Where is Your Wilderness?
February 21, 2010 First Sunday in Lent
Scripture Psalm 91and Luke 4:1-13
Preached by Linda Jo Peters
Korean Church at Central Presbyterian
Terre Haute, Indiana
Introduction to Scripture
Psalm 91
Here is a psalm that assures us of God’s protection. It challenges the fear that can stifle our ability to live with confidence. It is our fears that can keep us from serving God and obeying His word. Hearing the assurance of the psalmist can give us confidence even in the midst of real danger.
1.He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, 2.will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." 3.For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; 4.he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5.You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6. nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 7.A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. 8.You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. 9.Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your habitation, 10.no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. 11.For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. 12.On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13.You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. 14.Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. 15.When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him. 16.With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
Luke 4:1-13
Today is the first Sunday of Lent when we remember Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. It is a whole season of soul-searching and repentance; a time for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a way to prepare for Easter.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Sermon
There are two important aspects to Lent and the model Jesus has given us. One is withdrawal for a time with God and the other is facing our temptations. So I ask you, if God wanted time alone with you, where is your wilderness? Wilderness is about being alone with limited resources – no phone, no computer, no TV, no books, and then little food. Not even good company! Satan is just not good company. I would imagine living in a strange land is a bit of a wilderness experience, but with the demands of school that you often face, when is there time to withdraw and seek to know God? As the snow keeps piling up throughout the US, I wonder is God creating a wilderness so we will take time to be with him.
There is a movie called Babel which is a few years old. The title is misleading, because it clearly demonstrates in graphic images that language is not what keeps us apart from one another but rather our unwillingness to walk even a step in another’s shoes. The story begins in Morocco where two young shepherds have been given a rifle by their father to keep the jackals away from the goats. After a bit of target practice they decided to see how far they can shoot. They shoot at a passing tourist bus never once considering the consequences. Sure enough their lack of concern for others results in the wounding of a young American mother far from her children. Her frantic husband badgers everyone he encounters to get her help but it is the tour guide’s gentle presence of mind that crosses the barrier of language, religion and culture to get her the medical help she so desperately needs, a doctor who turns out to be a veterinarian. Here this couple had chosen to go into the wilderness of another culture, imaging they would be insulated by their wealth and power. But are we ever truly insulated from the Spirit leading us into the wilderness where we are confronted with our failings, our bad choices and ultimately our sinful nature? The psalmist asks:
Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee. (139:7-12)
The wilderness is a place where we become keenly aware that nothing can insulate us from the Spirit of God. Once we realize how vulnerable we are we can lean the discipline of reliance on God’s grace. This discipline is born of the Lenten journey of Jesus as he goes empty handed from his baptism into the wilderness of hunger, despair and temptation.
If I could choose my wilderness, it would look like a beautiful garden. But I know that my wilderness is the place where I confront my addictions and face the realization that I am not in control. Lent is a time to shed everything that stands between us and God. To stand naked before the one who created us. Then we can begin the purpose of this Lenten discipline of learning not the discipline of self-reliance but the discipline of God-reliance. Jesus told Satan, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Such service is not about comfort or safety or even beauty. It is about risk taking to bring peace where there is fear and hate; to bring freedom to the enslaved; to love those that seem unlovable. The power to make such a difference in the world comes from being stripped of all that stands between us and our Creator.
Remember the word of Psalm 91:
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
To live free of fear is only possible when our only sustaining grace is found in our relationship with God. Then we can follow our Lord Jesus all the way to the cross. We can walk the wilderness that is right outside our doors into a world often filed with careless violence in words, actions and even economics. We can become instruments of God’s grace,. St. Francis said it best:
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen!
