Mark 1:9-15

First Sunday in Lent | February 18, 2024 | Sermon text: Mark 1:9-15 | David Brooks |

As we begin Lent, we find ourselves out with Jesus in the wilderness.

The wilderness. It’s the place that causes people to say/write things such as:

• Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill.
• Too many bugs and leeches and spiders and spider webs. Please spray the wilderness to rid the area of these pests.
• The coyotes made too much noise last night and kept me awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals.
• Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them.
• Too many rocks in the mountains.
• A McDonald’s at the trail head would be nice.[1]

Yet, even with all these drawbacks, problems and scarcities, people go out into the wilderness. Earlier, Mark reported that John was out in the wilderness, baptizing, and crowds from Judea and Jerusalem went out to him, without a single McDonald’s to be found! Yet people went, not because of what the wilderness lacked, but because of what it contained—an opportunity. Whatever John represented—a do-over, a clean slate, a reconciliation—people went out to him. They sought the opportunity.

But what do you do when the wilderness comes to you? What happens when you do not choose to go out into the wilderness?

“And immediately the Spirit drove [Jesus] out into the wilderness.” Fresh from his baptism, with its encouraging voice from heaven expressing pleasure and delight, Jesus finds himself in a place that he did not choose. No voice from heaven, only temptations from Satan. As always, Mark is sparse in his description, but I invite you to imagine/remember what the wilderness really is— it is a place of struggle, a place of scarcity, a place of chaos. In such an environment, a person is tested—it is evaluation, a determination of quality, availability, or genuineness.

Although we would like to avoid it, we must admit that there are moments in life when we are driven out into the wilderness—or, maybe more accurately, wilderness suddenly envelops us. It may be a wilderness of struggle, where we are trying to remain faithful to God as family members are disinterested and dismissive; as friends and co-workers are critical or contemptuous; as our own hearts retreat or rebel against the call God has on us. It may be a wilderness of scarcity, where a loved one’s death has created a vacuum, where pleasurable hobbies or activities are not possible, where a hoped-for opportunity does not occur. It may be a wilderness of danger, where the diagnosis is dire, but also where the opportunity to cheat, slide or indulge is simply too easy.

In all such wilderness moments, there is a testing that is occurring. But let us not make a mistake about who is being tested. In Israel’s journey through the wilderness, it was God that was put to the test; as the people journeyed to the promised land, they found that God was able, that God provided, that God did not leave or abandon them during struggle, scarcity or danger. In the wilderness, it is Jesus that is tested, and he emerges from his testing with Good News—that God’s Kingdom is near. His testing in the wilderness begins with the Holy Spirit and ends with attending angels, for his is God’s Anointed, the one who will lead us to our promised home. Let us not be dismayed when we are in a wilderness moment, for when all else has failed us—including our own best efforts and intentions—we will find that our Lord is near, for he comes to our wilderness to seek us.

Amen.

—

Pastor David Brooks

Raleigh, NC USA

Pr.Dave.Brooks@zoho.com

[1] Taken from Love the Outdoors, “Camping Humor,” http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/camping_humor.htm. Accessed February 10, 2024