Roger Lynn
March 8, 2020
2nd Sunday in Lent
(CLICK HERE for the audio for this sermon)
We have now begun the journey towards Easter which we call Lent. It is a season traditionally associated with prayer and reflection. It is a time of self-examination and preparation. It is appropriate that it occurs as we are moving from winter into spring, since it is a journey which moves us from darkness into light. But central to almost any understanding of this season is the idea of movement. It is a journey.
This is what Edward Hays has to say about Lent. “The author of the famous Fellowship of the Ring trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien, who created the world of hobbits, once said, ‘All that is gold does not glitter. All those who wander are not lost.’ Each year as we enter into the season of Lent we are called to wander.
“The Journey or Quest is the classic symbol for a life of prayer. Wandering is a special kind of journeying; it involves traveling freely and without haste, which makes it a sort of rambling. We wander after God, mindful that it will take forty years – a lifetime – for the journey. The call is to be on the move, to wander instead of choosing a particular course – and without choosing to settle down. Settlers are wanderers who have dropped anchor, become stationary, stopped their quest. Many were the number of original pioneers who never made it to California, but who settled for something less hectic or demanding along the way. This is the eternal temptation of all who seek God – to stop and make camp, or even a permanent home, along the wayside.
“Jesus entered the desert for his personal forty days of prayer to recapture that original spirit of Israel, to find again the original intimacy of the Divine Beloved, to face the faceless God, naked of all rituals, ceremonies and protective devices. Jesus entered the desert as the carpenter of Nazareth. He left the desert with a divine life’s mission. The God with whom he left the desert was a broader God, at once more universal and more intimate than the God Jesus had known in the village synagogue of Nazareth. And because of that experience of forty days of wandering, Jesus became a perpetual wanderer.
“In our worship and personal prayer we are called to venture into the unknown, to resist the temptation of routine prayers that can make us zombie disciples. Of course, it is always easier to pray the same way we did twenty years ago, to use the same words we did as children. It is much less trouble to live a religious life without constantly re-examining and redefining what we believe and how it should be lived.
“How easily do you and I settle for our familiar, easy God? We often fail to understand or to embrace what worship of the mystery of God implies. God moves ahead of us constantly and calls us out of our personal Egypts or Nazareths to seek the Divine in the desert. Those who wish to be more than ordinary disciples, who seek to be more than ‘church-going’ settlers, need more lust in their lives! This Lenten lust the Germans called wanderlust, the irresistible impulse to journey. Those who follow that path will be the travelers who meet Jesus on their own personal road to Emmaus.” (from A Pilgrim’s Almanac, by Edward Hays)
The Hebrew people had spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, journeying towards the promised land, preparing themselves to be in covenant relationship with each other and with God. Standing at the threshold of their new home they are reminded to maintain their connection with God, for it is that connection which provides them with strength and purpose and meaning. The message seems to be, “Don’t become so settled that you forget where you came from, and who has brought you to this place.”
As he prepares to begin his active ministry, Jesus withdraws into the wilderness, for a time of personal wandering, in which he explores his relationship with God and the nature of his calling. It is not just a pleasant walk in the park. This 40 days in the wilderness is marked by intense personal struggles. The stakes are high.
And so it is with our own 40 days of wandering through the season of Lent. As we said in the Lenten Reflection a few moments ago, “Lent is not our favorite time of year.” But it can be a valuable experience if we will give ourselves over to it – if we will take the time to slow down and truly be fully present with God in each moment. The Hebrew people emerged on the other side of their wanderings better prepared to hear the message that a deep and abiding relationship with God calls for nothing less than celebration. Jesus left his wilderness experience more deeply rooted than ever in his connection with God and more centered in his desire to make a difference in the world. As we move through these days from darkness into light, steadily traveling towards the celebration of God’s resurrection power, may we be intentional about pausing to experience God’s call in our lives. May we engage in the sacred practice of faithful wandering.
No comments:
Post a Comment