“From Baptism to Wilderness: Embracing Our Lenten Journey” – Year B, Lent 1

“From Baptism to Wilderness: Embracing Our Lenten Journey” – Year B, Lent 1

Year B, Lent 1
February 18, 2024

 Genesis 9:8-17, Psalm 25:1-9, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:9-15

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“From Baptism to Wilderness: Embracing Our Lenten Journey”

The Very Rev. Kathleen Murray, Rector                                  

Historic Beckford Parish, Mt. Jackson & Woodstock              

First Sunday in Lent, Year B                                                

February 18, 2024                                                                   

Today, on the first Sunday of Lent, we hear Mark’s account of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River. Curiously, it’s the same gospel we heard just five weeks ago. It doesn’t happen often – we heard it on the First Sunday after the Epiphany, and the difference today is that we hear a few more verses at the end. We also hear Mark’s account of Jesus being driven out into the wilderness, where he finds himself alone with the tempter, with a dangerous wild beast and angels ministering to him. This movement from baptism to wilderness underscores a profound journey of faith that each of us embarks upon in our spiritual lives. Let us delve deeper into what this journey teaches us.

So, Jesus is driven into the wilderness from the waters of the Jordan. In our own baptism, we are directly embraced and taken into a church community after our baptism. Sometimes baptism feels like being attended by angels, and sometimes it feels like fierce wild beasts are surrounding us, depending on how much a baby likes being splashed. I admit I’ve always been lucky in the baptism – the babies and the young kids have always been great.

“But why was Jesus baptized? Was it different from the baptism that we experienced? The baptism that Jesus went through with John and our baptism is a little bit different. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance and forgiveness. Repentance, in this sense, isn’t about breast-beating but about turning life around and turning towards God. For John, baptism is about living life consistent with the Kingdom, which Jesus said has now drawn near.

Understanding Jesus’ baptism sets the stage for reflecting on our sacrament of baptism. How does our baptism differ, and what does this mean for our faith journey?

In our baptism, we are baptized into a new way of living with water and the Holy Spirit into God’s family. We’re baptized into the Body of Christ, the community of the church, and we go forward from there. Jesus showed us the way to turn our lives around.

We don’t hear too much about the temptations that Jesus endures. Some other evangelists say more, but Mark’s account is bare bones.

In some ways, Mark’s bare-bones account gives us room to think about temptation, both what Jesus was tempted to in the wilderness – in this moment alone before he began his public ministry – and to think about our temptations.

Just as Jesus faced temptations immediately following his baptism, we, too, encounter our own trials. Reflecting on Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness offers us a mirror to examine the nature of our challenges.

While the wilderness tested Jesus’ resolve, it also revealed essential truths about our faith journey. Let’s consider how temptation challenges us individually and how our faith, deeply rooted in community, provides the strength to overcome.

What are those temptations?

Two things come to my mind immediately. The first is that faith is just about belief. Faith is about our relationship with God and what we do in that relationship. I also think that we fall into the trap of thinking that faith is only between God and ourselves when, in fact, it’s almost impossible to live our faith without others in community, the whole body of Christ. That’s what baptism is all about.

Having explored the wilderness of temptation and the strength found in community, let us now turn our hearts to the essence of Lent. This season offers us a time to reflect deeply on what it means to live as God’s beloved, in alignment with the kingdom of God.

We hear a profound moment in Mark’s gospel this morning – it’s a moment of affirmation of the identity of Jesus: “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'”[1] This divine declaration over Jesus at his baptism is a personal accolade and a cosmic announcement of Jesus’ identity and mission. And it’s a reminder of our own baptismal identity. In baptism, we are not only cleansed; we are claimed. As the heavens opened for Jesus, so too are the heavens opened to us, declaring us beloved children of God.

This Lent, let us reflect on what it means to live as God’s beloved. How does this identity shape our actions, relationships, and approach to our trials and temptations?

We hear Jesus proclaim, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”[2] This message, coming right after his baptism and wilderness trials, encapsulates the essence of Lent. Jesus’ call to repentance is not just a call to turn away from sin but to turn toward God’s kingdom that is already at hand. It’s an invitation to reorient our lives – to align our hearts, minds, and actions with the values of God’s kingdom. Lent is a season for such reorientation, a time to examine the places in our lives where we’ve wandered from the path God has set for us and to make the deliberate choice to return, trusting in the good news of Jesus’ presence and power among us.

The wilderness experience of Jesus, marked by temptation and attended by angels, mirrors our own Lenten journey. We, too, may find ourselves in wilderness periods, facing temptations that test our faith and resolve. Yet, like Jesus, we are not abandoned. God’s angels minister to us in the form of divine presence and the support of our faith community. Let us remember that temptation, in essence, challenges us to forget our identity as God’s beloved and forsake our reliance on God. Lent invites us to reaffirm our baptismal vows, to resist the temptations that lead us away from God, and to lean into our identity as beloved children of God, supported and sustained by God’s grace.

As we move forward in this Lenten season, let’s take the lessons of Jesus’ baptism and wilderness experience to heart. Let’s embrace our identity as God’s beloved, seeking to live in a manner that reflects His love and grace. Let us be diligent in turning towards God, repenting for the times we’ve strayed, and believing in the good news of Jesus Christ. And in our moments of wilderness, may we be comforted by the knowledge that we are never alone, that God’s angels minister to us, and that our faith community stands with us.

It is a good thing that Lent comes around each year. It helps us to remember that temptation is present. As we journey deeper into the heart of Lent, let’s hold close the profound lessons of Jesus’ baptism and wilderness trials. It is a time for us to fully embrace our identity as God’s beloved, striving to reflect Christ’s love and grace in every aspect of our lives. This Lenten season calls us to turn back towards God, acknowledging the times we have strayed, and believe anew in the good news of Jesus Christ. It is a period of reaffirmation, where in the wilderness of our own lives, we can take comfort in knowing that we are not alone. God’s presence, symbolized by the ministering angels to Jesus and the solidarity of our faith community, supports and sustains us through every trial.

Yet, as we reflect on these spiritual truths, we cannot ignore the harsh realities of our world. It is a world where, tragically, dissidents die under mysterious circumstances, and the temptation to disengage and seek comfort in complacency is ever-present. This stark reality serves as a sobering reminder of the wilderness that still exists around us, challenging us to not only be contemplatives in action but also advocates for justice and peace.

Lent implores us not to retreat into comfort but to confront these realities with courage and faith. Let this season be a time of spiritual renewal and deepened faith for us all as we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Together, let us journey through this Lent, confronting our temptations with God’s help and reorienting our lives toward the kingdom of God.

[1] Mark 1:11, New Revised Standard Version (“NRSV”)

[2] Mark 1:15, NRSV