First Sunday in Lent
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
Historically, most of the liturgical churches celebrate the First Sunday in Lent as Invocabit, as the ancient introit announces: "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The classic introit rearranges the verses of Psalm 91, that are used by beginning with verses 15 and 16 in the antiphon, with verse 1 as the liturgical remnant in the psalm verse. There can be little doubt that this entire psalm was once sung on this day, the Quadragesima - forty days before Easter and the beginning of Lent for centuries - because it declares: "He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." (vv. 11, 12) The psalm pointedly connects the Passion of Jesus to the Resurrection of the crucified'Christ, building a bridge that prevents people from celebrating Lent as a penitential season without crossing over to Easter, the season of joy and hope in the victory of Jesus Christ over death. The preacher must remember that for many people in the congregation, the First Sunday in Lent is the beginning of Lent. Pastors ought to also be cognizant of the fact that Lent cannot exist without Easter, and that the forty days of preparation need the balance of the Great Fifty Days of Easter.
The Prayer of the Day
The classic collect called upon God to "stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty to defend us from them that rise up against us," thereby applying the temptation of Jesus to the human situation, especially in Lent. Contemporary prayers sound a similar note, as in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer: "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." The first of two prayers in the Lutheran Book of Worship gives Lent an "exodus" character that is, at once, both existential and eschatological: "Guide the people of your church, that following our Savior, we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come." The second prayer, which has baptismal undertones in it, with a suggestion of dying and rising daily in repentance, gives topological treatment to the Gospel for the Day: "Lord God, our strength, the battle of good and evil rages within and around us, and our ancient foe tempts us with his deceits and empty promises. Keep us steadfast in your Word and, when we fall, raise us again and restore us through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord...." Christ's "temptation in the wilderness" is a story that we know well, but there is a difference; Jesus overcame temptation set before him by Satan, but we - more often than not - fall and need to repent of our sin. Lent gives us that chance.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 25, or 25:3-9 (E); 25:4-9 (R) - The Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches give multiple liturgical assignments to this psalm. Both use it in Series/Cycle A (Twenty-sixth Sunday of the Year [R]; Proper Twenty-one [E]), as well as on this First Sunday in Lent. The Roman Catholic Church also employs it on the Third Sunday of the Year (B), and on the First Sunday of Advent (C). That it is a popular liturgical song is evident, but it is especially appropriate for Lent: "Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths (E). 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." (E, R) The psalm not only accommodates the liturgy and theology of Lent, but it also, as used here, harks back to the time when God made his covenant with his people. In this larger setting, the people of God ask in repentance for the forgiveness of God for their transgressions and deliverance into new life.
(Note: The LBW appoints this psalm to three Sundays: The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost [A]; the First Sunday of Advent [C]; and the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost [C].)
Psalm 6 (L) - The penitential theme in this psalm, which is coupled with the knowledge of God's graciousness and love that issue forth in forgiveness, offers a reason for its selection for this Sunday's liturgy. It sets forth the human condition: "Have pity on me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, for my bones are wracked.... Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me for your mercy's sake." It is, at once, a call to repentance during Lent, which comes to a halt before the cross: "For in death no one remembers you; and who will give thanks in the grave?" The psalmist banishes - as Jesus did Satan - those who tempt him (the "evildoers"), and reflects the real joy that comes only with the resurrection (v. 9): "The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer."
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord God, you love mercy and tenderness; you give life and overcome death. Look upon the weakness and grief of your church; restore it to health by your risen Son, so that it may sing a new song in your praise; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Genesis 9:8-15 (R); 9:8-17 (E, C)
This post-flood story - in which God establishes an everlasting covenant between himself, Noah, and all people, declaring that he will never again cause a flood to wipe out all life on earth - has been selected, partly, because it depicts God's intention to redeem his people, rather than destroy them. Along with the new covenant, God, as he always does, provides a sign - the rainbow - as a token of his fidelity to his covenant. But the reading was chosen for at least one other reason: it is a type of baptism. The "flood waters" of baptism wash away the sins of God's people and, in the process, restore them to communion with God. Luther's magnificent "flood prayer" for baptism, which has been revised in the LBW, declares:
By the waters of the flood you condemned the wicked and saved those whom you had chosen, Noah and his family.... By the baptism of his own death and resurrection your beloved Son has set us free from the bondage to sin and death, and has opened the way to the joy and freedom of everlasting life. He made water a sign of the kingdom and of cleansing and rebirth.... Pour out your Holy Spirit, so that those who are here baptized may be given new life. Wash away the sin of all those who are cleansed by this water and bring them forth as inheritors of your glorious kingdom.
