First Sunday in Lent, Year B

WILDERNESS TRANSFORMED

First Sunday in Lent, Year B
Mark 1:9-15
Analysis by Brad Haugen

9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’

From Canva

We welcome the crucified Christ with us in the wilderness.

DIAGNOSIS: Living and dying apart from God

Step 1: Initial Diagnosis (External Problem): Looking Out for Ourselves
The wilderness is a dangerous place. In the wilderness, after all, Jesus encounters Satan, his adversary and tempter, along with the wild beasts. While the Gospel of Mark does not describe the specifics of Satan’s temptations, the other synoptic gospels (Matthew and Luke) provide further details about this dangerous place. Lacking God’s provision, protection, and power, we’re on our own.

So, at least, it is with our own worldly wilderness, where our top priority is to look out for ourselves, even exclusively for ourselves. We strive, we toil, we stress, for our own provisions, protection, and power. We regard other people simply as threats to these desires for provisions, protection, and power. In a disenchanted world, Satan’s temptations are not temptations per se but rather function more like practical advice, granting us the permission we desire to look out exclusively for ourselves.

Step 2: Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem): Us Against God
In the wilderness, we suspect that God and other people are against us. We forget, and certainly do not trust, God’s promise given in Jesus’s baptism, as well as in our own baptism: “You are my child, my beloved; with you I am well pleased” (v. 11). For us, this promise is too often drained of its power following our baptism as we enter the wilderness, where we live out the rest of our lives.

We suspect that whether we have provisions, protection, power, and influence in our life, it all depends on us. No one else, not even God, can be counted on. We are trapped in our own wilderness with our own self-made survival kit. We cannot trust a God who would allow us and Jesus to get hungry; a God who is not demonstrably powerful enough to assure us of his protection, a God who doesn’t share his power with us. In the wilderness of our lives, we tell ourselves that we would rather believe and trust only in a God whose power we can see, experience, and share, than in a God who calls us “beloved” but leaves us with our wilderness. Such a God seems against us.

Step 3: Final Diagnosis (Eternal Problem): Driven Out
But the greatest danger of the wilderness is our life apart from God, driven out by God, abandoned by God, succumbing to the temptation to live and die apart from God. We never considered that’s how we have lived, what we have wanted all along. Our darkest wilderness is the place where we seem to prefer to be, feverishly acquiring our own provisions and possessions, desperately seeking our own protection and security, anxiously striving to attain more power and influence over others. We are forsaken, driven out by God, and left to ourselves in our wilderness.

From Canva

PROGNOSIS: Driven to Christ and our neighbor

Step 4: Initial Prognosis (Eternal Solution): Drawn In
Christ crucified, though, it turns out, is also forsaken by God, and more importantly, for us and for our salvation. Jesus’s wilderness wandering was the Holy Spirit’s doing (vv. 12-13)! The Spirit gave Jesus the boot, drove him out, expelled him (ekballei) into the wilderness. This was not a gentle invitation or push. Jesus’s ending up in the wilderness was God’s doing. But there is a promising reason for that divine boot! God’s “Son”, his “beloved”, is driven into the wilderness for our sake. It was Jesus’ taking his place with us in our wilderness.

Still, Jesus didn’t escape the wilderness, even after he renounced Satan’s temptation and trusted God instead. Even after “angels waited on him” (v.13) and he “came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God” (v. 14), Jesus would take his place in the wilderness of so many, even people who would drive him out to crucify him. As the devil had urged Jesus to do in the wilderness the first time, the people – at Satan’s bidding – continue to mock Jesus, demanding that he show power to come down from the cross, to save himself, even while crucifying him. (15:25-32). Jesus, however, didn’t offer a display of power. Instead, he uttered the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (15:34) – certainly the farthest cry from one of power.

Yet Jesus’s own cry of God-forsakenness from the cross is the way that Jesus fully enters the wilderness with us. When it comes to the truth of our wilderness, Christ does not drive us out; rather, he draws us in to his undying, unshakable love that God in Christ promises us as well.

Step 5: Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution): God for Us
“You are my child, my beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Having Christ draw us into God’s eternal, unending love given in our baptism, we no longer live and operate as “us against God.” We trust God is for us rather than against us. The wilderness temptation to simply look out for ourselves – living and dying apart from God – no longer compels or overwhelms us. We welcome the crucified Christ with us in the wilderness. And our ears perk up at his announcement that God’s kingdom has come near (v. 15).

