Lent: A Journey Into Covenant (Lent 1)

Genesis 9: 8-17 & Mark 1: 9-15
(CLICK HERE to read the scripture texts)

Roger Lynn

March 1, 2020

1st Sunday in Lent

(the audio for this sermon will be posted soon)

We have officially entered into the liturgical season of Lent, which leads us to the celebration of Easter, by way of the pain and sorrow of Good Friday. It is a time in the life of the Church when our attention is drawn to serious themes such as sacrifice and even death. Even the liturgical color of the season – deep purple – reflects the somber nature of this time. But it need not be a negative time. Through reflection, meditation, and introspection, Lent can be a time of profound spiritual growth. One of the ways in which this can happen is when we choose to focus on opening up rather than closing off, moving towards rather than moving away, seeking life rather than merely avoiding death. At its best, I believe we can experience the season of Lent as a journey in which we enter more fully into a covenantal relationship with God and with those around us.

Faith is always a journey. We learn and grow and change as we continue to experience life. The understanding we have of God and our relationship with God is constantly evolving. It is within this context that an examination of the Biblical stories proves most valuable. They reflect the expanding nature of our awareness of who God is in our midst. Through such stories we can discover valuable insights into our own faith stories.

In both the story of God’s covenant with Noah and Jesus’ baptism and time in the wilderness, we find illustrations of an expanding awareness of God’s desire to be in loving relationship with all of creation. With the Noah story, it is not necessary to believe that God destroyed the world with a flood to understand that such a view was commonly held by the people of that day. For many people of that time, and indeed many in our time as well, God was understood to be powerful and jealous and vengeful. Destroying the world was seen as something very much in keeping with God’s nature. But the end of the story of Noah represents a shift in that understanding. As told in Genesis, it is portrayed in terms of God having a change of heart. “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:11) But I believe that what this really represents is a shift in how the Hebrew people understood God. They were slowly coming to a new awareness that God is not about destroying but about being in relationship. In truth, this “new” covenant which God establishes with Noah and his descendants really takes us closer to who God has been all along. This is one of the first steps by the Hebrew people towards a deeper, richer covenantal relationship with God.

In the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, we find a very personal story of Jesus’ faith in action. In typical fashion for this Gospel, Mark provides us with very little detail beyond the bare essentials of the narrative. Jesus goes to the Jordan to be baptized by John, at which time he experiences a vision which conveys a significant, intimate relationship with God. Following this experience he spends time in the wilderness, struggling with unspecified temptations and encountering the presence of the Holy, in this case identified as angels. At the end of his time in the wilderness, Jesus returns to his community proclaiming the good news of God’s presence in our world and in our lives. Even from such minimal details, we can begin to see a pattern. Faith doesn’t appear full-blown, even in Jesus. It emerges and develops out of life experiences. It is shaped through the process of struggle. And it moves from the personal to the universal. As with the story of Noah, what we are left with in the end is a growing awareness that God seeks to be in deep and intimate covenantal relationship with all of creation. 

For Noah, it was a journey which took him through the flood to a whole new world. For Jesus, it was a journey which took him into the wilderness and back again. Where will your journey of faith lead you? What will you discover about yourself along the way? What will you discover about God? As we enter into this season of Lent, filled as it is with opportunities and traditions for prayer, reflection, and growth, I would invite you to spend some time being intentional about your faith journey. Seek out ways in which you might discover for yourselves what Noah and Jesus discovered – that God is alive and present in our world and in our lives, seeking to be in relationship with us. God has always been in covenant with us. As we journey through Lent towards Easter, may we find ways to open ourselves to be in covenant with God. May God continue to be with us on the journey.