40 Days and 40 Nights

Sermon

Lent 1

Year C

We are off to a flying start on this the first Sunday of Lent.

The readings today remind us that as Christians we are a nomadic people.  We wander around in the wilderness trying to see what God wants of us, and how we can better understand him and his plan for us.  For some of us that means physically moving, but for all of us, it means questioning and challenging, finding new ways of being.

After his baptism in the River Jordan, Jesus goes off to the wilderness to get his head straight and to prepare for the work that would need to be done –and I think this is the pattern for us all.

The inhabited part of Judea at the time stood on the central plateau which was the backbone of southern Palestine; between it and the Dead Sea stretched a terrible wilderness some thirty-five miles across by fifteen miles, it was called JESHIMMON which means the devastation.  The limestone desert swoops 1,200 feet down to the sea, very little grows there, it is covered in jagged rocks.  This is where Jesus was taken to be tempted, this was his wilderness.

I’ve thought a lot about this part of the Gospel, it must be one of the most important and sacred parts of the Bible.  In Luke’s version, we heard today, it says Jesus full of the Holy Spirit was led into the wilderness.  In Mark, as usual, the words bring a more dramatic effect, we are told Jesus was driven into the wilderness, to start 40 days of fasting, prayer, loneliness and temptation.

This account is important because, I assume, the account would have been given to the disciples directly from the Jesus himself, and if this weren’t enough, it speaks to us on a different level, it plays into our imagination and our deepest needs and desires.  We all need to find some peace sometimes, to be in a place that helps us be with God, indeed that’s what Lent is all about, our creating a little bit of quiet wilderness for ourselves, where we can fast, reflect on life, read scriptures and pray.

A Whitbread Prize shortlisted book from a decade or so ago was Quarantine, written by Jim Crace.  He retells the story in a very different way.  Along with the dialogue of Jesus, the narrative sees him as a bit of an outsider at the beginning of his ministry. 

A religious visionary, but a bit of a loner and a drifter, turning his back on the traditions and ways of the day and heading out into the Judean desert for a 40 day retreat.

As Jesus takes to his cliff top cave, in the book, Crace describes Jesus praying out loud across the valley;

"The prayers were in command of him. He shouted out across the valley, happy with the noise he made. The common words lost hold of sound. The consonants collapsed. He called on god to join him in the cave with all the noises that his lips could make. He called with all the voices in his throat."

Crace, goes on to describe the temptations, all visited upon him by humans, and all bravely resisted with what can only be described as superhuman will.

In the Gospels, the order of the Temptations differ;

The FIRST temptation in LUKE’s gospel was to turn the limestone rocks into bread.  The temptation was not just for food at the time, but the question was being asked, would you bribe people with worldly things to follow you?  This is rejected by Jesus who quotes Deuteronomy “one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. 

The SECOND temptation was on a mountain from which all the civilized world could be seen, “worship me and all this will be yours”.  This is the temptation to compromise. “Don’t set your standards so high! Bargain with me; compromise with evil and you can do more good!”

Jesus had an answer, also from the Book of Deuteronomy “Worship the Lord your God and Serve only him”.  It is a constant temptation to win by compromise. 

In the THIRD temptation Jesus found himself on the pinnacle of the temple where the Royal porch and Solomon’s porch meet, there was a drop of some 450 feet, down to the Kedron valley below.  This was the temptation to give the people sensations.  Jesus quotes Deuteronomy again “Do not put your Lord God to the test”.  Jesus saw quite clearly that by producing wonders and sensations, he would lose integrity for the message that he was to bring.

BRIBERY, COMPROMISE or SENSATION; Jesus rejected these ways of control, these ways of exercising power and we should too. 

This challenge to Christ is also the challenge to the church, and it always has been.

When we are looking back at these events, where Christ walked the earth, the other important thing we should remember is, however compelling the stories in the Gospels are, they are for us to inform our acts and prayer today.  Not just good stories.

I think it’s a pity that churches aren’t historical reenactment societies, like those people who dress up and relive Civil Wars. 

It would be so much easier to just turn up, dress up and say a few words and go home. 

However, the truth of the matter is that we are called to be the church in the here and now, building on the past, but looking to the future, we are the living Church of God, here in the centre of this community.

That means we need to listen to God, listen to the people around us, and to reflect the outrageous love of God that permeates all things, and cannot be stopped.

I’m looking forward to the future of the church, debates about women bishops, same sex marriages in church and the dozens of other things that need to be discussed.  It will be a sign that we are the church of the future.

God is challenging us to engage with the world and answer with love.  During Lent, think about your lives with God, think about how he speaks to you, and think about the person who will emerge from your own wilderness, ready to take Christ to the world.

May God be with you on your Lenten journey.

Let us pray.

As the days lengthen and the earth spends longer in the light of day, grant that we may spend longer in the light of your presence O Lord.

And may those seeds of your word, which have been long-buried within us, grow, like everything around us, into love for you, and love for people; to become a visible declaration of your lordship in our lives. 

Grant, father, that this Lent there may be a springtime for our life in Christ.  Through the very same, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  AMEN

Perseverance, Prophesy and Perception

A vicar was walking down the street when he saw a group of about a dozen boys, all of them between 10 and 12 years of age.

