Mark 1:9-15 (Lent 1B)
St. John, Galveston 2/18/2024
Rev. Alan Taylor

+ In Nomine Jesu +

Grace and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Her name was Lynn. Two years ago, Lynn died of cancer. On the second anniversary of her death, some friends posted a picture of her on Facebook. In the photo, Lynn was sitting on a beach in Hawaii. She sported a golden tan and she had a broad smile across her face. In the background, blue skies and beautiful water reached all the way out to the horizon. As you looked at the photo, at some point, your eyes were drawn to the lower portion of it, just below Lynn’s feet. There, written in the sand, were the words, “Fight like hell.”

Today, of course, is the first Sunday in Lent, which always takes us into the wilderness with Jesus, as He faces temptation at the hands of the devil. “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being  tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.” There it is, that wilderness of temptation and trial. Though the word “wilderness” sometimes brings to mind images of a barren, desolate place, the photo of Lynn that I just mentioned, is a good reminder that there are many different kinds of wildernesses in which we find ourselves in life.

For you, the wilderness might be within the walls of your home. A three-car garage, a fully stocked fridge, walk in closets, and yet every day you struggle with a wayward child, or with addictions, or with financial problems. No one would think you lived in a wilderness, but that’s what your home has become.

Or it could be your dream job. There is a corner office with a view of the city. Clients leave you high ratings on their google reviews. You have the job and the success other people could only dream of. Yet, every day is a battle with stress and depression, and you wonder if you can make it through. Your dream job is your wilderness.

Of course, in Mark’s account of Jesus’ temptation, Jesus was in a literal wilderness, a barren, desolate place, and He fought the literal powers of the Devil. He did so, so that each of us can walk through our own wildernesses, so that we could emerge on the other side victorious, knowing His comforting grace and peace and power.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness isn’t only found in Mark’s Gospel. In fact, it’s in three of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. That being the case, it would be good for us to take note of how Mark’s account of the temptation might differ from the accounts given by Matthew and Luke. As you might expect, since Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the four Gospels, he gives us the least amount of detail regarding Jesus’ temptation. However, at least in the case of Jesus’ temptation, what isn’t included, may well speak as loudly to us as what is included. The final result of a situation can speak as loud as, or louder than words. 
Certainly, Mark doesn’t give us a manual on how to combat temptation. In fact, as he tells us about the temptation of Jesus, he doesn’t even tell us what the temptations were that Jesus faced! That omission seems somewhat significant. In Mark’s account of the temptation, Satan doesn’t question whether Jesus was the Son of God and Jesus doesn’t quote Scripture in His fight against Satan. There are no stones, there are no kingdoms, and there are no pinnacles of the Temple in Mark’s account. Mark lets many of the details of Jesus’ temptation remain a mystery.
Why do you suppose that is?
Well, it would seem that in Mark’s account we are to derive comfort, not in learning how to fight temptation, but in knowing that there are certain truths about God that serve to comfort us no matter what the situation is that we face in life. As Mark says, Jesus was, “with the wild animals and the angels were ministering to Him.”

The fact is, there will be times in our own lives when we find ourselves in the midst of the wilderness. For sure, our wilderness will be different from that of Jesus, even though our battles will ultimately be against “the schemes of the devil.” Ah, yes, for has it not been said, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” One thing is the  same for us as it was in Jesus’ temptation: In the midst of the struggle, God will be there working for us, for you. Mark offers three truths about God, to comfort us as we make our way through our own wildernesses.

The first thing for us to remember is that God is in control. In the case of Jesus’ temptation, He was lead, or driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. While God may not have specifically lead us into the wildernesses that we encounter, He is, nonetheless, still in control. Suffice it to say that nothing catches God by surprise. Our relationship with Him truly is as the Scriptures say, namely, that “He is with us always, even to the very end of the age.” And more than that, He isn’t an idle bystander in our lives. The Apostle made God’s active role in our lives abundantly clear when he said, “God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose.”  

So, God is in control, even when it seems like He may not be. Remember, under the theology of the cross, God is often working His greatest work when all visible indicators seem to suggest otherwise. The second thing that comforts us in the midst of our wildernesses, is the knowledge that God cares for us. He cares for you. In Jesus’ case, the Father cared for Him by sending angels to minister to Him. In your case, He may do the same thing. But even apart from the ministering angels of God, you have the sure and certain promise that His care for you is absolute, that it is so great that nothing will ever be able to separate you from His love. Indeed, “in all these things we are more than  conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

And finally, in Christ Jesus, God is bringing about a new creation. Elsewhere in the Scriptures, the Apostle wrote, “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men the most to be pitied.” Our hope for a better day extends, of course, far beyond this world. It’s not by accident that Jesus was baptized just before He was driven into the wilderness to combat the devil. The new creation is beautifully symbolized in Holy Baptism as a child is “transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, in whom, he or she has redemption, even the forgiveness of sins.” In Christ, God has rendered the devil powerless to condemn you. He has bound him in such a way that he can no longer torment you to a bitter grave.

And yes, in time, the new creation will be complete, the sufferings of this world having come to an end. “Behold (wrote the Apostle John), the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

The new creation is yours in Christ Jesus, so yes, “fight like hell.” But know that God is control and He cares for you. “If He wouldn’t withhold His Son from you, what would He withhold from you now.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +