Lent 1C
February 14, 2016
February 14, 2016
Luke 4:1-13
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
As I was
preparing for our Lenten theme this year on pilgrimage – “Moving Toward the
Promised Land” – I arranged to have a conversation with my aunt and uncle. You
see, a couple years ago, they walked the Camino de Santiago, one of the oldest
and most famous Christian pilgrimage routes. Starting in France, the 450-mile
trek is mostly through northern Spain, and ends up at the tomb of St. James.
Pilgrims from all walks of life (both Christian and non-) carry their
belongings, and either camp or stay in hostels along the route, walking on
average about 15 miles a day. The journey takes four to six weeks to complete.
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| The Camino de Santiago |
My aunt and
uncle had many helpful and wise things to say, but there is one thing in
particular that stuck with me. They said that once they made the decision to
walk the Camino, that was it. They only made the decision once, and each day
thereafter – the training, the trip overseas, and the pilgrimage itself – was
all just carrying through with that decision.
On the other hand, another friend of
mine, who walked the Camino the next year, disagreed. She said no, she had to
make that decision every single day of the journey. Every day – and especially
every afternoon, when she was so tired from the day’s journey – she said to
herself, “I could quit now. I could catch a train to Santiago. But, no. I will
decide to walk again tomorrow.” Both approaches worked; everyone got to
Santiago.
Either way,
I’m intrigued by approaching a journey by first making a decision – or you
could call it, a commitment. Taking a trip for pleasure takes work and can be
tiring, but generally it is something fun, something you enjoy doing, and look
forward to. Taking a journey, or a pilgrimage, is not always enjoyable. It is
hard work – work that is rewarding, in the long run, but often not
immediately
gratifying. It is easy to get distracted or discouraged, to give up before
we’ve taken more than the first step. Sometimes the fact that we began the
journey with determination, with a decision
to complete it, is the only thing
keeping us going.
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| Marker along the Camino, photo credit Jen Zogg |
Is that how
Jesus felt when he was being tempted in the wilderness? His 40 days in the
wilderness begins right after his baptism, and before any of his public
ministry. In a way, they are sort of his boot camp for ministry: a rigorous
preparation for what will prove to be a challenging few years in the public
eye, that will end on a cross. We see in today’s Gospel that Jesus “passed” all
the tests the devil presents him with, but I still have to wonder: did he ever
want to quit? Did he ever want to throw in the towel, to catch the next
metaphorical train to heaven, but then think, “No, I made a decision to do this
thing. God and humanity are counting on me. I’ve got to follow through, even
though it is already hard and it is only going to get harder. It will, in the
end, be worth the effort.”
I guess
we’ll never know for sure, but looking at how Jesus’ own journey began affirms
for us: embarking on an important journey is difficult. Often it starts out
difficult and only gets harder. But more often than not, the journey is well
worth it in the end.
All this
brings us back to our Lenten theme of pilgrimage. In your bulletin you will
find an insert highlighting some of the biblical basis for this theme, which I
hope you’ll read. Sufficed to say, pilgrimage is a strong theme during these 40
days before Easter: it is a theme of being tried and tested for a period of
time in the proverbial wilderness, even as we move toward something beautiful
and life-giving, toward the Promised Land. It is a theme “built-in” to Lent
anyway. But we are making it more physical for ourselves this year by urging
everyone to get out and walk a mile or two each day, report your miles walked,
and hopefully, with our miles combined with St. Martin’s/Bethlehem’s, we will
have walked so many miles we will actually make it to Jerusalem, the literal
Promised Land, by Easter. There is a map in the narthex that will keep track of
miles walked, so we can see how far we have gone, and how far we have left to
go. If you can’t physically walk, or the weather doesn’t cooperate (we’re
counting on El Nino to provide us with a mild winter, though this weekend it
hasn’t delivered!), you can also spend 15 minutes of dedicated Bible study and
prayer as one mile “walked.” We want everyone to be able to participate in this
larger journey in whatever way is possible for you.
But a
pilgrimage is not just walking for the sake of walking. A pilgrimage is walking
with
intention. It is a way to “pray with your feet,” an opportunity for
reflection, an opportunity to grow closer to God in some way. So even as we
walk all together as a group, we will also walk our own, individual pilgrimages.
The purpose of that journey I cannot name for you – that is between you and
God. We will start to think about it this morning, though. As you embark on
your pilgrimage, consider what wilderness you find yourself in right now, what
separates you from God, and, what the Promised Land would look like to you. On
that same insert are a few questions to help you in your consideration, so I
urge you to check those out.
