St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
February 26, 2023
Year A: The First Sunday in Lent
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
Servants
We had a most beautiful Ash Wednesday here at St. Thomas’.
At the noon and 7:00 PM services, Wanda played and the choir sang, and, well, once again, they just outdid themselves.
We had good attendance, which was great, of course. But it always surprises me that so many people come to church on what really is a very peculiar day. We hear Jesus warn us against showing our piety in public. And then we have ash smeared on our foreheads where everyone can see it. And then we get reminded that, someday, we are going to die.
Of course, just like Good Friday, Ash Wednesday only makes sense because it’s not the end of the story.
The ashes were a powerful reminder of our dependence of God, but just temporary, easily washed off.
But the bond that God makes with us in the water of baptism – we can never wipe that away, no matter how hard we may sometimes try.
The bond that God makes with us in the water of baptism is permanent, sustaining us throughout the trials and temptations of life, holding us tight even when it sure seems like suffering is gaining the upper hand, never letting us go, even when it seems like death is getting the last word.
Today, on the First Sunday in Lent, we always hear the story of Jesus in the wilderness – forty days of prayer and fasting – and near the end of that wilderness time, a famished and exhausted Jesus is tempted by Satan.
Satan here is not so much the embodiment of evil that we usually think of. No, he’s simply the tempter – the one who probes and tests us, revealing our weaknesses and failures, revealing our faith and strength – not to God, who already knows – but to ourselves.
It’s essential to note that Jesus’ forty wilderness days take place immediately following his Baptism – right after Jesus came out of the River Jordan and saw the Spirit of God descend on him like a dove – right after a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
That unbreakable bond with God the Father secured Jesus as he faced his wilderness time, as he endured his temptations.
And, in this case, you may have noticed that Satan’s temptations don’t actually seem so bad.
Jesus, you’re so hungry. And you have the power to make bread out of these stones. What harm is there in a loaf or two?
Jesus, you’re the Son of God so, really, there’s nothing to worry about, right? Why not throw yourself from the Temple and let the angels save you? Then everyone will see and know who you are.
Jesus, you’re the King of Kings. All you have to do is bow down before me and you will truly reign as king of the world.
No, the temptations really don’t seem so bad - except that they would have diverted Jesus from his mission.
Jesus was not sent to fill up on bread but to be bread for the world.
Jesus didn’t come into the world to make a showy leap of faith but to give away his life on the cross, revealing the wideness of God’s love and mercy.
Jesus is a king without gold or worldly glory, his only crown is made of thorns and his power is revealed when he washes the feet of his friends, when he forgives those who persecute him.
And so, in his wilderness time, secured by his baptismal bond, Jesus is able to successfully resist temptation – Jesus remembers his identity, remembers his mission:
Jesus is a servant.
And, just like the first disciples with their freshly washed feet, Jesus calls us to be servants, too.
In addition to being the First Sunday in Lent, today is our Annual Meeting day, a time to take stock of where we’ve been and what we’ve done over the past year, and to look ahead to the future as best we can.
Coincidentally, I had lunch the other day with another priest in the diocese, someone I had previously only met briefly.
As we were eating, he asked me what brought me here – what led Sue and me to quite literally leave home and join all of you.
Between bites of food, I answered as best I could, but for the rest of the day I thought back to that discernment, and I circled back to something I’ve mentioned before, back to one of the very first things I learned about St. Thomas’.
During the earliest and scariest days of the pandemic, when the church and everything else was all closed up and we feared for our survival, what did this church do? Some of you – I think I can now guess who – made masks and hung them on the parish hall doors, free for the taking, given away to we’ll never know who - a simple but beautiful act of love and hope and service during a wilderness time.
Servants.
And, I have to say, you had me right then.
And now, for the past year and a half, over and over I have seen you living out our vocation as servants – I have seen this church truly be a servant church.
You have given of yourselves in countless ways – given money and expertise and, the most valuable commodity of all, your time:
Welcoming new friends from Afghanistan, guiding them through government bureaucracy, giving them daily rides to school and work, offering driving lessons, welcoming them into your homes.
Spending many hours designing a new church website, thoughtfully weighing every word and photo, determined to find the best way to tell our story to the many hungry people out there.
Bringing (or having delivered) mountains of clothes and food and hygiene products and cleaning supplies for the people who line up each week at the Community Crisis Center.
Having the courage to lead a Zoom Bible Study session, providing the opportunity for fellow parishioners to learn more about God’s Word.
In an uncertain and inflationary time, continuing, and, in many cases, even increasing your financial support – and new parishioners making a pledge for the first time.
Showing up early on Saturday morning to set up and beautify the church – coming out on Thursday evenings to rehearse the beautiful music we hear every Sunday – inviting and training and thanking (yes, with chocolate) the youth acolytes, reminding them that they have much to offer their church.
I could go on.
But you do all this and more, never to glorify yourselves but to offer loving service to people in need – loving service to this church – loving service to the God who makes an unbreakable bond with us.
I hope you will read the Annual Report. It’s the product of lots of hard work. It tells an exciting story of renewal here at St. Thomas’. Most of all, it tells the beautiful story of one year in the life of a servant church.
You know, when I first sat with today’s gospel lesson, I thought about the temptations that we face today.
Of course, Satan is quite good at coming up with temptations that match our individual vulnerabilities.
But, together, as a country, as a world, I think the most dangerous temptation we face is despair.
We are in a wilderness time, buried in a deepening avalanche of problems and challenges. That’s bad enough. But, even worse, we seem to lack the will to set aside our differences and get to work, digging ourselves out.
It would be so easy to give into the temptation to despair.
But, as always, the way to resist is to follow Jesus’ example.
In his wilderness time, secured by his baptismal bond, Jesus successfully resisted temptation because he remembered his identity, remembered his mission.
Jesus is a servant.
And we are a servant church.
Amen.
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