Begun on Ash
Wednesday, the season of Lent is the annual time for mulling the crux of our
faith. Who are we as people beloved by God?
Mark 1:9-15
The
biblical accounts of Jesus in the desert being tempted by Satan and ministered
to by angels are always a little harder to relate to than the accounts of his
teaching and healing and passion. Even if you don’t take the forty days
literally, most of us don’t have that kind of experience. Our times of
discernment, even if we are contemplating God’s call on our lives, are usually
lived in the midst of our everyday duties and family life. Sometimes we go on
retreats, taking a week or so to pause and consider our direction in life.
Usually, we just muddle along until we get some sense of direction...
‘‘The
kingdom of God has come near,’’ [Jesus] said. His desert time wiped away other
concerns and gave him a sense of urgency about telling the good news of God’s
love. In modern terms we would say that he got his priorities straight.
–
Judith Simonson
Who is this
God who entered the wilderness of this life for us? What is our calling? What
are our particular gifts?
Genesis 9:8-17
These Lenten readings give us an opportunity to enter into huge questions about existence by first hearing the promises given to Noah, his family, and all creation.
Genesis
9 introduces the first of several covenants that will be discussed in the
lectionary over the next few weeks, God’s covenant with Noah and all living
creatures. Here God promises never again to threaten extinction or destruction
by floodwater and gives the rainbow as a sign of that promise of protection.
Ironically, that sign seems to be more for God’s benefit as a reminder not to
destroy the earth than as a comfort to humans that God will not forget. While
these verses speak of God’s promises to Noah, not human responsibilities under
this covenant, the beginning of Chapter 9 stipulates prohibitions against
murder and eating the blood of animals. Jewish tradition developed a set of
‘‘Noachide’’ laws, the minimum observances expected of all people, not just
Israelites. For Christians this set of laws becomes the basis of the agreement
in Acts 15 as to which laws are mandatory and binding upon gentile converts to
Christianity. Although these verses do not specifically mention a number, the
connection to the forty days and nights of the flood is clear.
–
Jonathan D. Lawrence
I think of the
Epistle reading as a window into how the church is called to take in the
central good news from the First Reading and the Gospel. Sometimes it is
necessary to dig deeply into the presuppositions behind the text in order to
find that window. Other times, as on this Sunday, the connections are
plain.
1 Peter 3:18-22
This
short passage connects the story of Noah to the practice of baptism and the
significance of Christ’s death. The writer sees Christ’s death and rebirth in
the spirit as an innocent suffering or sacrifice on the behalf of all people. .
. Early Christians drew on Peter’s
symbolism here and used the ark as a symbol of baptism, since ‘‘a few, that is
eight persons, were saved through water.’’ Christian paintings in the catacombs
and elsewhere used this symbol, in connection to the Eucharist as well. The
idea is that just as Noah spent forty days in the ark, as a sign of faith and
as the water washed away the sins of the world, Christians wash their sins away
(not just physical dirt) and seek God’s care and rescuing. Again, as in the
other passages for today, repentance, humility and trust are required of those
seeking to follow God.
–
Jonathan D. Lawrence
Jonathan D. Lawrence, an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church, teaches Religious
Studies and Theology at Canisius College, Buffalo, New York.
Judith Simonson is an ordained minister in
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Homily
Service 39, no. 4 (2006):
13-21.
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