February 26, 2012
WWW
Mark 1:9-15
Rev. Lesley Weir
So I have a confession to make. What did you think of when you saw today’s sermon title? Whether you first saw it on the sign outside, or on the inside of your bulletin today, what did WWW mean to you? In today’s technology world, I have a hunch many, most, all of you thought “internet” when you read WWW. Here in lies my confession. The talk today has nothing to do with the internet or technology of any kind. I think in the advertising world, this is known as a ‘teaser’ or perhaps even a ‘bait and switch’ I apologize.
So if not the internet, what does today’s WWW mean? Our three w’s stand for Water….wilderness…..witness. Water…..wilderness……witness. Get it? Maybe it needs some explaining! This morning we heard the tail end of the Noah story. Did you know Noah’s story covers four chapters in the book of Genesis? The end we heard today is God’s promise to humanity that God will never destroy the world again. But it began chapters before….and the real drama began with water….more water that the world could manage. A deluge….a flood of unprecedented magnitude….WATER. Water in its most deadly, death-wielding version. While we all know it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, Noah and his family were in that ark a whole lot longer than 40 days. After the heavens and the springs of the earth opened, the water continued to rise and rise and rise. We are told that eventually even the tops of the highest mountains were underwater. And it took a very very long time for all that water to recede after the rains stopped. While an exact number of days is hard to determine given the wording of the text, it is safe to say that the Noah clan was on the ark for at least a year. ONE WHOLE YEAR. Can you imagine?
Have you ever been out on Lake Michigan and lost sight of the shore? Or perhaps you have had the chance to cruise on the open oceans. If so, you have some sense of what it feels like to see nothing but water surrounding you, everywhere you look. Can you imagine that as your only landscape for a year? Wilderness comes to mind. Wilderness; that place that is uninhabited, that place of desolation. I think out in the middle of the flood waters for a year certainly qualifies as wilderness.
So Noah has had his share of water and wilderness by the time we get to today’s part of the story, the rainbow part we all love so much. God promises to place the bow in the sky as a reminder to both God and Noah of the covenant that God has made to never flood the earth again. So what are Noah and his family expected to do? The verses that lead into today’s text are clear; God commands Noah and company to go forth and multiply, to repopulate the world. I cannot think of a more powerful witness to God’s work than going forth and helping God bring forth new generations to fill the world. So for Noah….water, wilderness, witness.
When we turn to the Gospel today, we again find the water, wilderness, witness formula. This time it is life-giving water, the waters of baptism. Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan. The Holy Spirit descends from the clouds, assuring Jesus of his place on earth and in heaven. Talk about an experience of water! And then what happens? In true Mark fashion, Jesus is IMMEDIATELY driven to the wilderness. Just like Noah, after Jesus’ interaction with water, he gets a wilderness experience. Jesus gets his own 40 days in a desolate place. He is tempted by Satan. He lives among the wild beasts AND the angels tend him. True to form, Mark does not include any of the details we are all drooling for. What does Jesus do in the wilderness? What does he eat? Is he safe from these wild beasts, do they leave him alone? Exactly HOW does Satan tempt him? And more important, how does Jesus deal with those temptations? All great questions, but all we know for sure is that Jesus is out alone for 40 days in the wilderness.
And then…as quickly as it began, his wilderness experience is over and he is out announcing the Good News to the world. He is witnessing. Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news! Yes, for Jesus it is the same as for Noah: water, wilderness, witness. There is something about the wilderness that prepares them, us, for witnessing.
So as we stand here poised at the beginning of Lent, it seems the message to us is Water, Wilderness, Witness. We have had our water….luckily not in the form Noah got it, but more along the lines of Jesus! You had a wonderful reaffirmation of your baptismal vows when the church celebrated the feast of the Baptism of the Lord back in January. So, the next step is wilderness, and that is where we are now….Lent…..wilderness. We have been baptized, we have experienced the living waters of God’s grace and blessings….and now it is time for the wilderness, it is time for Lent.
