FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT
March 9, 2014
One of my favorite people in today’s church world is Walter
Brueggeman, a theologian, Old Testament scholar, professor, prolific author, and
perhaps one of the religious world’s strongest advocates for the common good –
the well-being of all humanity.
Brueggemann, as you probably know, is all about dethroning
Pharaoh - the Empire, the powerful elite – those who have their being through
greed and the desire for more; and empowering, through compassion and love,
those at the bottom of the heap – the impoverished, the disenfranchised, the
outcast.
Brueggemann summed up his theology when he said, “If Jesus is alive all sorts of power is loosed in the world that
the Empire cannot control.”
In other words, Brueggeman is all about following Jesus.
With Brueggemann on my mind, and seeking a launching point for
my sermon on this first Sunday of Lent, I conducted a Google search -
“Brueggemann and salvation.” Much to my
surprise, the first thing I came across was not a website filled with
Brueggemann quotations, but a blog written by Jim Gordan, a
Baptist pastor and Scottish Baptist College director. Gordon’s blog discusses
Brueggemann’s recently published collection of essays entitled
Disruptive
Grace: Reflections on God, Scripture and the Church. It is quite powerful.
He writes,
“The Body of Christ in the world is
a subversive community daring to embody a Gospel of reconciliation. We are
people gathered beneath the cross, but with our faces turned towards the dawn, and
that displaced stone, discarded shroud and defeated grave, - these are the
realities for the church - Realities by which we live, and by which we take on
both the hell and the high water. And the last people who should be afraid of
high water are baptized Christians, who through immersion declare the
resurrection; and the last people to fear hell are those who have the nerve to
call Jesus Lord, and in doing so hold their nerve in the face of whatever.
I have no idea where the church is now going -
how and in what shape it will survive in such a messy, mashed up, and scintillatingly
unpredictable world with its polarities and similarities, its
paradoxes and possibilities. But wherever it is going - John 3.16 remains
a defining statement of its destiny - it is a God-loved world, and the
business of the church is to go on arguing that - by the way we live in
faithfully following Jesus.”
Gordon’s
words are incredibly bold and powerful. They are words intended to stir up
passion and purpose. They are excellent words with which to define the focus of our Lenten journey of
prayer, reflection, and penance. A journey intended to bring us into deeper
relationship to God as we follow Jesus on his journey to the cross.
A journey that is meant to move us as disciples of
Christ beyond the cross and onto a path that emulates Jesus in his amazing
journey of servanthood, compassion and love.
A journey that is launched in response to our call from
God to
bring the Light of Christ – his compassion and love - to a world filled with
turmoil, violence, and despair.
Gordon’s
words of inspiration and Brueggemann’s passion for the common good speak to the
core message of today’s gospel story. Once called by God, we will be tested in
our call. The test – will we follow Jesus or not?
Today’s
message from Matthew is clear - the purpose of the Spirit leading Jesus into
the wilderness was that he must be tested. Jesus’ journey into the wilderness,
directly following his baptism; Jesus’ assured confidence in defying the Devil;
Jesus’ selfless declaration of commitment to his call as God’s Beloved Son - The
entire wilderness experience shows us what it means to be called by God – and
Jesus showed us how to follow that call. He showed us the way.
Newly
anointed by the Spirit as the Beloved Son of God and led by the Spirit into the
stark and, most certainly, terrifying wilderness of the ancient desert, and
there the Devil taunted a hungry, thirsty and tired Jesus saying–“ You are special, above all this, let me
offer you a quick and glamorous way out of a dreadful and dreary situation.” Jesus
was having none of it. He rebuked the Devil saying that his call was to “Worship
the Lord God, and only him.”
The
Devil was persistent though wasn’t he? He didn’t give up. The Devil tempted
Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. He lured Jesus with visions of comfort,
power and glory. He continually encouraged him to take advantage of his status
as the Beloved Son of God saying, “If you are the Son of God…”
“You are all powerful Jesus. Go ahead, seize the
brass ring. Take the easy way out”
Jesus
stood firm. Three times he rebuked the devil saying – “I live by God’s word – not yours.”
The
devil offered Jesus the Kingdom without a cross. Jesus pushed the devil away in
disgust. The message is clear - the privilege
of being God’s chosen people does not come without testing – without a cross. If
we are truly to be a people gathered beneath the cross with our faces turned to
the dawn, we must be absolutely clear about our intent to rebuke the devil. We
must be absolutely clear about our commitment to listen to and follow Jesus.
Jesus’
mission involved the cross, and whether we like it or not, so does ours. This is what Gordon is referring to when he writes, “We
are people gathered beneath the cross but with our faces turned towards the
dawn and that displaced stone, discarded shroud and defeated grave, - these are
the realities for the church, by which we live, and by which we take on both
the hell and the high water. And the last people who should be afraid of high
water are baptized Christians, who through immersion declare the resurrection;
and the last people to
fear hell are those who have the nerve to call Jesus Lord, and in doing so hold
their nerve in the face of whatever.”
Gordon’s
words underscore the reality that as baptized Christians we, like Jesus, are
called by God and then led by the Spirit. And, like Jesus, we too will be led
into the wilderness. We too will be tested. Indeed, most of us have undergone
many tests and have experienced far more than one wilderness period in our
lives.
I
would bet that many of us, if not most of us, are being tested right now as we
sit here in the pews of St. Paul’s savoring the grace of the community and
beauty that surrounds us in the moment, but knowing that once we walk through
the church doors and back into our lives, the challenges, the pain, the
anxiety, and the suffering of our wilderness will still be there.
None
of us are strangers to temptation. None of us are strangers to tragedy. None of
us are strangers to suffering. None of us are strangers to the cross.
My
friends, I pray that you will take time during the next forty days to be with Jesus
on his journey through the wilderness as your struggle with you own wilderness
journey.
I
pray that you will listen to Jesus’ words as he journeys to Jerusalem and the
cross – as he struggles with the Devil not only in the wilderness but in the
cities, in the Temple, with his beloved disciples and at the hands of the Roman
officials and guards.
I
pray that you will be with Jesus as he brings us closer to God - A God who continually
amazes us with His compassion and love – His acceptance of us all – ALL OF US-
as His beloved children.
I
pray that we all will listen to and follow Jesus as we grow together as a body
of Christ in a world filled with trouble, turmoil, and violence; and, “as we turn our faces turned towards
the dawn and that displaced stone, discarded shroud and defeated grave.”
I pray that we will remember words spoken by Walter
Brueggemann, “If Jesus is
alive all sorts of power is loosed in the world that the Empire cannot
control.”
I pray that
we will listen to Jesus as he says to Peter and his disciples, “Follow me.”
beutiful
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