how the day went

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5:00 a.m. alarm - hit snooze button
5:09 a.m. alarm - find glasses, get up.
5:10 a.m. 1-minute coffee warm up
5:11-5:30 stare groggily into space with cat
5:30-6:05 shower, start singing to self, dry hair, contacts, makeup, etc.
6:05-6:10 dress in dark
6:15-6:45 look at sermon, decide it's crap, turn on computer, REWRITE sermon
6:50 fly out door, driveway and down highway 41
7:20 at church -
8:00 ready for worship

The re-written sermon (the original idea about monsters from e.sermons James Kegel)
Lent 1B, March 1&2, 2009,
Mark 1:9-17

When you were a child, were there Monsters and other things lurking under your bed? Did the expression ‘don’t let the bed bugs bite’ keep you up at night? Were you, like me, traumatized by a scary movie – I saw Invasion of the Body Snatchers at an impressionable age – and I couldn’t sleep for days.

Now, as adults we realized that monsters and aliens are, if not real, pretty unlikely candidates for night-time encounters. But still, the fears are there - our monsters may be real people and our aliens the inexplicable letters we receive from insurance companies.

As adults we find ourselves at times in a place where support seems to disappear, the experience seems overwhelming, and the only way out – not so good. That can be our wilderness.

It’s a frightening place. In the Judean desert – dehydration and death are real possibilities. In our wildernesses – the death of the spirit, the death of good intentions, the death of hopes and dreams – ah, we do understand that.

Jesus is driven into the wilderness immediately after his baptism. In fact, it is the Holy Spirit – that dove-like figure, that batters at him so that he goes into the most hostile of regions for 40 days – 40 long days – long enough to suffer, long enough to realize a little of what the people of Israel suffered over 40 years. It is there he meets the adversary – the Satan.

Their encounter is described as temptation – although Mark, unlike the other Gospel writers – doesn’t describe what the temptation consisted of. I think the lack of description makes this even more terrifying. It’s not just three conversations – it’s 40 days worth. The Adversary may not be speaking only about misusing power and compassion – he may be driving home a sense of doubt, hopelessness and frustration.

It is the exact opposite of the blessing at the baptism. It is the opening skirmish of a battle that will continue for the rest of Jesus’ life. What begins here in the desert continues with the casting-out of demons – with the healing of the sick – with the preaching of the gospel – with the acceptance of the poor, the outcast and even the wealthy into a community of hope.

As I read this again, I realized that this pattern – baptism – into the wilderness and temptation, then ministry, represents the story of all of us. Our spiritual life comes to this pattern – we are baptized (and return daily to the water) – we have our mountain-top experiences - but then we return to life, into the places where things may be harsh, where troubles await – where temptation lurks – but also – there is mission.

There are lots of funny comments about temptation – ‘don’t do anything you don’t want to explain to the paramedics.’ – ‘I can resist anything except temptation.’
The temptations that are closest to us, I think, are the ones that are related to our fears – our monsters or alien seed pods under the bed. What are our fears – that is where the adversary will come after us.

My mother was widowed with 7 dependent children. Everything was uprooted, we moved, older children were separated from younger. My experience was of insecurity – so where does the adversary speak to me? In the issues of security, trust, stability, change.

The adversary comes to our deepest fears –
Am I safe? Am I worth anything? Is the world around me trustworthy?
Am I lovable? Am I going to stay healthy – am I dying? How will I pay this bill? How will my old age look?

And those fears are the prime vehicle for our temptations – the one who fears being unloved – will seek for love in the wrong places, break vows, break hearts.

The one who fears being poor – will find theft – major or petty.
The one who fears insecurity - will fit change, will try to make the world manageable.

We all have fears. We all know the wilderness. We must also recognize the power of the enemy in the face of what would draw us away from the trust and joy of our Maker. Jesus was in the wilderness and engaged in battle – and he was victorious.

And with Jesus – we emerge from the wilderness. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is tempted by Satan – he is with the wild beasts (and we don’t know what that means) AND he is ministered by the angels. He is not alone. His heavenly father – the same one who blessed him with the title of Son – and the same one who assured him of his delight – did not desert him in the wilderness. Maybe this was a boxing match – with the wild beasts are witnesses - despite the fears – the battle being raged – there were angels in his corner.

Angels in his corner. There may be monsters under the bed, but there are angels in our corner.

Remember this pattern – we are baptized, we are blessed
There will be the wilderness, in which our very human fears become the stuff of the enemies temptation
But we will be victorious, because we are not fighting alone.
The battle has already been won. Jesus won it for us on the cross. That is where the end of the story really lies. It was there Jesus beat the devil at his own game. Facing his – and our greatest fear – that of a horrible, painful and shameful death – Jesus triumphed. We, too can triumph – we can return to the Lord,
With our fears, With our doubts, With our failures,
And return to the waters of baptism – and be called his beloved children.
He ends our fears. He assures our hearts, He recognizes our worth.
Thanks be to God.

It was fun to hear folks talking a little about the monsters under the bed. We had a casket wheeled in next to coffee hour (we're a busy church building), and we had an interesting conversation about death, planning and life.

The rest of the day: Worship, coffee, worship, baby shower, funeral visitation, home, nap, and now!
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