First Lutheran Church
February 21, 2021 + Lent 1B
Mark 1:9-15
9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Sermon “Two Truths”
Pastor Greg Ronning
Every year on the first Sunday in Lent we hear the story commonly referred to as “The Temptation of Christ.” The story of how Jesus must spend forty days in the desert wilderness enduring hunger, the harsh elements, and finally three great temptations before he can begin his public ministry. The Common Lectionary, the three-year cycle of biblical readings that determine our appointed Sunday readings, tells us this story as found in Matthew, Luke, and Mark. In Matthew and Luke, the Gospel writers describe Jesus’s ordeal in the desert in great detail. This year’s appointed Gospel, the Gospel of Mark, known for its brevity, and getting straight to the point, boils it down to just one verse, “He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.”
The Gospel of Mark does not describe Jesus Temptation, but it does something more clearly than Matthew and Luke, it directly connects Jesus’ baptism and his time in the wilderness together. In Mark after his baptism and the heavenly declaration, “This is my Beloved;” the spirit “immediately” drives Jesus out into the wilderness. These events are two sides of the same coin. Jesus must live in the tension of his baptism and repentance, beloved-ness and wilderness.
This is the holy tension we are invited to experience during the season of Lent. It begins with Ash Wednesday when we humbly submit to ashes and the words, “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” The tension highlighted again as an ashen cross is placed on our foreheads, placed over another cross that was traced in oil on the day of our baptism, the day when it was proclaimed that we too are “the beloved of God.”
On Ash Wednesday, four years ago, I shared with you the story of an intriguing ritual attributed to an 18th Century Rabbi by the name of Simcha Bunem. I share it with you again on this day in the hopes that it might become a practical way for you to engage the holy tension of your own Lenten journey.
Rabbi Bunem carried two slips of paper with him, one in each pocket. On one slip of paper, he had written the words, “For my sake the world was created!” On the other slip of paper, he had written the words, “I am but dust and ashes.” From time to time he would reach into one pocket, or the other, as necessary. He taught that the secret to living a “good life” was knowing which pocket held the truth needed for the particular moment.
Rabbi Bunem’s ritual reminds us that we are called to live in the friction between these two truths, “For my sake the world was created,” and, “I am but dust and ashes.” The secret to living a “good life” comes in knowing when, and which pocket, which truth, to embrace.
Some of us are quite comfortable with the idea that the world was created “just for me!” And while its healthy to have a good sense of self, it’s not good when we develop a sense of “over entitlement,” it’s not good when we expect everything to revolve around us, it’s not good when we think we’re always right and everyone else is wrong, it’s not good when we forget about the needs of other people, it’s not good when we confuse privilege with blessing, it’s not good if its all, always, and in every way, - just about me. It is in those moments, (and we all have them from time to time,) that we are called to reach into our pockets and be reminded, “I am but dust and ashes.”
“Dust and ashes” help us keep things in perspective, they keep our egos in check, they quiet us down and allow us to hear that still small voice of God, they help us take the humble stance of a servant, a pocket full of “dust and ashes” opens us up to the seemingly always unexpected presence of God and the calling of the Spirit in our life.
Yet some of us are all too familiar with “dust and ashes.” Sometimes it feels like that’s all we ever find in our pockets. Life can be hard, and life can be hard on us. And all too often we find ourselves overwhelmed with thoughts of shame, inadequacy, regrets, and insignificance.
Those are the days we need to be reminded of the other truth, the one in that other pocket that for some reason we seem to forget, “For my sake the world was created.” The truth found in this pocket reminds each of us that we were created in the very image of God, created in love for the purpose of love, for we are the beloved of God.
The principalities and powers, someone or something, (they) are always seeking to shame us, convince us that we have nothing to offer, and fill us with doubt and fear. When you hear that voice in your head, or feel that evil in your heart, when those lies are spoken over you, (or within you), take a moment, reach into that pocket and then remember and boldly declare, “For my sake the world was created!”
On this first Sunday in Lent, in the proclamation of Mark’s Gospel, in the story that connects baptism to repentance, beloved-ness to wilderness; we are reminded that we too are called to live in the holy tension between these two truths. We are called to live in the balance of these two things, “For my sake the world was created,” and, “I am but dust and ashes.” The secret to living a “good life” comes in knowing when, and which one, to hold in your hand; commit to your heart; and embrace with your soul.
I plan to once again carry these “two truths” in my pockets as part of my Lenten discipline this year. I am sure that I will need each one! I invite you to join me. May God bless our Lenten Journey. Amen.
“Two Truths”
I reach into my pocket, ashes and dust
Sometimes this life of mine is so screwed up
Into my pocket, ashes and dust
I reach into my pocket, the stars and the moon
Sometimes this life of mine’s a wondrous tune
Into my pocket, the stars and the moon
Two truths in my pocket
To hold and understand
Give me the wisdom to know ….
When and which one to hold in my hand
I reach into my pocket, ashes and dust
Sometimes my life’s so good I forget whom I trust
Into my pocket, ashes and dust
I reach into my pocket, the stars and the moon
Sometimes my life’s so desperate, and open wound
Into my pocket, the stars and the moon
Two truths in my pocket
To hold and understand
Give me the wisdom to know ….
When and which one to hold in my hand
The stars and the moon, ashes and dust
I carry both these things, their truth I trust
The stars and the moon, ashes and dust
Life in the balance, I turn around
In one or the other, the secret is found
In the balance, I turn around
Two truths in my pocket
To hold and understand
Give me the wisdom to know ….
When and which one to hold in my hand
I reach into my pocket, ashes and dust
I reach into my pocket, the stars and the moon
I reach into my pocket …