Presented March 1, 2020 by Rev. Jesse Larson
Based on Matthew 4:1-11 (the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness)
It’s a joy to finally be with you all, beginning my new call as the pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church! I’m so eager to get to know all of you, to learn how things operate around here, and to then see what creative ways we can continue to be the church together in this new millennium. It will most certainly take time and a lot of grace, but thanks be to God for this next chapter together and for the ways the Spirit will surely move in this place!
That being said: For such a special day, I would have preferred a more upbeat bible text (to focus on), but here we are together on the first Sunday of Lent. Whereas there is tremendous excitement in Advent as we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child, Lent has an entirely different feeling.
Lent is a season of introspection and repentance as we journey to the cross. Indeed, today’s text features Jesus heading out into the wilderness, facing discomfort and temptation. While it may not be the most pleasant of texts, it is certainly relatable. We all know what it’s like to be lost in the wilderness … to feel alone, afraid, and uncertain. My dad and I were recently discussing the notorious mid-life crisis. While many of us do face a substantial crossroads during our middle years, we both agreed that most of us face crises every few years.
Such times seem to be integral to the human experience—great highs on the mountaintops and painful lows in the wilderness. Many of us feel we are in the wilderness as a nation. Some might feel as though our church has been in the wilderness for some time. And I’m sure that, even now, many of you feel stranded in the wilderness with your own private struggles.
So how should we approach our forays into the wilderness?
As we unpack that question and explore today’s text, there is a crucial detail to consider: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all relate that prior to the beginning of Christ’s ministry, Jesus was first baptized and then he was led out into the wilderness. It was during Christ’s baptism that God’s voice came down from the heavens declaring, “this is my beloved son, in whom I am well-pleased.” This was wonderfully good news for Jesus and it was the foundation upon which his ministry was built and his life was lived.
Christ’s baptism provided him with a trust in God, as well as a sort of armor of love, that enabled him to repel the devil’s temptations because he knew who he was and whose he was. He was God’s son, and he was loved profoundly. Such knowledge allowed Jesus to faithfully answer the call that God had made upon his life.
As baptized believers, we also share this same foundation of love and connection to God. This doesn’t diminish the pain of the wilderness, but when we trust that nothing in life or in death can ever separate us from the love of God, we have the confidence to trust that God will eventually make us a way through the wilderness.
As the people of God, we trust that God has laid before us a unique journey and will be with us every step of the way. However, we shouldn’t use this good news as a spare tire to only be used in emergencies or while stuck in the wilderness. Baptism reminds us that we have all been named and claimed by God. We proclaim that we are made good by God, we are a part of God’s family, and that God has special plans for our lives. We do nothing to earn God’s love, rather it is an amazing gift that sets the tone for our entire lives.
Therefore, for every endeavor that happens in this worshiping community, it is crucial that we always keep the promises of our baptisms front and center. In other words, may we let love and trust in God and one another always be our guide!
As I begin my ministry with you all, both sides enter into this relationship with a host of expectations for one another.
Some of you will want my sermons to address politics, and others will desire a break from all things political.
Some of you will want regular visits, while others will want me building new relationships out in the larger community.
Still, some of you long for growth and change while others long for stability and familiarity. It’s a difficult reality to address in my first sermon with you all, but the truth is that I will not meet many of your expectations.
And you all will fall short of many of my expectations, too.
But, this is actually good news.
We aren’t here to be molded and shaped into “who others desire us to be.”. We are here to be who God calls us to be. We are here to discern God’s call and to be open to the ways in which God’s Spirit is working in all of us, individually and collectively.
When we hold our baptisms as the central foundation of our community, we can’t help but be a more loving, gracious, welcoming congregation.
When we truly see each member of our community as a unique child of God who has been made in God’s image, all of our criticisms and condemnations quickly fall by the wayside.
Sadly most of us here have had experiences with criticism and exclusion at churches, and such experiences are devastating. Simply put, such negative behavior has no place in our churches, our communities of love.
Over my many years as a youth pastor and campus minister, I have led mission trips both nationally and internationally. Prior to our trips, we always created a covenant so that we could set the right tone for our experience together. The young people, the chaperones, and I all created a list of those behaviors and attitudes to helpl ensure a meaningful and successful trip. Our covenants usually included “be kind,” “keep an open mind,” “respect everyone.” “be a humble guest,” etc.
Such covenants are promises we make to each other in Christian community so that we can all feel loved and encouraged to be who God made us to be. These covenants reflect our covenant with God. We stand by one another and we hold one another in love.
Ultimately, we are continually striving to become a more loving community of God, and such a community is built not with skills and accolades, but rather with our behavior that models Christ. In response to God’s love for us, we then endeavor to be vessels of love, grace, kindness, empathy, and understanding.
I pray that as we begin this new relationship together—this new leap of faith together—we would establish a similar covenant.
Rather than approach one another with various expectations and demands, we would promise to be kind to one another …
…. to seek the best in one another
… to seek to understand and appreciate one another
… to forgive one another
… to hold one another in the light
… and to have faith in one another.
When we understand that we are a beloved community of God … when everyone is embraced for the “who they are” rather than “who we expect them to be” … we establish an unshakable foundation.
And it is upon this foundation that we can create a clearer vision of where God is calling us to next.
Wilderness times will surely come and go, but the bottom line of our existence, in both good days and bad days, is that we belong to God and to one another. God’s fierce love and loyalty to us will not change. So with confidence and trust, may we joyfully become the people God has intended us to be!
As we take our first steps in this journey together, let us pray and remember our baptism.
Eternal and gracious God, we give you thanks. In countless ways you have revealed yourself in ages past, and have blessed us with signs of your grace. We praise you that through the waters of the sea you led your people Israel out of bondage, into freedom in the land of your promise. We praise you for sending Jesus your Son, who for us was baptized in the waters of the Jordan, and was anointed as the Christ by your Holy Spirit. Through the baptism of his death and resurrection you set us free from the bondage of sin and death and give us cleansing and rebirth. We praise you for your Holy Spirit, who teaches us and leads us into all truth, filling us with a variety of gifts, that we might proclaim the gospel to all nations and serve you as a royal priesthood. We rejoice that you claimed us in our baptism, and that by your grace we are born anew. By your Holy Spirit renew us, that we may be empowered to do your will and continue forever in the risen life of Christ.
Remember your baptism. God has claimed you. You are a child of God!
