Sunday, February 18, 2024

First Sunday in Lent
Genesis 22:1-18
Psalm 25:1-10
James 1:12-18
Mark 1:9-15

Show me your ways, Yahweh. Teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation, I wait for you all day long.

Memory is an odd thing. I don’t know about you, but there are so many times when I remember the things I want to forget, and I forget the things I want to remember. I lose things too often, forget why I’ve walked into a room, and forget the names of people I’ve known for years. Sometimes words that I use regularly are hard to find. I won’t admit how many times I’ve gone to the grocery store for one or two items, only to come home with a dozen other things and not the one or two items I needed. I write notes to help me remember and then I forget to take the notes, or forget to look at them. I’ve carried the note in my hands and never bother to look at it. This usually means I forget the most important item on the list. Perhaps this forgetfulness is a sign of age, but I think we all have these moments, even when we are young.

Muscle memory from activities we learned when we were young is amazing. We can ride a bike or swim after many years without relearning how to do it. There are other abilities that are lost without use, like speaking a foreign language. We remember some things so well that we can teach it to someone else without difficulty and yet there are other things that are so complicated that we can’t explain it to another person without doing it ourselves. I’m that way with the computer. I can fix almost anything on the computer if I am sitting right in front of it, but I have a difficult time telling someone over the phone or over their shoulder where they should look for something in their files.

Then there are those times when we remember things out of the blue. I think of an old friend or have a delightful memory about family. I might be reading a book or watching television and suddenly an image from ages past comes into my mind. Those memories make me smile most of the time, and sometimes I laugh at the joke or shed a tear at the nostalgia. How often do we get songs stuck in our head that last all day long? That’s a response of our memory. Don’t you just hate when you begin singing a song to which you do not remember all the words? So, not only do you go crazy as your memory continues singing a song all day long, but you are also reminded about your lack of memory!

The worst part of memory is when remember the negative. Although I enjoy remembering the good times, I can’t help remember the most embarrassing moments of my life. Those moments go around in my head; even though there’s nothing I can do about it now, I still try to think of ways I could have overcome or avoided those moments. It does no good to remember those things, but sometimes they take over my brain and leave me wondering about myself.

And who hasn’t remembered something terrible about a loved one when in the midst of a disagreement? Sometimes it is incredibly hard to fight with our spouses or kids without the old sins coming to our minds. We remember how they hurt us in the past and that makes it almost impossible to approach our disagreements with mercy and love and forgiveness in mind. We are more likely to remember the bad things than the good, despite the fact that the good moments always outweigh the bad. We have selective memory, but we usually remember the things that will make us better rather than those things that might help us to see each other with grace. Even if we have forgiven them, we never seem to forget.

God has selective memory, also, but His memory is exactly the opposite of ours. God forgets our sin, which is absolutely incredible considering how often we fall to temptation, and we sin against a holy and perfect God far more than we sin against each other. God forgives, but He also forgets. Our past sins do not come back to bite us over and over again. Forgiveness from God is permanent, it is final. When God remembers us, He sees a beloved child whom He created “good.” He sees us with love and grace, remembering all the good things about our lives and how we have been a blessing to others. He remembers those important moments in our life, like when we were born, when we were baptized and when we showed Him how much we love Him. Most of all, He remembers His promises and is faithful, even when we are not.

He fulfilled all His promises in and through Jesus.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden with God. They walked together and talked. They had a personal, intimate relationship with one another and with their Creator. They were naked and it did not matter. When the serpent deceived them and they ate of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, things changed dramatically. The Bible tells us that their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked so they covered themselves with fig leaves and hid in the garden. They were afraid to be seen by God.

They were physically naked, and their response showed that they were ashamed of their physical nakedness. Yet, that was just a symptom of the greater problem: when their eyes were opened, they could see that their disobedience was disrespectful to their Creator and that they were not worthy to be in His presence. Their shame was not really about their naked bodies, but also about their fear to be in the presence of God. What would He do in response to their disobedience? He had warned them that eating the tree would mean death and they did not believe His words. No wonder they were afraid and hid from His presence.

