St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
March 9, 2014
Year A: The First
Sunday in Lent
Genesis 2:15-17;
3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
In the Wilderness
This year we had the most amazing
Ash Wednesday.
We
had three services here at St. Paul’s, each a little different from the other.
At the evening service we were joined by our friends from Church of the
Incarnation. It was solemn and beautiful and even, though it sounds wrong to
say it, a little joyful.
And
then there was “Ashes to Go.”
As
I’ve mentioned before, I had never offered ashes to people on the street though
that practice has been growing in the Episcopal Church and elsewhere over the
last few years.
In
the morning Irma, Vanessa, Andy and Dee Dee and I stationed ourselves outside
the kiosk at McGinley Square. Sue and I went back for the evening rush. The
reactions to our presence and our offer were all over the place: puzzlement,
suspicion, rejection, maybe a little mockery, curiosity, eagerness, and
gratitude. And then there were all the people on the buses whose faces we could
barely make out. But they were looking at us out there in the cold, maybe
remembering and wondering.
In
total I “imposed” ashes on the foreheads of 42 people. And I know for some
people it was the first time. Over the past few days I’ve thought a lot about
that experience. It was a day of seed-planting. And I have no doubt that, as
usual, God will take those seeds and do things that, for the most part, we’ll
never know about.
And
now, it’s Lent.
The
word itself comes from a Germanic word for spring – which holds true in the
Northern Hemisphere.
But,
all of us are now into these forty days of repentance and preparation.
I’m
sure you’ve noticed that the church looks different.
We’re
in purple, the traditional color of penitence. Most of the shiny things have
been put away or covered.
And
this morning’s service is different. We started with penitence. Some of the
prayers are different. We’re going to say the contemporary Lord’s Prayer. And
we are most definitely not going to say the “A” word until the Great Vigil of
Easter.
Most
of you know that during Lent we’re offering some special opportunities for
prayer and learning. On Wednesday evenings there’s the Stations of the Cross
and our Lenten book study, Speaking of
Sin. And on four Saturday mornings I’ll offer the adult confirmation /
refresher class.
All
of these changes and offerings are meant to help us have a richer more
prayerful lent – to be better prepared for the joy of Easter that lies ahead.
And
then there’s the Scripture that we’ll be hearing in church during Lent.
No
surprise, the lessons appointed during Lent are meant to help us reflect on the
big themes of repentance and preparation.
Today
we heard the story of Adam and Eve giving into temptation, disobeying God,
eating the forbidden fruit, and messing everything up for all of humanity.
And
we heard the story of Jesus out in the wilderness for forty days where he is
tempted but, unlike the first man and woman, he doesn’t give into temptation.
It’s
St. Paul who draws the connection between Adam and Jesus. In his letter to the
church in Rome he writes, “For if the many died through one man’s trespass,
much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of one
man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.”
In
the wilderness Jesus resists temptation and begins his work of restoring the
world to what it was always meant to be.
But,
I’d like to stay in the wilderness for a while longer.
Jesus
spent his forty days and nights in the wilderness facing and resisting
temptations – those recorded in the gospel and, I bet, others that weren’t
recorded.
What
about us?
I’m
guessing most, if not all, of us have had our own times in the wilderness – maybe
right here in Jersey City – maybe in our homes or at school or at work.
I’m
guessing we’ve all had our own time in the wilderness – times when in the words
of today’s collect we’ve been “assaulted by temptation.”
The
assaults of temptation take lots of different forms of course. We can be
tempted to do something we know is wrong – tempted to lie, to cheat, to steal,
to hurt someone, to take advantage of someone else for our own pleasure or
advantage.
But,
I think the greatest temptation we face is giving into despair.
We
live in a broken world with so much suffering. We live in a world where
sometimes airplanes vanish from the sky, where houses burn killing an elderly
couple and their two adult sons. We live in a world where people are routinely
treated as things to be used and thrown away. We live in a world where cancer
spreads, vision dims, memories fade, and the people we love die. We live in a
world where sometimes relationships get broken. We live in a world where one
wrong move can lead to much pain and suffering.
Much
of the time it’s difficult to see or feel the presence of the angels ready to
wait on us the way they served Jesus in the wilderness. Much of the time it’s
difficult to see or feel the presence of the loving God who is right here
suffering along with us, hard at work turning weeping into joy, turning death
into life.
One
of my times in the wilderness happened in an unlikely place: Florida.
Some
of you know that for a year Sue and I lived in Gainesville, Florida where I
served as the Episcopal chaplain at the University of Florida and as rector of
a small church a couple of miles from the center of town.
We
went there because on paper it looked like a good fit, piecing together my
academic and church backgrounds. We went there because we had both lived in New
Jersey our whole lives and felt it was the right time to be bold, to try
something new before we grew too old and settled.
The
people at both the university chapel and the church could not have been
friendlier, more welcoming and supportive. We met some really amazing people in
Gainesville.
But,
it didn’t take us long to realize that this was not the right move.
We
were simply too far from everyone in our lives.
The
breaking point came at Christmas. That was the year that up here there was a
blizzard at Christmas. Flights were canceled and we couldn’t get home to be
with family and friends. Instead we were alone in an emptied-out college town
at the holidays. And on top of that we had to put our much-loved but so sick
cat to sleep.
It
was a terrible time.
I
made the decision to try to get a job back here in the Diocese of Newark. I
interviewed at two churches. I knew one was a long shot but the other was very
enthusiastic. They flew Sue and me up from Florida to meet with them. It was
all very positive and hopeful until I got the phone call that they had chosen
someone else.
I
was – we were - in the wilderness facing the temptation to give in to despair.
And,
I’ll admit that unlike Jesus there were times when I gave into that temptation
and I despaired – despaired that we’d ever get back home, that we’d ever be
able to put the pieces of our lives back together again.
Then,
thanks to unforeseen circumstances my old position at Grace Madison became
available, setting the stage for eventually getting back home here with all of
you.
Now
looking back on our Florida wilderness experience it wasn’t exactly forty days
and nights in the wilderness with no food and water, facing the assaults of
temptation. People have suffered and are suffering far, far worse than not
being able to get home from Florida.
But,
that experience has left its marks. It shook my self-confidence and has made me
more careful and thoughtful when I make decisions.
And
it also taught me something that maybe Jesus also learned during his time in
the wilderness: unseen and unexpected angels are standing by ready to wait on
us. And, most of all, we’re never really alone in the wilderness. God is right there
– right here - suffering along with us, hard at work turning weeping into joy,
turning death into life.
It’s
Lent: a special time set aside for repentance and preparation.
During
this holy season and throughout our lives we face the assaults of temptation.
Sometimes, like Adam and Eve, we’ll give in. And, other times, like Jesus we
will resist.
But,
no matter what, when we face these powerful assaults of temptation, we are
never, ever, alone in the wilderness.
Amen.
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