Genesis 22:1-18 (L)
In this familiar story, Abraham hears the voice of God, answers him and learns that God wants him to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to prove his faith in the Lord God. Abraham does as he is commanded, taking Isaac and two servants on a three-day journey to a place in the land of Moriah indicated by God. There an altar was built, wood collected for the fire, and the boy bound and placed on the altar. As the story goes, God intervened when Abraham raised his knife and commended Abraham for his faith - "God himself will provide the sacrifice." God did just that; a ram was found with its horns ensnared in a bush and it became the burnt offering. The story accommodates the Lutheran emphasis, in the lectionary during Lent, on the passion and death of Jesus, rather than on the predicament of humanity and the deliverance that baptism provides. It is, of course, a type of the loving sacrifice of the only begotten Son (John 3:16) on the cross.
1 Peter 3:18-22 (R, E, C)
Variations of this pericope were assigned to the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Series/Cycle A in several lectionaries (1 Peter 3:15-18 [R]; 3:8-18 [E]; 3:15-22 [L]; 3:13-22 [C]). Interestingly, three of the four lectionaries assign exactly the same verses of 1 Peter 3 to this Sunday in Year B. The reason is simply that, if 1 Peter is accepted as a baptismal homily, this passage complements the baptismal typology of Genesis 9 and the baptismal content of Lent. Comments on this text are included in the material for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle/Series A, Lectionary Preaching Workbook.
Romans 8:31-39 (L)
Selections from Romans comprise the first readings for the first three Sundays in Lent, possibly to pick up portions of Romans not read in the Pentecost season, Series/Cycle A. (Part of Romans 5 is assigned to the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost; verses 31-34 of Chapter 8 are omitted from the readings on the Tenth and Eleventh Sundays after Pentecost, but not in Lent. Four of the first readings in Lent, Series/Cycle A, are also from Romans.) Those who have attended many Christian funeral services will be familiar with this magnificent statement of faith in the crucified and risen Lord: "If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? ... [nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." This reading, with its "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all," complements the theme of Genesis 22, carrying it to the ultimate climax of Jesus' death at Calvary. This text highlights what God's gift in Jesus accomplishes for people of faith.
Mark 1:9-13 (E); 1:9-15 (C); 1:12-15 (R, L)
Mark's version of Jesus' temptation is so brief that one could get the impression that he considered the incident to be of little or no importance. He has the basic ingredients of Matthew's and Luke's stories - the forty days, Satan, wild beasts, and angels - but the temptation itself is not detailed. After his baptism, Mark tells us, "The Spirit immediately drove him [Jesus] out into the wilderness," therein making a closer connection between Jesus' baptism and temptation than the other two writers. Instead, he prepares a neat little package to get his point across. Jesus, whom God identified as his "beloved Son" at his baptism, overcame Satan, was not harmed by the wild beasts, and was "ministered" to ("fed") by the very angels of God. Unlike the first Adam, who could not stand firm against the wiles of Satan, Jesus proved to Satan - and the world - that the Evil One had met his match. Jesus, the new Adam, was the victor, and Satan was defeated once and for all.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 1:9-13 (E); 1:9-15 (C); 1:12-15 (R, L) - "Satan Meets His Match."
When they moved into our neighborhood, the young couple and their two children seemed to be an ideal family. They were intelligent - he was a professor and a Ph.D. - personable, and affable. They were a splendid addition to the families living on the street; they responded to their welcome party with an open house for the neighbors, and entered into the various activities that went on in the neighborhood. The man and woman seemed to be a very loving couple, who nurtured their sons very carefully. They saw to it that each of the sons returned to his native country in Europe for catechetical instruction and confirmation. They seemed to have an extremely high level of values. But after they had lived in the neighborhood several years something happened and the family nearly disintegrated. The husband/father fell in love with a young woman who worked for him. When his wife found out about the affair, she confronted him with her knowledge. He did not deny it and offered a weak excuse, "I couldn't help myself. I can't help myself now." His wife, when asked why she put up with his infidelity, replied, "I love him too much to divorce him." Her love ultimately won out and saved the marriage and preserved their family when it might have been smashed to pieces.
1. Jesus could - and did - help himself when Satan tempted him. He simply said "no" to Satan and defeated him. He acted as the faithful Son of God, and out of love accomplished for us what we would have never been able to do by ourselves.