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| Camino de Santiago, photo credit to Jen Zogg |
You might not decide today what
particular Promised Land you seek; this shouldn’t be a rushed decision, but one
that is made in the context of prayer and reflection. Maybe you want to live
each day more gratefully and less longingly. Maybe you want to deepen your
sense of God’s presence in your life. Maybe you find yourself stuck in grief,
and want to find joy again. Maybe you long for forgiveness – for yourself or
someone else – so you can release that burden. Maybe it is your guilt or your
shame about the past that is weighing you down. Whatever your particular
pilgrimage is this Lent, I urge you to try to name it for yourself. You don’t
need to tell anyone else, or maybe it would help if you did, so you can walk
this journey with a spouse or a trusted friend. Sometimes it is nice to talk to
someone while you walk.
It might not be an easy or fun
journey, I warn you. I doubt Jesus’ was! It takes commitment to follow through,
even after God pulls back the veil and reveals to us God’s desire for us, even
when we are faced with what lies in the dark corners of our hearts, even when
we are tired and not seeing results as quickly as we would like. Pilgrimage is
hard, and not always edifying at first. But in the end, it is worth the effort.
When we face the inevitable
challenges, then it is essential to remember: even as we walk our own, difficult,
personal journey, we also never walk alone. We walk always with Christ, who
also makes his journey toward Jerusalem during Lent. And we also walk with one
another, in community. One of the things my aunt and uncle showed me from their
pilgrimage on the Camino was their shells. Each pilgrim is given a shell to
carry with them when they begin the Camino, a reminder that we never walk
alone. We are a part of a larger journey – a journey that began with the
Israelites and continues with us and will continue with our children’s
children.
When you came into worship today, you
were given a stone. These stones came out of Lake Ontario, our largest and
closest body of water. Pick up your stone now, and hold it in your hand. These
stones will serve a few purposes for you during your Lenten journey this year.
First of all, they
serve as a reminder that none of us are not walking this way
alone. Yet just as we each carry our own unique burdens on this journey, each
stone is different from the next. And so, also let your stone represent your
particular, unique journey. On the Camino, people will often carry a stone as a
symbol of their burdens. At the highest point in the pilgrimage, there is a hill
of stones surrounding a cross – a hill formed by many generations of pilgrims
leaving their stones, their burdens, at the foot of the cross before they head
back down the mountain toward Santiago. We, too, will carry our stones toward
the cross, remembering that they come from the water, just as we come to this
journey from the waters of our baptism. On Palm Sunday, I will invite you to
bring it back, as we also make our final descent, with Jesus, into Holy Week.
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| Iron cross at highest point of Camino. |
And this is truly how we know we
journey together: we all are one in the Body of Christ, brought together into
Christ’s own death and resurrection in the waters of our baptism. As we embark
on our journeys, may we remember and embrace our common identity, and the hope
and promise that comes to us through Jesus Christ.
As a closing prayer, I would like to
say a prayer over these stones. Each of you please hold your stone as I pray:
Bless now, O God, the journey that all your people make – our individual
journeys as well as the one journey we all make toward your cross, and then
onward to the empty tomb and the promise of new life. Meet us on the road, and
never leave our side, as we seek to release burdens and find joy and promise in
you. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Here's what was on the insert I mention:
A word on our Lenten theme…
Pilgrimage is a strong theme in
scripture. The Israelites journey out of Egypt into freedom, only to find
themselves in the wilderness outside the Promised Land they seek, for 40 years.
This time is a trying one, but eventually they do make it into the Promised
Land. Last week we heard the story of the Transfiguration, which ends with
Jesus and his disciples walking down the mountain as Jesus “sets his face
toward Jerusalem,” and what he knows will be his death, and of course, his
resurrection. Today we hear about Jesus’ temptation – once again, in the
wilderness, for 40 days. As he comes out of this wilderness, he begins his
public ministry among God’s people.
Each pilgrimage leads, finally, to
new life, but not without a period of trial. So it is with our own journeys,
during Lent and beyond. You are invited to name for yourself your own
“wilderness,” as well as what “Promised Land” you seek, and make this the focus
of your pilgrimage this Lent. Consider this prayerfully. Know that this journey
likely won’t be easy, and may take far longer than 40 days, but also that at
the other end of the wilderness, God always delivers on God’s promises: renewal
and new life in Christ Jesus.
Here are some questions to help you
in deciding what Promised Land you seek during this Lenten pilgrimage:
·
What is your deepest spiritual longing?
·
In what way do you not feel as close to God as
you would like?
·
Through what “wilderness” are you currently
wandering? What does it look like outside of that wilderness? How do you get
there?
·
What is trying in your life right now? Where is
God in that trial?
·
Where do you feel lack in your life? What would
make you feel full?
·
What temptations do you face? How can God help
you overcome them?
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