May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are, yet without sin: give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit; and, as you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Confession
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight. We are sorry and repent. Have mercy on us according to your love. Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin. Renew a right spirit within us, and restore us to the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever. Amen.
God’s Word - 1 Peter, chapter 3, verses 18 to the end :-
Christ suffered for our sins once and for all, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God; put to death in the body, he was brought to life in the spirit. In the spirit also he went and made his proclamation to the imprisoned spirits, those who had refused to obey in the past, while God waited patiently in the days when Noah was building the ark; in it a few people, eight in all, were brought to safety through the water. This water symbolized baptism, through which you are now brought to safety. Baptism is not the washing away of bodily impurities but the appeal made to God from a good conscience; and it brings salvation through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is now at the right hand of God, having entered heaven and received the submission of angels, authorities, and powers.
Mark, chapter 1, verses 9 to 15 :-
Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. As he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens break open and the Spirit descend on him, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my beloved Son; in you I take delight.’
At once the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness, and there he remained for forty days tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts; and angels attended to his needs.
After John had been arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: ‘The time has arrived; the kingdom of God is upon you. Repent, and believe the gospel.’
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection
Baptism features in both our readings set for today. And in each of them it seems to me there’s a link between baptism and testing. Peter in his letter links baptism directly with the suffering of Christ, through which our salvation is assured - and with the story of Noah’s Ark, where just a precious few were shielded from destruction.
And in our reading from Mark’s Gospel, we see that it’s immediately after his baptism in the River Jordan that Jesus enters the wilderness, where he remained for forty days of testing preparation for the ministry he would begin on his return. Mark doesn’t detail the temptations with which Satan seeks to divert Jesus from the path he has set himself to follow. In fact he moves from baptism through temptation in the wilderness and on to the beginning of his ministry of preaching and healing in literally just a few sentences. In my Bible the headings for each section take up almost as much space as the verses themselves, that’s how brief he is.
But he does use quite a violent word to describe how Jesus goes into the desert. “The Spirit drove him,” we read in the translation I’ve used. The Greek word is the same as might elsewhere be described as thrown, or hurled. Jesus was hurled into the wilderness.
Over recent years there’ve been quite a few TV programmes focusing on things like retreats in holy places, or walking holy pilgrimage trails, the camino to Santiago de Compostela, for example. The people taking part, in some cases minor celebrities, haven’t necessarily had a personal religious faith, but it’s been interesting to see how they’ve been affected by the process of pilgrimage, for example, or the example of the members of a religious community, the monks or nuns, with whom they’ve stayed. I’ve just finished reading a book entitled “Taking my God for a Walk”, the diary of a trek to Compostela made by Tony Collins, whose day job was being the publisher of Christian books. So he had an active faith, but many of those he met on the walk did not.
It’s an interesting an often amusing book; many of the people he meets while walking are in some way or another trying to find themselves, or perhaps to work through some issue that has in some way changed or damaged their lives. If I’ve had a criticism of the TV programmes about time spent on retreat or in a monastery, it’s mostly that they’ve been focused too on the individual health benefits, rather than asking the questions “Why?” and “What next?” But then, I suppose the cult of the individual is to the forefront of modern life.
After all, Lent can be approached in much the same way. Most of us could do with improving our lives and our selves in some way: a bit of a diet, a bit more exercise, a bit less chocolate or alcohol, or even coffee, which was something John Wesley struggled to give up. We’ll be all the better for it. But if what I do in Lent is all about me, then I’m missing the point of it all - or at least, I’m not really connecting with what Jesus did in the wilderness.
I’m reminded that most of the money I saved as a child by not buying sweets during Lent got spent on me at Easter. We had a little collecting envelope for the church, but only a penny or two got put into that. But Jesus in the wilderness was totally concentrating on the task ahead, and making sure he had faced up to the challenges and the pains and the temptations that would come his way. The vital component was that “What next?”
As it was too for Tony Collins on the Camino Frances. To walk the Camino was an achievement in itself of course, and there were friends to be made, sights to see, and some good food and drink to be taken too. But underlying all of that was the question “Where do you want me next, Lord?” The specific pilgrimage to Compostela had to be connected into the sense of all of life being a pilgrimage.
I’ve moved away a little bit from our readings, and from baptism, so let me return there. Baptism is the start of it all. The voice from heaven heard by Jesus as he came up from the water both affirmed him and commissioned him. And we too are affirmed and commissioned in baptism. In the water of baptism God is saying, “You are my child.” It’s up to us what we do with that; it’s up to us whether we do anything with it.
But if we are going to serve our Lord, then we must also test ourselves. No-one competes at the Olympic Games without making sure they’re trained and fit and ready. What would be the point? Lent is our training time, testing time, our time to get ready. It’s all about that question, “What next?” Keeping Lent well, taking it seriously, isn’t so much about how much we give up, or even how much we take on - but what next? And how can I serve my Lord, and my neighbour?
Statement of faith -
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer Pointers - We pray for the Church everywhere in its keeping of the holy season of Lent. We pray for places of pilgrimage and of retreat, and for Lent as a time for learning, testing and preparing. We pray for Christians in Central Africa, and for the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa. We pray for our own diocese and for Richard our bishop, and for the churches and communities of the Condover deanery.
We pray for all who work to establish and maintain fair trade in our world, as Fair Trade Fortnight begins. This year the theme is about climate change, and we pray for all growers and producers whose livelihood is being threatened by major changes in climate. And we continue to pray for the work of mass vaccination here and around our world, as we battle together against Covid.
We pray for all who are ill, and for their care and recovery; we continue to pray for all who work in our hospitals, health centres and care homes, thinking especially about those who are physically and emotionally drained by the demands the pandemic has placed upon them. We give thanks for the ongoing process of vaccinating all who are vulnerable.
We pray for our families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. As Lent begins we pray it may be a time of learning and discovery, and we also pray that we may soon be able to reopen churches and shops and community buildings. Till then we pray that Covid rules are respected. Help us to look out for each other, and to keep safe ourselves.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing - May Christ give us grace to grow in holiness, to take up our cross and follow him; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore. Amen.
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