When you think of Lent, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Do you think ‘oh yes, giving up chocolate’ or ‘smoking’ or ‘beer’? Do you think, oh Lent, that’s something my Catholic neighbors used to talk about when I was growing up? Maybe the whole concept of Lent is new to you and only leaves you with questions. We aren’t quite sure of the date that Lent first crept into the church. We do know that by the fourth century, there are records of the Christian church observing a special season prior to Easter. The word lent simply means spring. This was the season of the church leading up to spring, up to Easter. The first recordings of Lent show that it was a time of preparation for new members to join the faith. People thinking about becoming Christian would spend an extended time learning about Christianity, as well as praying and preparing to be baptized and become active members.
Since Christianity is a group activity, a community affair, the entire congregation would participate in the preparationwith the new members. Those early Christians used these weeks prior to Easter as a time of preparation and transformation. This was a time to reflect inwardly with honesty and courage about the nature of themselves. This was a time to use prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and the community surrounding them to root out what they found unpleasant in themselves. It was a time to take on the characteristics of Christ, of Christian discipleship. It was a time of conversion. A time of renovation and renewal. A time to turn back towards God.
We certainly live in different times, but the goals should be the same. We need a time…wilderness time….to do the work of renovation and renewal. But it is hard to do the work of Lent if we don’t change our surroundings, our environment. If we keep doing our life as we always do, if our daily routines don’t change in some way, nothing will change. Lent begs us to have the courage to enter a different environment, a different pattern to our daily lives. Lent lures us into a wilderness, where we will find the time and solitude to really hear God’s whispers to us, where we can find the ways to renew our relationship with God, clean out the dusty areas of our lives, renovate our faith. Now, most of us cannot drop everything and head to a physical wilderness. But we can create changes in our lives that will help us create experiences of wilderness. The ancient Christians discovered that prayer, fasting and almsgiving helped remove them enough from their daily grinds that they created wilderness experiences that led to renewed faith and discipleship. Experiences that prepared them to truly accept the glorious gift of the resurrection that comes on Easter.
We can do the same. Prayer provides us with that quiet time to reflect on our lives, our hopes, our dreams, our disappointments, our fears, our struggles. We are more likely to hear God’s voice in the quiet of prayer, than we are to hear God over the noise of our busy lives. Charity helps us to move outside ourselves, to realize that whatever we may not have, someone else has less….whether that is money, or time, or talent. Charity helps us keep perspective and does not allow us to wallow in self pity. Fasting reminds us that all we have comes from God. When we are hungry or thirsty in a fast, it reminds us that our first hunger and thirst are always for God. Fasting can help us connect with those less fortunate than ourselves, understanding the daily plight of the poor and hungry around the world. Fasting is about shining the spotlight on who feeds us in every way.
And so following the lead of those early Christians, we too can use Lent to create a place of wilderness, a time where renewal and transformation are possible. In prayer, fasting, and works of charity, we can shine the spotlight into our hearts. We may not like all that we see. The good news is that Lent gives us an intentional time to work on those dusty areas we would like to clean out. Lent is our personal spring cleaning. What kind of Christian, what kind of person do I want to be? Where has my life stumbled from Christ’s path? Where do I need to make some adjustments to get back where I want to be? What habits or traits or characteristics or behaviors would I like to clean out, take off, leave behind, let go of? And just as important, what habits, characteristics, behaviors or practices would I like to pick up and add to my life? Where do I see transformation coming in my life and how can I help that process? Lent gives us permission to look without fear at the places we would like to change in our hearts and minds, in our lives. We have the assurance that God abounds in love, compassion and mercy. We know that God will walk this Lenten journey with us, guiding and aiding us all along the way. And then….come Easter, we will be able to witness to God with a renewed heart, a renewed purpose, a transformed life.
Water, wilderness, witness….this is the wilderness, this is Lent, I invite you to journey with God on a walk of transformation. Use these weeks to deepen your connection with God and to know yourself better. As you leave worship today, please take a daily devotional from the basket on the back pew. Christian Education and Worship Committees have combined efforts to provide these devotionals. You can use this devotional as a daily private practice, but as well, we will gather on Wednesday evenings each week to create some wilderness time together. We will practice both prayer and mini-fasting, using the daily devotional to guide our adult discussion.
You have affirmed your baptism in water in January, now I invite you into the wilderness of Lent. Take advantage of all the wilderness experiences you can, so that come Easter, you will witness with a renewed heart and transformed life. Water….Wilderness…Witness.