|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
| SERMONS | TAIZÉ | MAPS | LINKS | HOME |
Forty Days
Mark 1.9-15
I was wondering, wondering what it is I should give up for Lent. What
should I deny myself during these forty days of penance and preparation for Easter? What
should I give up for Lent?
Then it hit me: preaching. I
could give up preaching for Lent.
That's right. No
preaching until Easter Sunday. No
sitting around trying to figure out what in the world this or that Bible passage means. And
no trying to figure out what whatever this or that passage means-what it has to do with you and with me. And no trying to think of clever ways
to say things so that you will listen. Nope. I'm giving it up. I'm giving it all up for Lent. No sermons. No
preaching. Not
until Easter.
Oh, don't worry. I'm
only joking. You
needn't worry. I
plan to be here each Sunday morning up to and including Easter and beyond. And
with a sermon of one sort or another. Not
to worry.
What? You
were hoping that maybe I wasn't joking?
But seriously, I was thinking how much
better it would be, how maybe I ought to let Jesus do the preaching this morning. Maybe
I ought to let Jesus preach.
It is, after all, what he does in this morning's reading from Mark. It
says, Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. He came proclaiming, preaching. Preaching the good news, the gospel.
And this is what he said, this is his sermon: The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe the good news.
That's it. That's
all.
And you thought
my sermons were short. If
I were to let Jesus do the preaching this morning, you would be home in plenty of time to do whatever it is you
have to do.
And, apparently, he was a pretty effective preacher. Jesus
preached his little sermon around the Sea of Galilee, to Simon and Andrew. Then
he gave a short altar call saying simply, Follow me.
And they did. Just
like that. Simon
and Andrew dropped their nets right there and followed him. Maybe
I should let Jesus preach this morning. He
is a much more effective evangelist than me.
Seriously, though, how I wish, how I wish Jesus would do the preaching this morning.
For he knows what he is talking about. When
he says, when he announces, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, he knows. He knows what he is talking about.
He was out there in the wilderness, wild and wooly, for forty days. For
forty days, he was tempted.
Actually, that word tempted, a better translation would be tested, tested by Satan. A testing, a test of strength is what
it was out there in the wilderness. It
was a testing of will. Whose
will is stronger? But
more than this. It
was also a test of raw strength and power. It
was like a wrestling match, a struggle of power, with Satan, with the darkness, the darkness of this world.
And he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Jesus prevails over Satan and was with the wild beasts, the words of the prophet come to pass.
With the wild beasts, and the wolf lying down with the lamb, the calf and the loin and the fatling
together. The
cow and the bear graze. The
lion eating straw like the ox.
Jesus prevails over Satan and the angels waited on him.
The heavens torn apart, angels descending from above, and heaven touching earth.
Jesus prevails and emerges from the wilderness proclaiming, preaching, The time is fulfilled, and
the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe this good news.
And he knows what he's talking about. How I wish. How
I wish.
And, oh, how I wish, this morning, that Jesus would do the preaching and not me.
In these uncertain days, to hear his voice.
In these uncertain days, with all this talk of terrorist activity and of war. Not
a single one of us can say what tomorrow will bring. And
who among us can say what the events of tomorrow will bring the day after that. No
me.
Not you.
Oh, to hear his voice. To
hear Jesus, emerging from some wilderness somewhere, having prevailed, having prevailed over Satan, over the darkness,
over the darkness of this world. And
the lion and the lamb together, angels touching the earth.
To hear him preaching, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe
this good news. Repent
and believe. The
will of God prevailing on earth as it is in heaven. The
kingdom come. The
power of God prevailing. To
hear him saying, Repent and believe it, this good news.
In these uncertain days.
How I wish it were Jesus here preaching. And not me.
But I guess I'm stuck. So are you; you're stuck with me. You could do worse, I guess. I'd like to think so, anyway.
I suppose I could take comfort in the fact that, while Jesus enjoyed a good deal of success initially
and at the start, he wasn't such an effective preacher toward the end.
At the start, he would say, Repent and believe the good news, and, boy, they did. Simon and Andrew were but the first
of many. Many
hopped aboard the bandwagon.
But then. Well,
he started saying things like this: The
Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three
days he will rise. Like
that and this: If
any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Well, hearing this kind of sermon, many repented of their repentance and went back to doing whatever
it was they were doing-working, shopping, making and spending money, whatever. Many
went back to things as they are and the ranks of the faithful, those believing the good news, thinned considerably.
You might suppose I could take comfort in this, that Jesus was only initially an effective preacher. But I do not. I
find no comfort in this. None
at all.
The ranks thinned. The
ranks thinned to just a dozen, a handful. Then
to eleven. Then
there were none.
Well, there were some women. Across
the way, on the other hill, some women watching from a distance.
There were some women watching as he struggled. Once
again, he struggled and wrestled. Another
testing, another testing of strength.
And I guess wrestling with Satan is one thing. Being
tested by the darkness of this world, this power, is one thing.
But the human heart, the darkness of the human heart, I'm guessing is something else altogether.
Again he was tested. And
again he struggled.
And I guess we're stuck. I'm
stuck. And
you're stuck with me.
I don't guess it was a very popular message: The
Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three
days he will rise.
I don't guess it was a very popular message.
But I tell you; I'd give anything. I'd
give anything to hear his voice, to hear him preaching again. I'd
give anything to hear him saying, Repent and believe. Repent
and believe the good news.