Date: 21^st Feb 2010 (Lent 1)

Preacher: Nikki Devitt

Churches: Draycott & Rodney Stoke

Readings and psalm:

Deuteronomy 26, 1-11

Psalm 91, 1-2, 9-16

Romans 10, 8b-13

Luke 4, 1-13

I read a newspaper article the other day, entitled ‘Why we need our Wilderness’.

It was by a famous naturalist, Sir John Lister-Kaye

And he’d written it in response to recent news about various government schemes, which seem set to take over swathes of countryside…the line of mega- pylons planned for the highlands of Scotland,

and the relaxation of planning law to allow hundreds of thousands of new houses to be built.

And I was particularly struck by some of this article. It went:

“We need our wilderness. We need places where man’s ugly footprint is not visible; places where… we can forget our frantic selves; where we can reassess our priorities and ponder our place in the world”

And I suppose the reason that struck me, was that, here in the 21^st century, the author is expressing rather a Biblical view of the wilderness:

The bible is full of stories where we see those who dare to leave the security of everyday life, and brave the desert, which is

a place of barren-ness, where man’s ugly footprint is not visible …it’s uncluttered, a place of extreme simplicity,..

And so somewhere that the solitude and stillness has allowed people to ‘forget their frantic selves’

and encounter God.

and so …Moses met God in the burning bush in the Sinai desert,

…and all the mountains where God was revealed to people in the bible were in the desert..

Mt Sinai, of course, where the 10 commandments were given

& Mount Carmel, where Elijah found God in the still small voice….& Mt Tabor, which is traditionally the mountain of Jesus’ Transfiguration.

And so perhaps it’s no surprise to hear in our gospel reading today, ‘ Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit is led into the wilderness’ as he’s got a lot to reflect on.

John the Baptist has just pointed him out as the Messiah, and then he’s has been baptised by John, and the heavenly voice has identified him as God’s Son.

So he might well withdraw, away from distractions, to reflect on his calling:

what does it mean to be called God’s Son? and what kind of Messiah would he be?

And as we read this story, there are distinct echoes of the story of Israel wandering in the wilderness: After the Israelites escaped from Egypt through the waters of the Red sea, God declared Israel was his firstborn son,

Then there followed 40 years wandering in the desert, with the people

· grumbling for lack of bread,

· succumbing to worshipping false gods and putting God to the test continually.

And now comes Jesus, recapitulating Israel’s desert journey. He comes

through the waters of baptism in the Jordan, where he is announced as God’s son, and he’s led to the desert, to reflect what his calling might mean…is he going to succeed where Israel failed, when he is challenged by lack of food, and the temptations to

worship -false-gods-and-put-Yahweh to the test?

His first temptation is to prove his sonship of God by turning stones into bread, but he counters this by quoting from the story of Israel in the wilderness: ‘People don’t live by bread alone’…(but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’)

It would be an abuse and a betrayal of his sonship to use it to pull off cheap stunts. His ministry is to be that Word from the mouth of God,

to be about feeding others, and bringing life and strength to them.

So then the second temptation comes, will you submit to the ruler of this world to achieve power over earthly kingdoms?

It was after all a common expectation that the Messiah would be liberating Israel from Roman rule,

but Jesus has already grasped that earthly power is not the point of his calling…

His calling is to build God’s kingdom, and the path to that is Not by grasping status and power,

but through humble service and finally, death.

And then, the final challenge for Jesus to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, to see if God would rescue him…

(perhaps foreshadowing a future temptation: will he avoid death in Jerusalem by invoking supernatural power?)

but Jesus refuses to put God to the test in this way

his trust in God is not setting him up to stage a spectacular rescue, but rather believing that God works for good whatever happens, even through suffering, and even through death.

………….

So as Lent begins, what can we glean from this story,

for our own Lenten journey?

Well, retiring literally to the desert isn’t an option for most of us,

But the question is, in this season of repentance and renewal,

how do we put ourselves in the way of encountering God?

How do we set aside the things that we lean on, almost unconsciously, for comfort and support, which may stand between us and God,. and

How do we dare to rely on God alone? That is what the journey into the wilderness is about….

The traditional Lenten disciplines of foregoing some luxury such as chocolate or alcohol must presumably had their origins in this idea of setting aside the things which came between us and God,

but there’s a danger that it becomes rather a knee-jerk reaction to ‘give things up for lent’ and the deeper idea of moving closer to God is lost.

,

So how would it be if we did Lent differently this year? If we found some place to withdraw to.

It might be out in the Mendips, or perhaps one of our Churches, which are open during the week, or just a room in our house. The important thing is to be free from external distractions….

And there ,in our ‘wilderness’, we can open our hearts to God, and ‘forget our frantic selves’

and like Jesus, examine what we are being called to do,

and test whether our response to the call

really is of God.

………….

Spirit of God

You lead us into the desert

to search out our truth.

Give us clarity to know what is right

& courage to reject what is simply expedient,

that we may abandon the false innocence of

failing to choose at all

but may follow the purposes of Jesus Christ

Amen