St. Mark 1:9-15
Dearly beloved,
It is the 1st Sunday in Lent, the Sunday historically known as
Invocavit. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. Lent is known for its
repentant nature. The church, the Bride of Christ, is encouraged to
join in with personal reflection for the next several weeks. You are
invited to join in this Lenten meditation. The altar is adorned in
purple, signifying the royal nature of Christ’s passion.
The liturgy “buries” the alleluias, striking a somber chord. The
alleluias shall return on the Feast of the Resurrection. The introits
and psalms reflect this tone as well. The scripture readings in Lent
call out for repentance. Christ’s earthly struggle becomes evident.
The Holy One of God must come face to face with all the wrong that is
in the world due to sin.
The ponderings and meditation to which you are invited for the next
several weeks concerns your spiritual condition. The topic concerning
you also concerned God in the flesh and St. Mark records it for us.
Jesus was baptized in the Jordan and we pondered that several weeks
ago. What concerns the church today is what happens to Jesus
immediately following His baptism. We are told, “The Spirit
immediately drove him out into the desert. And He was in the desert
forty days, tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts.”
The Greek gives us the image of a violent driving into the desert.
He was cast into the desert. He was in the desert which is a
dangerous place to dwell. The desert in the Bible is where Satan
lives. It is uninhabitable. It is a place where unprotected animals
are devoured. Wild beasts are there. The desert is no place of
peace: it is a place where you feel alone and forsaken. Jesus was
there for forty days. He fasted; He was hungry; He was tempted.
Forty days in the desert—we now face forty days in Lent (not
including Sundays). What happens to Jesus just after His baptism in
the Jordan River is what you are to ponder during Lent. Holy Baptism
brings you into the grace of Christ, but you then go forth to the
world not as the world’s child but as God’s child—a blessing to be
sure. But this changeover from being the world’s child to Christ’s
child brings a very similar scene to pass in your life.
You go in amongst beasts. You are then tempted by Satan. The world
will try to take from you the spiritual food and nourishment which you
have received. You will become hungry. Are you ready for the task?
How have you held up in the midst of temptation? Have you fallen? Have
you sinned? Did you lust? Did you hate? Have you been faithful to
Jesus? This is the stuff that Lent is made of. We are to ponder these
things.
St. Paul speaks similarly to the Corinthians: “Do you not know that
in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So
run that you may obtain it”(1 Corinthians 9:24). To run a race means
that the runner has a destination. St. Paul is saying to run in such
a way as to actually get there. Several things are necessary for an
athlete to actually finish. Just the right amount of water should be
consumed. Too little causes overheating; too much water will cause
cramps.
Sprinting the whole time is not good. Going too slow will make the
finish line an unattainable goal. Lent is the church’s opportunity to
things on these things from a spiritual vantage point. Holy Baptism
puts you on Christ’s road. You begin your spiritual journey. The
Holy Spirit is given to you. It is by the Holy Spirit’s power that
you are able to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior. It is also by
the Holy Spirit’s power that you are able to live in a God-pleasing
manner.
In short, it is the Holy Spirit given to you that you are able to
journey with Christ. But sin doesn’t leave you. The flesh cries out,
the desert world that we live in still come our way, hindering us.
St. Paul talks about this best in Romans 7. “The good that I will to
do I do not do, but the evil I will not to do, that is what I keep on
doing.” So it is for the godly person in Christ. The struggle is
evident and the Lenten seeks to draw this out of us through the
preaching of repentance.
You joined a spiritual battle the day you were brought into God’s
kingdom through Holy Baptism. The battlefield is not far from any of
us, but it is Jesus who went onto the battlefield. This was the
reason for God taking on flesh and dwelling among us (St. John 1:14).
This spiritual reflection that occupies our hearts and minds is not
meant to lead us to despair or cause us to give up.
Rather, thinking about our spiritual needs and our spiritual
conditions is meant to bring a needed corrective into our focus. Too
much time with the world, and we will think we have to do this
spiritual journey on our own. This is how the sinful world thinks.
But the needed corrective that this spiritual reflection is meant to
bring to you is to shift your focus off of yourself and on to Jesus.
Lent is getting you ready for Easter.
You are supposed to conclude that you cannot make it on this
spiritual journey by yourself. Jesus has to do it. In fact, St. Mark
leaves out the part of the account of Jesus in the desert that is
meant to bring us hope. Ss. Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus
overcame the temptations of Satan in the desert. In other words,
Jesus was victorious where we fail. The times in your life where you
have fallen into temptation and did sin is blotted out by Christ being
victorious over Satan, sin and the grave.
Therefore, your spiritual journey is best characterized by clinging
to Jesus Christ. Believe in Him and what He has done for you on the
cross, for it is right there on the wooden cross that Jesus paid for
your sins and took your place and then rose victorious over the grave.
Your sins and failures have been erased from you and you stand holy.
Perhaps this is why St. Paul speaks words that are so true of the
Christian life: “We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as
unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as
punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as
poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing
everything”(2 Corinthians 6:8-10).
Though we are in this world we called a spiritual desert, Jesus does
not leave us alone. You are not forsaken, but loved very much. Jesus
has made you His and He walks with you every step of the way. In this
way, He gathers His beloved bride, the church, around the altar to
feed her with His precious body and blood to sustain her along the
way. Gather dear Christians, this Lenten season, and feast on the
Lord’s Supper. Come, repent, reflect, and rejoice in this solemn
season, thanking our Lord for the eternal life that He gives by His
own blood. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
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