2. Jesus showed us that to be obedient to God - that is, to say "Yes" to God - means that we must say "No " to Satan. God expects us to be his obedient people, as a consequence of our baptism. God gives us the ability to say "yes" or "no" to temptation; he gave us the freedom to make choices between good and evil for ourselves.
3. There are situations in which we can - and should - say "No " to Satan. Through the help of Christ we can overcome temptation. Such victories are his, not merely ours. He helps us when we can't seem to help ourselves.
4. Satan wins too many of the battles we find ourselves in. But even when we triumph, the victory does not win forgiveness and eternal life for us; Jesus has done that for us in the wilderness and at the Tree of Golgotha.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Genesis 9:8-15 (R); 9:8-17 (E, C) - "The Cross Holds Up the Rainbow."
The earth, God's garden, has been a graveyard twice in the history of humanity, according to the Bible. Today we live in the fear that it may soon be a graveyard for a third time - and forever!
When Noah survived the Flood, spending over a year cooped up in that ark, he set foot into a graveyard, for no forms of life survived on land with the exception of the creatures on that ship. The bones of the corpses claimed by the Flood had been covered up by the shifting sands and soil. The earth was washed clean; it was a garden again, much like the beginning of creation. An eerie silence must have greeted the first beings to disembark from that boat; only the sounds of the animals who still lived could be heard. Echoes were everywhere. But Noah built an altar, offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to God, and got an answer: "I will never again curse the ground with a flood ... I establish my covenant between you and your descendants after you ... I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of my covenant."
1. It is God's intention to preserve people and the earth, not destroy it. The covenant he made with Noah affirms this; the rainbow announces and reannounces the covenant.
2. Human beings seem to be intent on destroying the earth and themselves, in the process.
Acid rain and pollution, depletion of natural resources, and nuclear fallout threaten to destroy the earth and all life. But the rainbow still arches above the earth after a storm! (Loren
Eiseley's parable of the "Star Thrower," which is printed in The Unexpected Universe and
The Star Thrower, speaks of this predicament.)
3. The Cross holds up the rainbow. The death of Jesus - the cross - is the eternal sign of God's concern for human beings and a statement that he has not given up on the human race. Cross and rainbow combine as a sign of hope. The faithful in Christ will do what they have to do to hold up the cross by learning to care for the earth and all life.
4. Through his life and death, Jesus changed the graveyard into a garden. He draws us to himself and his cross so that with and through us he might do it again!
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 Peter 3:18-22
See the "Dancing Waters" sermon in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. It is a baptismal sermon, appropriate for either Lent or Easter.
Romans 8:31-39
See the sermon "Questions and Answers of the Faith" in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A.
The Prayer of the Day
The classic collect called upon God to "stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty to defend us from them that rise up against us," thereby applying the temptation of Jesus to the human situation, especially in Lent. Contemporary prayers sound a similar note, as in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer: "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." The first of two prayers in the Lutheran Book of Worship gives Lent an "exodus" character that is, at once, both existential and eschatological: "Guide the people of your church, that following our Savior, we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come." The second prayer, which has baptismal undertones in it, with a suggestion of dying and rising daily in repentance, gives topological treatment to the Gospel for the Day: "Lord God, our strength, the battle of good and evil rages within and around us, and our ancient foe tempts us with his deceits and empty promises. Keep us steadfast in your Word and, when we fall, raise us again and restore us through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord...." Christ's "temptation in the wilderness" is a story that we know well, but there is a difference; Jesus overcame temptation set before him by Satan, but we - more often than not - fall and need to repent of our sin. Lent gives us that chance.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 25, or 25:3-9 (E); 25:4-9 (R) - The Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches give multiple liturgical assignments to this psalm. Both use it in Series/Cycle A (Twenty-sixth Sunday of the Year [R]; Proper Twenty-one [E]), as well as on this First Sunday in Lent. The Roman Catholic Church also employs it on the Third Sunday of the Year (B), and on the First Sunday of Advent (C). That it is a popular liturgical song is evident, but it is especially appropriate for Lent: "Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths (E). 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." (E, R) The psalm not only accommodates the liturgy and theology of Lent, but it also, as used here, harks back to the time when God made his covenant with his people. In this larger setting, the people of God ask in repentance for the forgiveness of God for their transgressions and deliverance into new life.
(Note: The LBW appoints this psalm to three Sundays: The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost [A]; the First Sunday of Advent [C]; and the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost [C].)
