Lent

February 21, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:9-15

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ –Mark 1: 11-15

Mark does not describe the temptations or Jesus’ responses. Mark’s version highlights both the dangers of the wilderness in the unpredictable wild beasts and God’s consistent presence represented by angels. Is that not the way of life? We do not always have to go to the wilderness to search for God. Sometimes the wilderness comes to us. Such a time is now. We have exceeded 40 days in the wilderness, more like a year. The dangers we face are primarily the consequences of our own behavior or lack of appropriate response. A pandemic of epic proportions has struck us, racial injustice boils over, and political discord resulted in a deadly riot at our nation’s Capital. Planting our heads in the sand regarding global warming finally came back to bite us with an ice storm in October and multiple snowstorms in February accompanied by record-breaking temperatures that totally overrode our infrastructure for days leaving many without water or heat. I awoke this morning to the news that Oklahoma had another earthquake. In Oklahoma, earthquakes are usually associated with gleaning oil and natural gas from the Earth.

Yet even amid such chaos, I see God working everywhere. My church delivers mobile meals every Thursday to some 30 or 40 shut ins. Routinely, retired people complete this task. Yesterday, with ten inches of snow on the ground, that did not seem possible. After a few phone calls, young men from my church delivered those means using vehicles that could traverse the snow. Even the Pastor’s five-year-old son did his part. Faith-based groups and our Homeless Alliance opened their buildings to those on the streets. At the close of a Zoom meeting of Poor Peoples Campaign volunteers and its staff yesterday, over 200 people joined in a closing prayer and felt the presence of God in our midst.

Christmas has passed, but the incarnate Lord is with us still. Thus, I quote verse 5 from the Christmas song; I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor does he sleep (peace on Earth, peace on Earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, goodwill to men

Prayer: Lord, call us all together as one in your name to go into the world and share your good news. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.