivors are traumatized for the rest of their lives – don’t try telling me they “get over it”
- And the so-called “responsible people” do nothing – and everyone knows why – all for money
- Families are being torn apart on a regular basis
- Peaceful, contributing members of society are brutally torn away from right in front of their children – and disappear – with no recourse – all because one crazy old man is afraid of strangers
- That same old man is doing his best to start a war, anywhere in the world, so he can feel like a hero – and again, we appear to be helpless to stop him
- The poor are routinely punished for being poor, with the meager assistance we grudgingly give them being chopped down to almost nothing
- The disabled, the homeless, the sick and the poor are stripped of governmental help
- More and more cities are making it a crime to feed the hungry
- People fleeing from murderous regimes in their old country are refused sanctuary – turned away to go back and be killed
It appears that kindness and compassion have, in many parts of our country, disappeared. These are dark nights indeed. Jesus faced them, too. None of the things I’ve listed here are new – they have existed in every century in greater or lesser degree.
And Jesus came away triumphant – not in his own power and wisdom, but in his faith in a Father-God who loved him and in his heart-knowledge that staying faithful to this God, no matter what the world might offer or threaten, would mean that God’s goodness would eventually triumph.
Jesus defeated the ugliness and heartlessness of this world by simply knowing the difference between right and wrong – and refusing to give in to “wrong” – and by standing up to it. And by showing the world – by his life – the ultimate powerlessness of evil.
We are called to do the same. As followers of Jesus, we are called to recognize evil – however much it may come disguised as “normal,’ or “for the greater good.” And we are called to stand against it until it can stand to longer ... with no guarantees except that we are loved by God.
May God give us strength and wisdom -- and courage.
Thanks be to God.
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