We sense and believe in the nearness of God’s kingdom because we trust that Christ loves us and is with us no matter how far we stray or are driven out, away from God. We no longer desire God’s power; instead, as God’s beloved, along with Christ, we cling with faith to God’s love.

Step 6: Final Prognosis (External Solution): Looking Out for Others
Rather than fear and distrust that the Spirit is driving us out away from God, we trust the Holy Spirit given to Christ as well as to us in our baptism. We trust that the Spirit is leading us into the wilderness of all others who are so much like ourselves. We look out for others who are tempted to live and die apart from God, as we once did. But rather than simply affirming that they live without God or against God, as we also do, we acknowledge our own God-forsakenness and listen to theirs. We show them a Christ who was forsaken by God and yet loved us. We rejoice that because of this crucified, God-forsaken, driven-out Christ, God loves us all. And we long to show it.

Third Sunday in Lent

Follow the Leader?

Exodus 17:1-7
Third Sunday in Lent
Analysis by Peter Keyel

1From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” 4So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Nicolas Poussin, Moses schlägt Wasser aus dem Felsen, (Moses striking Water from the Rock), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Instead of condemning us for our sins, God will enter the world as Jesus and bear those sins, even as he bears Moses’ lack of faith and blame. God’s affirmation of this new strategy is revealed when Jesus dies to sin, and yet is raised from the dead.

DIAGNOSIS: Leaders Are Powerless

Step 1: Initial Diagnosis (External Problem): Leading is Hard

Moses has a problem. He’s led the people out of the wilderness, but there is no water for them to drink. He took a risk, and the people he is leading may pay for that mistake with their lives. Their reasonable request—water—is met not with Moses’ faith, but his indignation that they are challenging his leadership. The indignation does nothing to solve the problem; there is no water.

While most of us have not led thousands of people and attendant livestock through a desert, the leadership challenges still may be familiar. And if, as leaders, we’ve made expensive mistakes, we know that valid criticism stings all the more.

Step 2: Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem): Afraid

Moses’ speed in invoking a higher authority, hints that he is afraid. The people ask for water, and Moses deflects his mistake by claiming they are “testing the Lord.” Instead of reassuring the people that water will come, or taking responsibility for his leadership, he reframes their request as an affront against God. When the people do not buy it, Moses fears not just his public mistake, but also for his life.

Leaders who make mistakes but deflect blame? Anyone who has worked in a bureaucracy has seen that. As much as we fear admitting it, maybe we’ve been in that position once or twice. How do we respond when we make expensive mistakes?

Step 3: Final Diagnosis (Eternal Problem): Powerless

Moses is powerless to save the Israelites. In his despair, he turns to blame God. He knows that he—and they—are about to die, but he has no idea how to fix it. Would it be surprising if God decided to replace Moses with a more trusting and/or competent leader?

Depending on their mistakes, leaders might get fired, or their actions may have severe consequences for those they lead. At a certain point, the leader cannot do anything to remedy the problem.

Jesus bears our sins (from Canva)

PROGNOSIS: God Is Powerful

Step 4: Initial Prognosis (Eternal Solution): Powerful

Instead of killing Moses for his lack of faith, God provides a different solution: life. God will provide water to the Israelites, and strengthen Moses’ leadership position. This foreshadows God’s solution to our sin. Instead of condemning us for our sins, God will enter the world as Jesus and bear those sins, even as he bears Moses’ lack of faith and blame. God’s affirmation of this new strategy is revealed when Jesus dies to sin, and yet is raised from the dead.

God’s willingness to die for our sins means we can place those sins on God. A leader may be fired, but there will be new life. This might require a miracle in our current work environment, but there are many forms that new life can take other than restoring the status quo.

Step 5: Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution): Trusting

God’s response to Moses is to tell him to go to Horeb and strike a rock with a staff. It sounds ridiculous to modern ears and may have sounded ridiculous at the time. Water doesn’t just spring out of rocks. Yet the faith in Moses enables him to trust the Lord without fear. From Moses’ faith springs water that the people can drink.

Trust in a new life promised by God means we are freed to pursue new endeavors—even those that may seem beyond our imagination. Maybe it’s another chance as a leader, maybe it is moving in a new direction. These changes are less scary because we trust that God will see us through.