Psalm 6 (L) - The penitential theme in this psalm, which is coupled with the knowledge of God's graciousness and love that issue forth in forgiveness, offers a reason for its selection for this Sunday's liturgy. It sets forth the human condition: "Have pity on me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, for my bones are wracked.... Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me for your mercy's sake." It is, at once, a call to repentance during Lent, which comes to a halt before the cross: "For in death no one remembers you; and who will give thanks in the grave?" The psalmist banishes - as Jesus did Satan - those who tempt him (the "evildoers"), and reflects the real joy that comes only with the resurrection (v. 9): "The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer."
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord God, you love mercy and tenderness; you give life and overcome death. Look upon the weakness and grief of your church; restore it to health by your risen Son, so that it may sing a new song in your praise; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Genesis 9:8-15 (R); 9:8-17 (E, C)
This post-flood story - in which God establishes an everlasting covenant between himself, Noah, and all people, declaring that he will never again cause a flood to wipe out all life on earth - has been selected, partly, because it depicts God's intention to redeem his people, rather than destroy them. Along with the new covenant, God, as he always does, provides a sign - the rainbow - as a token of his fidelity to his covenant. But the reading was chosen for at least one other reason: it is a type of baptism. The "flood waters" of baptism wash away the sins of God's people and, in the process, restore them to communion with God. Luther's magnificent "flood prayer" for baptism, which has been revised in the LBW, declares:
By the waters of the flood you condemned the wicked and saved those whom you had chosen, Noah and his family.... By the baptism of his own death and resurrection your beloved Son has set us free from the bondage to sin and death, and has opened the way to the joy and freedom of everlasting life. He made water a sign of the kingdom and of cleansing and rebirth.... Pour out your Holy Spirit, so that those who are here baptized may be given new life. Wash away the sin of all those who are cleansed by this water and bring them forth as inheritors of your glorious kingdom.
Genesis 22:1-18 (L)
In this familiar story, Abraham hears the voice of God, answers him and learns that God wants him to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to prove his faith in the Lord God. Abraham does as he is commanded, taking Isaac and two servants on a three-day journey to a place in the land of Moriah indicated by God. There an altar was built, wood collected for the fire, and the boy bound and placed on the altar. As the story goes, God intervened when Abraham raised his knife and commended Abraham for his faith - "God himself will provide the sacrifice." God did just that; a ram was found with its horns ensnared in a bush and it became the burnt offering. The story accommodates the Lutheran emphasis, in the lectionary during Lent, on the passion and death of Jesus, rather than on the predicament of humanity and the deliverance that baptism provides. It is, of course, a type of the loving sacrifice of the only begotten Son (John 3:16) on the cross.
1 Peter 3:18-22 (R, E, C)
Variations of this pericope were assigned to the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Series/Cycle A in several lectionaries (1 Peter 3:15-18 [R]; 3:8-18 [E]; 3:15-22 [L]; 3:13-22 [C]). Interestingly, three of the four lectionaries assign exactly the same verses of 1 Peter 3 to this Sunday in Year B. The reason is simply that, if 1 Peter is accepted as a baptismal homily, this passage complements the baptismal typology of Genesis 9 and the baptismal content of Lent. Comments on this text are included in the material for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle/Series A, Lectionary Preaching Workbook.
Romans 8:31-39 (L)
Selections from Romans comprise the first readings for the first three Sundays in Lent, possibly to pick up portions of Romans not read in the Pentecost season, Series/Cycle A. (Part of Romans 5 is assigned to the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost; verses 31-34 of Chapter 8 are omitted from the readings on the Tenth and Eleventh Sundays after Pentecost, but not in Lent. Four of the first readings in Lent, Series/Cycle A, are also from Romans.) Those who have attended many Christian funeral services will be familiar with this magnificent statement of faith in the crucified and risen Lord: "If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? ... [nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." This reading, with its "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all," complements the theme of Genesis 22, carrying it to the ultimate climax of Jesus' death at Calvary. This text highlights what God's gift in Jesus accomplishes for people of faith.
