Mark 1:9-15

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. 

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Let us pray,

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing and acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer… 

Today is the first Sunday in Lent. Lent is a season of prayer, fasting, and self-examination. In our Scripture reading for today, Jesus encourages us to engage in the Lenten discipline of repentance. This morning I want to reflect with you on what repentance is, what we need to repent of, and how we might practice repentance in our everyday lives. 

When Jesus calls us to repent, Jesus is calling us to apologize for all of the things we do that distract us from God. What we need to repent of looks a little bit different for everyone. Some may need to repent of their people pleasing tendencies. Others may need to repent of their addiction to work or shopping or online arguing. Others may need to get their finances in order. The key here is to identify the things, people, or problems in your life that are distracting you from worshipping and serving God. And take a small step towards clearing it away.

As we continue in our Christian faith all of us will face distractions. Even Jesus faced distractions. Only he called them temptations. These temptations occurred during his forty days in the wilderness. Now you may be wondering why Jesus needed to be tested. I think it’s helpful to remember that Jesus is both fully God and fully human. As God his is able to live without sin. But if he doesn’t experience temptation, he will miss out on what it means to be fully human. 

Jesus goes to the wilderness to battle evil forces determined to counteract God’s intensions for human well-being. Mark calls these forces Satan. We often call them The Devil. When we speak of the Devil we’re talking about evil forces that exist in the world that wreck havoc on humanity. Some of these forces are a result of human ignorance. When we act without appreciating how our behavior affects others. But a lot of these forces defy human attempts to subdue them 

I think a global pandemic is a great example of an evil force that defies human attempts to subdue them. Sure, individuals could make choices that would help keep themselves and their communities safer. But at this point the pandemic will not be contained by individual choices alone. The pandemic has laid bare the bigger, systemic evil forces we don’t usually pay attention to.

Evil forces like corrupt state governments. That prioritize profit over human lives. Just look at the millions of people in Texas without power or water in the midst of a brutal winter. Evil forces like unequal access to healthcare in America. Where 11 months into a global pandemic Americans still struggle to get tested. Where the virus has disproportionately ravaged communities of color, nursing homes, and people living in multi-generational housing. And don’t even get me started on the dumpster fire that is trying to get a vaccine appointment in Pennsylvania right now.

When we say that Jesus went off in the wilderness to pray for 40 days, a global pandemic is exactly the type of evil force he went to pray and repent of. Which got me thinking- what type of evil forces is Jesus inviting me to pray and repent of this Lent?

I’m not going to lie, having Covid over Christmas really forced me repent of my need to be in control. See I got Covid despite having done everything right. I worked from home. I did not socialize with people from more than one other household. I always wore my mask outside of my house. I got my flu shot. And despite having done everything right, I still got Covid.

When I found out I had Covid I was really angry. Seriously, God?! But as I isolated at home I realized maybe God wasn’t the problem. Maybe the problem was me. And my need to be in control at all times. Of my thinking that if I just follow all of the rules, things will work out the way that I want them to. That’s not what it means to be a Christian. Being a Christian means giving God complete control of my life and future.

When, after those 40 days, Jesus says, “the kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe the good news!” Jesus is inviting us to sit with tension. The tension between God’s glorious plan for creation. Where there will be no morning or crying or pain or death anymore. And creation as we experience it in our everyday lives. Where corporations put profit over human flourishing. Where our bodies breakdown and succumb to illness. Jesus never promised us that nothing bad is ever going to happen to humanity again. But that Jesus will sit with us in the wilderness.

Jesus encourages us to repent so that we are able to sit with this tension. Repentance allows us to say, I take responsibility for my part in this problem. And even though I can’t solve this problem alone, I need to apologize for my role in it. So for, example, apologizing for the times I ran to the store with a dirty mask, or with my mask half on because I was just running in for milk and eggs. What didn’t feel like a big deal to me at the time. Is an example of me not caring how my behavior affects others.

Anytime I preach about repentance, I worry that people will leave here in a bad mood. Pastor reminded me of what a terrible person I am, and all the stuff I gotta fix! Guess I should give up sweets, cursing, AND Facebook for Lent!

Friends, in a year when we’ve all been asked to give up so much. My encouragement for you all during Lent is that you take something on instead of give something up. For me, instead of sitting at home complaining that I can’t get a vaccine appointment yet. I’m going to donate covid plasma. Something that I won’t be able to do once I’m vaccinated. Something that will allow something good to come out of what was for me quite a miserable experience.

The reason I encourage us to take something on instead of give something up this Lent. Is because I believe that real change in our values and behaviors is only possible when done out of love. I donate plasma in gratitude to God that my covid illness was mild. And maybe in the hopes that someone else will suffer a little less.

All this is to say is that I encourage you to engage in a Lenten discipline this year. Whether it be more time in prayer. Fasting from something you particularly enjoy. Or being a friend in a more thoughtful and organized way. The point of a Lenten discipline is not to make everyone around you miserable. It is to draw you closer into the Father’s love. A love that began thousands of years ago with God’s chosen, but messy ones, the Israelites. A love that forever altered the course of human history in the man Jesus. A love that is actively at work in the world today. Through the embodied love of Jesus’ disciples.

Thanks be to God, 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.