Sermons:
Something
To Hang On To, Genesis 9:8-17,
by Rev. Cindy Weber
Journeying, Mark 1: 9 - 15, by John in Oz
Into The Wilderness
Mark 1:9-15,
by Rev. Thomas N. Hall
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40 Days of Temptation
a sermon based on Mark 1:9-15
By Rev. Randy Quinn
On this, the
first Sunday in the season of Lent, we remember the story of Jesus in the
wilderness. Matthew and Luke both agree with Mark that Jesus was there for 40
days; John, on the other hand, is silent about the entire event. And both
Matthew and Luke agree that it was not just a time of testing in the wilderness,
but also a time of fasting. (It is that part of the story that has influenced
the traditional sense of Lent as a season of fasting.)
But of the three different Greek
verbs that each of the gospel writers uses to describe the scene when Jesus goes
into the wilderness, Mark uses the strongest verb when he tells us that Jesus
was “sent” into the wilderness. The way Mark tells it, it is almost as if Jesus
were being plucked out of the water and thrown out into the wilderness (Mk.
1:12).
There was no warning ahead of
time.
There was no time for him to pack
a bag.
There was no time to prepare
meals.
There is just a sense of suddenly
being driven into the wilderness.
Maybe that has happened to you
before. You were doing one thing when you were suddenly tasked with and sent
off to do another. I can remember setting the table for dinner when Ronda
realized we were out of milk so I was “sent” to the store, leaving the table for
someone else to finish.
As a volunteer firefighter, there were numerous
times when the alarm was sounded and I ran off to tend to the needs of others in
crisis. My own circumstances took a back seat as I left dinner tables and
unfolded laundry and lawn mowers in the middle of the yard. I left whatever I
was doing and began doing something for which I had been training.
According to Mark’s telling of the
story, however, we don’t know what Jesus did once he got there. We know he was
tempted by Satan – but that doesn’t tell us what Jesus did. We know there were
wild animals there – but that doesn’t tell us what he did either. We also know
the angels “attended” to his needs – but again, that doesn’t tell us what Jesus
did.
So I began to wonder what I would
do if the Spirit suddenly drove me away into the desert. What would it be like
to be suddenly plopped down in the middle of the wilderness?
Years ago, while I was still
taking flying lessons, I attended a lecture on survival techniques for Navy
pilots The instructor had no idea that God was going to speak to me through him
that evening. But God’s voice was clear as I considered the implications of the
scenario the instructor offered as an illustration; a scenario that sounds an
awful lot like the situation in which I imagine Jesus was in.
He told us to imagine we are
flying “cross country” over a sparsely populated area when the engine fails.
After getting the plane on the ground, we are now faced with a series of
questions and dilemmas that may make the difference between life and death.
Getting on the ground was only part of the problem. We also have to survive
there.
If we suddenly find ourselves
caught in the middle of the desert – or a wilderness area – or any isolated
setting – what should be the first thing we do?
Well, the survival instructor
began by reminding us that we can live a long time without food – maybe as long
as six weeks. Jesus fasted for 40 days, after all – for those who aren’t as
good with your math, six weeks would be 42 days. So searching for food should
be low on our priority list. There will be plenty of time to find food.
In a downed airplane, the first
consideration is air. We can only live a few minutes without clean air to
breathe. If there is smoke in the cockpit, you need to get out of the plane, he
reminded us. If you’re under water, you need to get to the surface. Without
clean air, a year’s supply of food is useless.
The next most
important thing to consider is shelter. Depending upon the location and
the time of year, we can only be [continue]
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