We are reminded as we enter into Lent that we are just like Adam and Eve. We came from dust and to dust we will return. Our physical flesh is temporary. We are naked before God, shamed by our disobedience and unworthy to be in His presence. Yet, we are also given the opportunity to think about how we will respond to the temptations that come our way.

Today’s Old Testament lesson is shocking to us. We’ve heard stories about people who have claimed to hear God’s voice telling them to do things that are questionable. Would God command a man to steal for the church? Would God tell a mother to kill her children? Would God ever lead us into doing something that is obviously wrong even if it is for His glory?

God made incredible promises to Abraham, and they all rested on the boy Isaac. How odd it must have been to hear God’s command to sacrifice the boy. What would we do if we heard the same request? We would question our sanity or wonder if some other voice was trying to destroy what God had given to us. We would probably argue with God about the ridiculous nature of the request. We would cling on to the child to protect him from danger. But Abraham believed and obeyed the word of God.

Abraham believed that God would be faithful to His promises. Abraham knew that God would do something; he told Isaac, “God will provide.” This isn’t to say that Abraham expected a ram to show up out of nowhere; he knew that Isaac was a gift of God, and as such belonged to Him. Abraham willingly gave the most important thing in his life to God because that boy was God’s.

We all have people that are very dear to us, so important that we run the risk of letting them get in the way of our relationship with God. Would we sacrifice them because of our relationship with God? Today is one of those rare occasions when Valentine’s Day falls on Ash Wednesday. How many will miss church today, or settle for getting ashes at a drive-through experience because they think a romantic meal with their lover is more important? Are any of us willing to sacrifice even our most important relationship for God’s sake? We are asked, just like Abraham, to sacrifice those things on the altars of our hearts so that there is nothing more important to us than God. That’s what Lent is all about. It is about discovering those things that mean more to us than God. It is about repentance, about sacrifice, about trusting that God will keep His promises.

Like Abraham, we can trust that God will provide the sacrifice, but we need to be obedient to the call. We need to be willing to give up those things we love more than Him so that we can be more greatly blessed. See, we think the blessing is in the relationship with our significant other, but we are even more blessed when God is in the midst of that relationship. Marriage, family, and friendships are better when God blesses it. Would God ask us to sacrifice our beloved child as a burnt offering? I don’t believe so. But He does want us to consider how we are putting our loved ones ahead of Him.

After all, He put us ahead of His own Son.

The story of Abraham and Isaac is a foreshadowing of Good Friday when God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to the altar of sacrifice. But on that day, He did not send a ram to take His place. Jesus died as the final sacrifice, the only one that is lasting. God is not asking us today to lay our loved ones on the altar of sacrifice; but He is encouraging us to search our hearts for that which stands in the way of our relationship with Him. Is fondue at a romantic restaurant more important than an hour of worship and the reminder of our own mortality?

We begin the journey to the cross with Ash Wednesday and follow Him for the next six weeks. This journey will lead us to see the fulfillment of all God’s promises. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and lasts until Holy Week, Good Friday, and then Easter. Lent is a time of examination, to consider the reality of who we are and what we have done. It is a time of repentance and renewal. It is a time to look at God, to see Him from the reality of our imperfections and to realize just how magnificent He is. The Old Testament scriptures we will follow for the next few weeks focus on the great promises of God.

There are many things that keep us from a deep and abiding relationship with God. This is why we choose things to “give up” during Lent. The sacrifice can be difficult, but it is easier than we expect because we know that we can go back to the way things were before we began fasting. How does that honor God? Where is the repentance? Where is the trust? Easter Sunday is forty-five days away, but are we truly ready to meet our risen and glorious Lord? Isn’t Lent meant to prepare us for that day, to make us ready to meet our Lord? What good is it to give up something that we plan to take back? We must, like Abraham, be willing to give it up for good and trust that God will be true to His promises. Isaac was the child of promise, but Abraham knew that God would be faithful no matter what happened to Isaac. He willingly laid everything, including the promise of God, on that altar.

