“A Dove, Wild Animals, and Angels” Lent 1 Sermon

“A Dove, Wild Animals, and Angels” Colchester Federated Church, February 18, 2024, First Sunday in Lent (Mark 1:9-15)

The liturgical season of Lent began this week on Ash Wednesday. As I shared during our evening service, Ash Wednesday is about making a right beginning, marking our mortality, and seeing that we are God’s beloved children—claiming what God can do within the dust and the dirt and the stuff of which the world is made. Christians have historically observed with great devotion the days of Jesus’ passion and resurrection. It became the custom of the ancient Church to prepare for the Season of Easter throughout the Lenten Season. Christians did so with penitence, fasting, and prayer. This time of 40 days also provided the space in which those new to the faith prepared for their baptisms. In the early Church, baptisms often took place during the Great Vigil of Easter. For those Christians who still observe the Easter Vigil, there is a renewal of baptismal vows that happens during that service.[1]

As we consider Lent and its meanings, we remember that the point of this Christian remembrance throughout the centuries is to be strengthened by the mercy and forgiveness of God that is proclaimed in the Gospel. To use language that we heard in our text from the Gospel according to Mark, Lent is about changing our hearts and lives. Lent is a reminder of the need that we all have to renew our faith. To grow in our love of God, love of one another, and love of ourselves—in all our flawed imperfections.

Which leads us to the First Sunday in Lent. This is the Sunday where we hear the Gospel story about Jesus tempted by Satan in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. In some ways, the story of Jesus’ temptation grounds the whole season. The truth is that Lent is a more serious time and there are all sorts of ways that churches observe it. For our purposes here at CFC, we will be praying the Psalms throughout Lent in the form of our Call to Worship and praying a Prayer of Confession each Sunday. You will notice that the music is not as upbeat as we sing Lenten hymns and hear Lenten choir anthems. Often the Gospel stories will feel more serious over these six Sundays in Lent.

Keep in mind that Easter is on the horizon, but resurrection comes after crucifixion. We cannot have the trumpets and the lilies and the joy of Easter without the cross and the sorrow of Holy Week. It’s impossible. Perhaps this helps us understand that life is not only mountaintop moments like the Transfiguration. Life also has wilderness moments like we contemplate looking at Jesus’ struggles this morning.

It’s interesting to think about the progression of events in this story of Jesus tempted in the wilderness. Our text began with Jesus baptized in the Jordan River by his cousin John the Baptist. Jesus comes up out of the water and sees heaven splitting open. Jesus sees the Spirit coming down on him like a dove. There is a voice from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”[2] It’s so beautiful and heavenly and affirming. This is actually one of the stories that we acted out on our Discipleship Retreat last weekend at Silver Lake Camp as we thought about significant moments from Jesus’ life, moments that help us better understand his identity. Jesus once asked his disciples, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?”[3] That question is as pertinent for each of us gathered here and watching from home as it was for the disciples traveling with Jesus. Our group ended up making a paper airplane to symbolize the Holy Spirit and launched the Spirit from the balcony of our cabin in the middle of our skit, obviously when the Spirit came down from heaven like a dove. It was quite creative! Anyway, we hear that Jesus is God’s Son and beloved. This is part of his identity. God finds happiness in him. All of which makes the next verse feel almost like a punch in the gut.

Mark writes, “At once the Spirit forced Jesus into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild animals and the angels took care of him.”[4] What!? Leave it to Mark to provide us with no further information. Though let it be known that we go from the dove descending to the same Spirit forcing Jesus into the wilderness to face temptation among the wild animals. Hopefully the wild animals were friendly. We do hear that there are angels who come to Jesus’ aid at least.

The temptation story in the Gospel according to Matthew and Luke offer more specifics, including how Satan tempted Jesus. Some folks understand this Lenten story as Satan appearing physically to Jesus. Others might believe that Jesus experienced these temptations internally as an inner battle of sorts. Father James Martin helpfully explains, “Traditionally, Jesus is tempted to take up a life of power, security, and status, in contrast to the hard life of service that he eventually undertakes.”[5] However we understand the temptation story, it’s important not only because it grounds Lent, but because this story helps us better understand the humanity of Jesus.

Even Jesus faced tests revolving around power, security, and status. Do we think that we can go through our lives and never face any tests?

What tempts us? What leads us astray?

What takes us further away from being who God is calling us to be?

We won’t have identical answers to these questions. Though we know that somehow Jesus overcomes these tests because our story ends with Jesus coming into Galilee and announcing God’s good news. Jesus says, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!”[6]

If we happen to find ourselves in the wilderness this Lent, there is hope. The wilderness sometimes has surprises in store for us.

As some of you know, I am part of NGLI—the Next Generation Leadership Initiative of the UCC. This is a leadership development program that lasts for ten years and it’s about equipping, energizing, and empowering younger UCC local church pastors to build vibrant congregations. In the first four year of the program, I would go away with my clergy cohort for a week every January to learn various topics. We journeyed to Carefree, Arizona (outside of Phoenix). The desert proved endlessly fascinating and it’s an environment that is obviously different from the Midwest or New England. Because of those annual trips to Arizona, I became interested in cacti. These days Esmeralda the Easter Cactus lives in my office here at church and Clarence the Christmas Cactus lives at the parsonage. Though the cacti that fascinated me in Arizona were the Saguaro Cacti that are those tree-like cacti growing in the desert. Saguaro cacti grow branches that almost look like arms and some of them are huge (growing 40-60 feet tall)! The whole plant is covered by spines and sometimes has white flowers in the spring and red fruit in the summer. Some of our cohort went on a hike in Cave Creek Regional Park which sits in the upper Sonoran Desert. Observing the landscape in the desert was amazing. There are some saguaro cacti that can be 200 years old. The root system of a saguaro cactus extends far out from each cactus but only goes 4-6 inches deep. Though there’s a taproot—one deep root that extends down into the ground some 2 feet. The taproot is the root that stabilizes the cactus and reaches down into the earth for water and nutrients. The thick taproot serves as a lifeline for the cactus and helps the cactus survive long droughts.

Do you see where I’m going with this?[7]

We may be in Lent. We may be with Jesus in the wilderness. We may even have moments where we have felt forced into the wilderness to face temptations. In those wilderness moments, remember to channel your inner saguaro cactus with that tap root reaching down into the earth. You have a lifeline that can help you survive long droughts—your faith. There is so much that the desert (the wilderness) can teach us. Jesus also learned some lessons when he overcame those tests in the wilderness. Perhaps he relied on the words he heard in his baptism, “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”[8] God finds happiness in you too. And when we are grounded in God, that is where our hope and strength lie. Thanks be to God. Amen.

[1] Hoyt L. Hickman, Don E. Saliers, Laurence Hull Stookey, James F. White, The New Handbook of the Christian Year, pg. 112.
[2] Mark 1:11, CEB.
[3] Matthew 16:15.
[4] Mark 1:12-13.
[5] James Martin, SJ, Come Forth: The Promise of Jesu’s Greatest Miracle, pg. 193.
[6] Mark 1:15.
[7] “Plant Fact Sheet: Saguaro Cactus,” Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Saguaro%20Cactus.php
[8] Mark 1:11.