Step 6: Final Prognosis (External Solution): Serving Is Harder

Serving the people by providing water ended up being simple. Hit a rock with a stick. But we know how the story continues. Holding the stick up for a whole day is the next challenge, followed by arbitrating disputes amongst thousands of people.

Serving did not get easier. But Moses had help from his faith and his fellow believers. The people don’t challenge Moses when it comes to holding up the stick, nor does Moses cry to the Lord about it. He does it, with the aid of others. Similarly, in the next challenge, Moses does not have to judge the people’s disputes alone.

For us, doing new things is hard, and gets harder with age. Living by faith, fear doesn’t have to be an obstacle, but doing may still feel difficult. So we trust that both God and the community of believers will hold up our arms when we are tired, and giving us advice and aid.

Third Sunday of Advent

Team Spirit (from Canva)

ISAIAH AND THE WORLD CUP

Isaiah 35:1-10
Third Sunday of Advent
Analysis by Ben Williams

1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus 2it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.

3Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
4Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”

5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;

Jan Brueghel the Elder, The Prophesy of Isaiah, oil painting (Alte Pinakothek – Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen)

7the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God’s people;
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
9No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
10And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

At the heart of this dilemma is a question: with whom are we aligned? Isaiah prophecies to a people who were quite familiar with ethical conundrums that exposed their allegiances.

DIAGNOSIS: DEEP IN THE WILDERNESS

Step 1: Initial Diagnosis (External Problem): On the World’s Stage

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is well underway and nearing its conclusion. This iteration of the quadrennial tournament has been shrouded in controversy. From allegations of bribery and various forms of corruption to a tenuous social climate to the abusive treatment of migrant workers, the world’s sport has faced an ethical conundrum: how to respond to the World Cup in Qatar. As some commenters have stated, “If you don’t like what is happening in Qatar, don’t watch.” And yet, many around the world, including myself, have tuned in to watch the spectacle unfold.

Step 2: Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem): Our Implicated Hearts

At the heart of this dilemma is a question: with whom are we aligned? Isaiah prophecies to a people who were quite familiar with ethical conundrums that exposed their allegiances. After proclaiming the judgment of the nations (Isaiah 34), Isaiah tells of a future reality in which waters break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. It is a hopeful and beautiful dream given to a people who long for such a reality. And yet, when we are given such a vision, will we believe it and act upon it? Or will we get lost in the wilderness of the ethical conundrums we face? More often than not, I become a functional atheist and content myself with wandering aimlessly through all of life’s dilemmas.

Step 3: Final Diagnosis (Eternal Problem): Our Indecision Kills

God is not content with us being lost in the wilderness (even if God calls us there for a time). God has a vision of sorrow and sighing fleeing away from God’s people. And yet, we entrust ourselves to hemming and hawing endlessly. And that sort of waiting is not good for anyone, especially those of us who supposedly believe God is still speaking. Our indecision leaves all involved parched and wandering.

PROGNOSIS: STREAMS IN THE DESERT

Isaiah 35: 1-2a (from Canva)

Step 4: Initial Prognosis (Eternal Solution): God’s Decisiveness Restores

God, on the other hand, is decisive. God cast a vision for Isaiah to proclaim. God carried that vision through history culminating in the life of Jesus. And God fulfilled that vision in the cross and empty tomb of Christ, so that eyes will be opened, ears will be unstopped, and tongues will sing for joy. God is so decisive, in fact, that no fool will go astray.

Step 5: Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution): Our Baptized Hearts

God brings forth water in the wilderness of our hearts to remind us of the promises made to us in baptism. But rather than solve our dilemmas, God gifts us with the Holy Spirit. Dwelling deep within us, the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom to live in the tension of the wilderness and move through our dilemmas. Rather than hemming and hawing over what to do, we are empowered to travel along the Holy Way.

Step 6: Final Prognosis (External Solution): Returning to the World’s Stage

Walking along this path transforms our conundrum into a fertile field for witness. Rather than wondering whether to watch the World Cup, we can keep an eye out for God’s streams of justice and peace in the desert of Qatar. Rather than pit our love of sports against our love of justice, we witness to the transformative power of both in our communities. Rather than behave as functional atheists, we trust in God’s promises, waiting expectantly for God to show up and use our witness to change the world.