The group had surrounded a dog, and he was worried they were going to hurt it. "What are you doing with that dog?"

One of the boys replied, "This dog is just an old neighborhood stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we've decided that whichever one of us can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog."

Of course, the reverend was taken aback. "You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" he exclaimed. He then launched into a ten minute sermon against lying, beginning, "Don't you boys know it's a sin to lie," and ending with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."

The vicar stopped and got his breath, then the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and said, "All right, give him the dog."

Today is Candlemas (which is traditionally held on the 2^nd February or closest Sunday) and is one of the twelve great feast days of the Christian calendar.  In the Eastern church, this festival is called the Hypapante, literally meaning The Meeting in Greek.

Although in some churches candles are lit, the Candlemas name really refers to the practice of the Priest blessing the candles for the year, on the day.  It is also the day that the Christmas greenery from the church is taken down and the nativity set is put away for another year.

In Robert Herrick’s poem “Ceremony on Candlemas Eve” he writes;

“Down with the rosemary and so,

Down wit the bays and mistletoe;

Down with the holly, ivy, all

Wherewith ye dress’d the Christmas Hall”

So that’s the tradition!  What about the readings?  Well…

The Gospel reading for the day describes the event 40 days after the birth of Jesus, and was to complete Mary’s purification after childbirth and to perform the ‘redemption of the firstborn’, in obedience to the Law of Moses in Leviticus and Exodus.

Mary and Joseph brought their son, and two turtle doves for the sacrifice (which is what the poor did), because they could not afford a lamb, to the temple.

There they met Simeon, whom God had promised that he “should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord." (Luke 2:26)

He then prayed the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which was a prophesy of the redemption of the world by Jesus:

"Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel." (Luke 2:29-32).
Simeon then had a prophecy for Mary: "This child is set for the fall and rising again of many; and for a sign which shall be spoken against, and a sword shall pierce your own soul too—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34-35).
The elderly prophetess Anna was there too, to tell all present that the child would be responsible for the salvation of all.
I bet Mary said to Joseph “it’s like Christmas all over again!” as they are being told things about their baby.  Prophecies that have taken a lifetime to deliver, prophesies that are awesome and scary at the same time.  In the temple, surrounded by the trappings of their faith.  What a picture!
It’s a great picture – where we hear the account of the prophesies fulfilled in the temple.  But that isn’t where it ends.  In this triumph of love, this is where the work of the Kingdom starts, however  it doesn’t remain within the walls of the temple – it eventually takes to the streets – taking that reality of the prophesies fulfilled to the people – though the work of Jesus and his Disciples.
Today, however, the lesson is not from the actions of Jesus, or his Disciples, it is in the person of Simeon and his actions.
Firstly, he is a man of perseverance.  The Gospel tells us that

“It had been revealed to (Simeon) by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ”

As the years passed, it would have been easy for him to give up, but he didn’t.  The sense that we are playing the long game, is quite alien to our culture today.  People demand quick rewards, but persistence and perseverance are important attributes that the church needs today more than ever.  It is always worth the wait!
Secondly, Simeon had perception.  His time spent waiting meant he was able to see what was unfolding before him, he was close to God.  After all, the reading tells us that “moved by the Spirit” he entered the Temple Courts.  Perception comes from prayer and with that he walked closely with God. 
Not any particular prayer, not any particular way of praying, but the sense that we can throw all our uncertainties, our concerns and our confusions up in the air, and somehow, as they fall back down, God will have put them into some sort of order for us.
I believe that as he held the Messiah in his arms, the child for whom he had been waiting, he knew, he knew that God’s purpose had been fulfilled, and full of perception he said;

Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; according to thy word.  For mine own eyes have seen thy salvation….

Maybe not in the beautiful words of the Book of Common Prayer.
Thirdly, Simeon was a man of prophesy.    He not only recognised the Messiah, he recognised his role too;

Which thou hast prepared in the sight of all people, A light to reveal you to the nations and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

This ran counter to the Jewish expectations of the Messiah, but Simeon delivered his prophesy anyway.  The shocking prophesy that the Christ was to be the Glory of the Jewish people, but also a light to reveal God to the nations!  Gentiles too?!?  Yes Gentiles too, you and me.
In the tradition of the Old Testament Prophets, Simeon’s message was shocking and devastating.  Knowing this, he told them that he was well aware that this would be a problem for many, saying;

This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed”.

The Advent of the Messiah wasn’t going to be without difficulties for many. 
The end of the prophesy is not painless, as he turns to Mary, Mother of Jesus and says,
       “And a sword will pierce your own soul too”
Today, Candlemas, is the turning point from Christmas to Easter and we move from Incarnation to Atonement.  We, like Mary, are being prepared for the journey to the cross through Lent.
It is also half way between the winter solstice and spring equinox, half the winter is over (although you wouldn’t have thought that) and the days are getting lighter.  It is a day to change pace.
Finally, Simeon is, watching the Holy family leave the temple.  God has kept his word, and this man of Perseverence, perception, prophesy can rest.