The First Sunday in Lent, 22 February 2015
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-9
I Peter 3:18-22
St. Mark 1:9-15
Background: 40
The number 40 appears both
in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures several times, and it is not unknown in
Islamic writings, or other writings of the ancient near east. Like most numbers
in the Bible it is of a symbolic character rather than being an exact number.
One commentator said that you could loosely translate the number as “umpteen.”
In other words, the number represents a large number of significance. That
aside, the number is assigned to significant events in both of the testaments:
The Rain at the time of the flood (40 days and 40 nights), The Wanderings of
Israel in the Wilderness (40 years), The Exploration of Canaan by the Spies (40
days), Moses’ life is divided into 3 forty year segments, Moses on Mount Sinai
(40 days and 40 nights), Jesus in the Wilderness after his Baptism (40 days and
40 nights), Days from the Resurrection to the Ascension (40 days), and finally,
The Forty Days of Lent. The number in Lent seems to participate in the stories
of the Flood, and the Wanderings, along with Jesus’ time in the wilderness. It
is a way of entering into sacred time and to identify with the actions of
Israel and of our Lord.
Genesis 9:8-17
God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As
for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,
and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic
animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the
ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut
off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy
the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make
between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future
generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the
covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the
bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and
you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again
become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see
it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature
of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the
sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on
the earth."
The narrative is introduced
by the formula, “God said” and then again later, it is interrupted by the same
formula. In the first instance God
speaks about the establishment of a covenant
between God and Noah and Noah’s descendants. Indeed it is more than that, for
the text includes, “and will every living
creature that is with you,” and then goes on to indicate all sorts and
conditions of life. And what is the promise? “That never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood.”
And here God’s comments end, without any response from Noah, to whom these
comments were addressed. Such a silence begs for further comment on God’s part
– and God obliges. Now the comments are about a sign of the promise and the
covenant – the rainbow. This will be the sign of God’s intentions toward
humankind.
The characteristics of this
story are shared with other flood stories, especially the Gilgamesh Epic, where
the survivors of the flood are given assurances. In the Gilgamesh Epic,
Utnapishtim is granted immortality. Here the Noah story differs in that Noah
only resumes his normal mortality and the trials and tasks of life – namely
food gathering. The rainbow story may be an added etiology that strives to
describe the natural phenomenon, and as being linked to this important story
and event in God’s relationship to humankind.
Breaking open Genesis:
- What promises has God made
to you?
- Have you believed in them?
Why or why not?
- What is a symbol of God’s
faithfulness to you?
Psalm 25:1-9 Ad te,
Domine, levavi
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
my God, I put my trust in you; *
let me not be humiliated,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
Let none who look to you be put to shame; *
let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.
Show me your ways, O LORD, *
and teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, *
for you are the God of my salvation;
in you have I trusted all the day long.
Remember, O LORD, your compassion and love, *
for they are from everlasting.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my
transgressions; *
remember me according to your love
and for the sake of your goodness, O LORD.
Gracious and upright is the LORD; *
therefore he teaches sinners in his way.
He guides the humble in doing right *
and teaches his way to the lowly.
All the paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
With the exception of two
letters (waw and qof) each verse of the psalm is introduced by a letter of the
alphabet. There are nine such acrostic psalms in the Bible. In the initial
verse the psalmist lifts up the essence of his existence (here his soul, or heart). He lays the entirety of
his self as a place from which his prayer ascends. Our translation blunts the
Hebrew structure in the third verse. The psalmist asks God that no shame come
to the psalmist, Let none who look to you
be put to shame.” The following half is translated as, let the treacherous be disappointed,” while the Hebrew again
suggests the idea of shame by saying, “let my enemy be shamed. The supplication
here is not a specific request, but rather a seeking after wisdom, “Show me your ways, O Lord.” What the
psalmist does request is a share of God’s mind. Having asked for God’s wisdom,
the psalmist wants to be remembered and to be recalled by God. Remembrance,
however, can be a dangerous thing, for God may well remember “the sins of my youth and my
transgressions.” Thus the psalmist reminds God of God’s graciousness and
uprightness. It is God that guides even the humble, and all of God’s ways, and
those who follow God, are informed by God’s covenant.
Breaking open Psalm 25:
- Are you ashamed of
anything in your life? What?
- How do you get rid of that
shame?
- Have you been able to live
in forgiveness? How?
I Peter 3:18-22
Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to
death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and
made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey,
when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark,
in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism,
which this prefigured, now saves you-- not as a removal of dirt from the body,
but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with
angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
I Peter desires to teach us
nothing else than the whole scope of the Christian story. In this story we meet
God in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the author sets up as the primary
example of hope and life in a difficult world.
How are we to live in this world? This is the central question that is
addressed in the reading for today. Jesus, the example, survives the suffering
of his time and passion. The logical conclusion is that we who are in Christ
will survive our own sufferings as well. The author uses the Noah story as an
example of Baptism, the sacrament that brings us out of an old life into a new
one. This is a rich and complex world that the author offers to those who
already live in a rich and complex world. The new world, however, is fulfilled
in and ordered by Christ, so that even a minority, the survivors (the
Christians) are lead into a fulfilled life.
Breaking open I Peter:
- How is Jesus an example to
you?
- How are you an example to
others?
- Whom do you really admire?
St. Mark 1:9-15
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and
was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the
water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on
him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you
I am well pleased."
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the
wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was
with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came
to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the
good news."
It is surprising to be
projected back to the baptism of Jesus and the internal vision that he
perceives, “he saw the heavens torn apart
and the Spirit descending,” following last Sunday’s readings regarding the
Transfiguration. Like the disciples who are led down from the mount following
the beatific vision, so is Jesus led away from the vision that transfigures his
life. “And the Spirit immediately drove
him out into the wilderness.” What
follows this vision is a period of temptation and recovery – an intense
learning about what life and ministry must be like.
As we enter into Lent,
perhaps we also ought to pray that the Spirit drive us into our own personal
wilderness of temptation and learning. The lesson to be learned is about the
Kingdom of God coming near – the proclamation that Jesus makes upon his initial
ministry in Galilee. Mark isn’t interested in the specifics of Jesus’ temptation,
but is more interested in the results, the proclaiming of the “good news of God.” All is expressed
with a certain sense of urgency and is concisely proclaimed. What is the
urgency of our life and proclamation?
Breaking open the Gospel:
- What do you think about
when you wake up in the morning?
- Does it have anything to
do with the promises of your baptism? Why or why not?
- Where is your wilderness of refreshment?
After breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the
Collect for Sunday:
Almighty God, whose blessed
Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who
are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of
us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever. Amen.
Questions and
comments copyright © 2015, Michael T. Hiller
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