Are we willing to be so faithful? Lent is a time for us to face our sinful, selfish hearts, repent of our sin, ask forgiveness, and trust that God will be faithful to His promises. Are we really willing to give up the things that truly matter? To repent of that which keeps us from being the people God has created, chosen, and redeemed us to be? When we give up the things that are dearest to our hearts and make God first in our lives, we live in the promises that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Our Gospel lesson gives us a picture of Jesus going through the process of self-discovery, an example for us to follow during this Lenten season. First Jesus learned His identity. During His baptism, God said, “You are my son.” He was immediately sent into the wilderness to reflect upon this identity. For forty days He was tempted. Though Mark does not give us the details, we know from the other gospel writers that Jesus was faced with the possibilities of where to take His ministry. Satan offered Him a different path, but Jesus knew who He was and what He had to do. Finally, Jesus left the wilderness and went into action. He recognized His identity, reflected on His purpose, and put it to work.

Mark wrote, “Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals; and the angels were serving him.” It is interesting that the word used here describing how Jesus ended up in the wilderness is the same word that is used when Jesus drives out the demons. This is not something Jesus chose to do. He is forced into the wilderness. This was a time of testing for Jesus, a time of isolation from all human contact.

The incident with Abraham was a test of faith, but what about Jesus’ wilderness wandering? Was it a test of faith? Was it a test of obedience? It seems impossible that Jesus could fail. Yet, testing does more than prove one’s faith or obedience. Testing brings strength, courage, knowledge, and the promise of hope for something better beyond suffering. Jesus’ wilderness wander also provided Satan with his greatest challenge.

This reminds me of a joke. Satan was wandering around, bored out of his gills. The LORD said to Satan, “Go, do your job! Tempt people and make them sin.” Satan answered, “But that’s why I’m so bored. They sin without me and there’s nothing left for me to do!” We don’t need to be tempted from the outside. Our human flesh is quite capable of failing without having things of this earth or Satan throw temptations our way. Yet, we are faced by those outside temptations on a daily basis.

Satan’s temptations for Jesus were not the everyday type of things we face. He might tempt us with a chance to have a romantic dinner or chocolate during Lent, but the temptations for Jesus were more difficult. Satan reached into Jesus’ heart and tempted Him to take His ministry in a different direction. He offered Jesus the chance to feed the world, to be known by the whole world and to rule the world. These were noble goals to seek, but to do them would have meant rejecting the reason He was sent into the world. Jesus answered with the Word. “Man does not live by bread alone.” “Do not tempt the Lord your God.” “Worship only God.”

Jesus wasn’t given a choice; He was isolated and tempted as a necessary part of His journey. Satan was given free rein to over Jesus, and according to the other versions of this story, Satan tried to get Jesus to turn from God. Jesus, like us, had free will and could have said yes to any of the temptations, but He stood firm. When Satan tempted Him, He remained true to God.

We are tempted daily, and Lent is a time for us to recognize this reality as we journey through our own wilderness. What does that look like for you? We think we have to choose today something to fast for the next forty days, but we should take some time to discover and reflect upon our identity. Lenten fasting helps us to recognize the things that tempt us. By standing up to the temptations, as Jesus stood against the devil’s taunts, we learn to rely on the strength that God gives us through the power of the Holy Spirit. The things we fast might seem unimportant, we might fail, and we might splurge on them in a few weeks, but the lessons learned from leaning on God can help us overcome the bigger temptations of this world. James wrote, “Blessed is a person who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.” As we stand against the temptations that come our way, little and big, we are transformed into people ready to receive the Risen Lord.