Mark 1:9-13 (E); 1:9-15 (C); 1:12-15 (R, L)
Mark's version of Jesus' temptation is so brief that one could get the impression that he considered the incident to be of little or no importance. He has the basic ingredients of Matthew's and Luke's stories - the forty days, Satan, wild beasts, and angels - but the temptation itself is not detailed. After his baptism, Mark tells us, "The Spirit immediately drove him [Jesus] out into the wilderness," therein making a closer connection between Jesus' baptism and temptation than the other two writers. Instead, he prepares a neat little package to get his point across. Jesus, whom God identified as his "beloved Son" at his baptism, overcame Satan, was not harmed by the wild beasts, and was "ministered" to ("fed") by the very angels of God. Unlike the first Adam, who could not stand firm against the wiles of Satan, Jesus proved to Satan - and the world - that the Evil One had met his match. Jesus, the new Adam, was the victor, and Satan was defeated once and for all.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 1:9-13 (E); 1:9-15 (C); 1:12-15 (R, L) - "Satan Meets His Match."
When they moved into our neighborhood, the young couple and their two children seemed to be an ideal family. They were intelligent - he was a professor and a Ph.D. - personable, and affable. They were a splendid addition to the families living on the street; they responded to their welcome party with an open house for the neighbors, and entered into the various activities that went on in the neighborhood. The man and woman seemed to be a very loving couple, who nurtured their sons very carefully. They saw to it that each of the sons returned to his native country in Europe for catechetical instruction and confirmation. They seemed to have an extremely high level of values. But after they had lived in the neighborhood several years something happened and the family nearly disintegrated. The husband/father fell in love with a young woman who worked for him. When his wife found out about the affair, she confronted him with her knowledge. He did not deny it and offered a weak excuse, "I couldn't help myself. I can't help myself now." His wife, when asked why she put up with his infidelity, replied, "I love him too much to divorce him." Her love ultimately won out and saved the marriage and preserved their family when it might have been smashed to pieces.
1. Jesus could - and did - help himself when Satan tempted him. He simply said "no" to Satan and defeated him. He acted as the faithful Son of God, and out of love accomplished for us what we would have never been able to do by ourselves.
2. Jesus showed us that to be obedient to God - that is, to say "Yes" to God - means that we must say "No " to Satan. God expects us to be his obedient people, as a consequence of our baptism. God gives us the ability to say "yes" or "no" to temptation; he gave us the freedom to make choices between good and evil for ourselves.
3. There are situations in which we can - and should - say "No " to Satan. Through the help of Christ we can overcome temptation. Such victories are his, not merely ours. He helps us when we can't seem to help ourselves.
4. Satan wins too many of the battles we find ourselves in. But even when we triumph, the victory does not win forgiveness and eternal life for us; Jesus has done that for us in the wilderness and at the Tree of Golgotha.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Genesis 9:8-15 (R); 9:8-17 (E, C) - "The Cross Holds Up the Rainbow."
The earth, God's garden, has been a graveyard twice in the history of humanity, according to the Bible. Today we live in the fear that it may soon be a graveyard for a third time - and forever!
When Noah survived the Flood, spending over a year cooped up in that ark, he set foot into a graveyard, for no forms of life survived on land with the exception of the creatures on that ship. The bones of the corpses claimed by the Flood had been covered up by the shifting sands and soil. The earth was washed clean; it was a garden again, much like the beginning of creation. An eerie silence must have greeted the first beings to disembark from that boat; only the sounds of the animals who still lived could be heard. Echoes were everywhere. But Noah built an altar, offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to God, and got an answer: "I will never again curse the ground with a flood ... I establish my covenant between you and your descendants after you ... I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of my covenant."
1. It is God's intention to preserve people and the earth, not destroy it. The covenant he made with Noah affirms this; the rainbow announces and reannounces the covenant.
2. Human beings seem to be intent on destroying the earth and themselves, in the process.
Acid rain and pollution, depletion of natural resources, and nuclear fallout threaten to destroy the earth and all life. But the rainbow still arches above the earth after a storm! (Loren
Eiseley's parable of the "Star Thrower," which is printed in The Unexpected Universe and
The Star Thrower, speaks of this predicament.)
3. The Cross holds up the rainbow. The death of Jesus - the cross - is the eternal sign of God's concern for human beings and a statement that he has not given up on the human race. Cross and rainbow combine as a sign of hope. The faithful in Christ will do what they have to do to hold up the cross by learning to care for the earth and all life.
4. Through his life and death, Jesus changed the graveyard into a garden. He draws us to himself and his cross so that with and through us he might do it again!
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 Peter 3:18-22
See the "Dancing Waters" sermon in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. It is a baptismal sermon, appropriate for either Lent or Easter.
Romans 8:31-39
See the sermon "Questions and Answers of the Faith" in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A.