We won’t be perfect. It doesn’t matter how many Lents we journey through; we’ll never be perfect in this life. We will continue to fall for the temptations that are thrust our way by the world and the devil. It doesn’t matter how many things we lay on the altar of sacrifice before our God, we will continue to fail. We will probably fail at keeping our Lent disciplines, no matter how simple and easy they might seem. The big ones will be even more difficult to accomplish. The goal, as in all our journeys of faith, is not to be perfect, but to draw closer to the God who is with us. He’s waiting at the end, not to judge us for our failures but to embrace us for trying. He is walking beside us, giving us strength, courage, knowledge, and the promise of hope for something better beyond suffering

This is the first week of Lent, a season modeled after Jesus’ wilderness experience. Mark writes, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.” The Lenten journey we begin today and continue for the next few weeks is a time for us to repent and to believe in God’s promises.

This is also a time of grace. We can even let our fasts and devotions become more important than our Lord. Our success will never earn us a place in heaven. Our eternal salvation rests only on the work of Jesus Christ, who was the only one able to stand against the temptations of this world. As much as we want to join with Jesus in every way of His journey, we need to remember that we do not have to do it alone. The One who went before us will walk with us. Whatever we choose to lay on the altar of sacrifice, we can trust that God is faithful to His promises. He will give us the strength to try to be the people He has created, chosen, and redeemed us to be.

It is hard for us to believe that the God we love would ever test a person so harshly. Why would He demand such a harsh sacrifice from Abraham? Why should the Spirit drive Jesus into the wilderness for forty days? Why do any of us experience temptations that make us fall? Why do we suffer? Sometimes it is just a consequence of living in an imperfect world. Satan’s job is to tempt us and lead us into sin and he often does this in very subtle ways. He makes it appear as though we are choosing good though we are choosing things that turn us from God. Treating those we love with a special Valentine’s Day is good, but not at the expense of our relationship with Him.

Sometimes we are driven by God’s Spirit to be tested. God does not test us to make us fail or suffer punishment. We don’t face times of temptation just so God can see if we will be faithful or obedient. Testing is like tempering. It makes us stronger, gives us courage, and causes us to look to the One who is our salvation and our refuge. When there is testing there is always hope. Hope is seeing beyond the moment into the promises.

Abraham was righteous in the eyes of God; he walked with God and was obedient even to the point of willingly given up his beloved son. As children of Abraham, we share in his faith, but we are more greatly blessed because we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Christ we have the promise of salvation, of forgiveness, of wholeness and eternal life because He was faithful and obedient to go the cross. When we are saved, we are called to a life lived in faith and obedience to God as our response.

On Ash Wednesday, however, we are reminded that this life is temporary. We will die. Dwelling in that truth will help us keep our eyes on the One who has made the greatest promise. With our focus on God and our willingness to obedient to Him, everything else in our life will be incredibly blessed. Are we willing to sacrifice the most beloved things and people of our life to trust that God will fulfill His promises with even greater blessings?

God had a plan from the very beginning. There was no way for human life to redeem themselves, no sacrifice good enough. There was only one way to restore the relationship between God and His creation: Jesus. Jesus’ wilderness wandering was the beginning of His ministry. Jesus, the beloved Son of God, was sent to fulfill the promises, to restore the relationship between God and His creation. Jesus was baptized and tempted, fully identifying with the people He came to save. He did not fall under the false words of Satan, who tried to set Jesus on a different path. Jesus’ mission, His death and resurrection, would overcome sin and death and defeat Satan forever.

Sin still abounds, good is called evil and evil is called good. Men seek the things of this world rather than the things of God, satisfying their flesh instead of serving God. It is the way it has been since Adam and Eve turned away from God in the Garden of Eden, and it will remain so until the end of all the ages. But we are blessed because we belong to the Righteous One, Jesus Christ, who won salvation over Sin and Death for us and for all people who believe. We can trust God to be faithful to His promises. Not only that, but through Jesus, in Jesus, and with Jesus, we can be found righteous before God like Abraham and live in His Kingdom while we wait for that day when we will live with Him forever. In this restored relationship with God, we can cry out the words of the Psalmist, “Show me your ways, Yahweh. Teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation, I wait for you all day long.”