The Wilderness Road
Sermon
From Dusk To Dawn
Sermons For Lent And Easter
Lent comes to our lives every springtime. Lent is the promise
of new life in nature following the drabness of winter. In the
seventh century the church set the period of Lent at 40 days
(excluding Sundays) in order to remind Christians of the length
of time Jesus spent in the wilderness following his baptism by
John the Baptist at the Jordan River.
Pope Gregory said, "Lent is our spiritual tithing." It is the
time we are asked to prepare for Easter. In past centuries,
Easter was the time for converts to be baptized. These new
Christians were called upon to pray, fast and repent of their
sins in the weeks before Easter. "Baptism," said Martin Luther,
"... signifies that the old Adam in us is to be drowned by ...
repentance."
As we look at the baptism of Christ, who bore the sins of the
world upon his shoulders, we should be grateful our Lord has
forgiven us and empowered us to be his servants. The road of Lent
we travel stops at the Jordan where with Christ we are bathed in
the healing waters of God's forgiving love. While the road of
Lent reminds us all of baptism, this somber season also calls us
to remember those dark periods of time spent in the wilderness.
As Moses and the children of Israel spent 40 years in the
wilderness, so our Lord Jesus was alone for 40 days in the
wilderness. During that time he was tempted by Satan to become a
popular Messiah using his divinity for selfish purposes.
The American Indians tell the tale of a boy who was undergoing
a time alone in the wilderness. His tribe required this as part
of his passage from adolescence to manhood. High in the mountains
the boy discovered a rattlesnake freezing in the cold. The snake
spoke to the boy and asked him to pick him up and carry him for
warmth. The boy did so and began to descend the mountain.
Suddenly the snake inserted his fangs into the lad's shirt. As
the boy fell dying to the ground, the snake said, "You knew what
I was when you picked me up."1
The power of Christ is greater than the power of Satan. The
power of love is greater than the power of hatred. Even in the
wilderness Jesus was not alone. He was ministered to by angels.
Mark tells us even the wild animals of Israel came and sat at the
feet of him who rules heaven and earth. As Saint Francis was
later said to have preached to the birds, so we can picture
Christ gently praying and reflecting on his mission surrounded by
the wild creatures of the desolate Dead Sea area.
At Lent we think of our own temptations. We recall the line in
the Lord's Prayer, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us
from evil." Paul put it well in 1 Corinthians 10:13. "God is
faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your
strength." When we do nothing to combat temptation we tempt Satan
to use his powers to corrupt us. When this happens we are used as
tools of foul deeds hammered out in the Devil's Workshop on sin's
dark street.
An American flyer during World War II had to parachute into a
jungle in Burma. A Burmese came along slashing his way through
the jungle. The American cried out to his rescuer, "Where is the
way? Where is the road?" The Burmese in broken English turned to
him and said, "I'm the way. Follow me!"
You may feel lost and lonely. When like Oscar Wilde we cry in
despair, "I can resist everything but temptation," then our eyes
penetrate through the heart of darkness to see Jesus in the
wilderness. Then we know there is a light at the end of
the tunnel, a rest upon the way. Then like the spring season,
hope springs eternal in our hearts.2
When Sir Edmund Hillary's exploration team climbed the
forbidding Mount Everest they made months of careful preparation
to increase their chances of a safe ascent. Several base camps
were established on the mountain, forming a ladder of helpfulness
where the climbers could stop for refreshment. At these camps the
climbers could have their injuries looked after and rest for the
next stage of the climb. Lent is a base camp for the soul. A time
when we quietly reflect on life's journey and prepare to continue
the climb.
Sir Winston Churchill spent more than 20 years out of office
following World War I. He was considered a "has been." Later,
Churchill called this creative time when he wrote several books,
painted beautiful paintings and traveled, to be his time in the
wilderness. From his time of testing he emerged a great leader of
war-stricken Britain.
In those moments of testing and trial we too are strengthened
for the road. In this world we travel bravely onward as pilgrims
of him who is the Lord of Lent.
A poem says of the Lord of Lent:
Jesus our brother
you followed the necessary path
and were broken on our behalf.
May we neither cling to our pain
when it is futile,
nor refuse to embrace the cost
when it is required of us;
that in losing ourselves for your sake,
we might be brought to new life.3
Lent calls us to follow our Lord on the wilderness road to the
foot of the cross. As we pray together, sing together, laugh and
cry together, let us do so united by love. For they will know we
are Christians by our love.
1-Kalas, Ellworth, Get Wise, p. 63, Winsome Ministries,
Cleveland, 1990.
2-Chinn, Edward, The Wonders of Words, CSS Publishing Co., Lima,
Ohio 1987, p. 67.
3-Morley, Janet, All Desires Known, Movement for the Ordination
of Women, London, 1988, p. 14.
of new life in nature following the drabness of winter. In the
seventh century the church set the period of Lent at 40 days
(excluding Sundays) in order to remind Christians of the length
of time Jesus spent in the wilderness following his baptism by
John the Baptist at the Jordan River.
Pope Gregory said, "Lent is our spiritual tithing." It is the
time we are asked to prepare for Easter. In past centuries,
Easter was the time for converts to be baptized. These new
Christians were called upon to pray, fast and repent of their
sins in the weeks before Easter. "Baptism," said Martin Luther,
"... signifies that the old Adam in us is to be drowned by ...
repentance."
As we look at the baptism of Christ, who bore the sins of the
world upon his shoulders, we should be grateful our Lord has
forgiven us and empowered us to be his servants. The road of Lent
we travel stops at the Jordan where with Christ we are bathed in
the healing waters of God's forgiving love. While the road of
Lent reminds us all of baptism, this somber season also calls us
to remember those dark periods of time spent in the wilderness.
As Moses and the children of Israel spent 40 years in the
wilderness, so our Lord Jesus was alone for 40 days in the
wilderness. During that time he was tempted by Satan to become a
popular Messiah using his divinity for selfish purposes.
The American Indians tell the tale of a boy who was undergoing
a time alone in the wilderness. His tribe required this as part
of his passage from adolescence to manhood. High in the mountains
the boy discovered a rattlesnake freezing in the cold. The snake
spoke to the boy and asked him to pick him up and carry him for
warmth. The boy did so and began to descend the mountain.
Suddenly the snake inserted his fangs into the lad's shirt. As
the boy fell dying to the ground, the snake said, "You knew what
I was when you picked me up."1
The power of Christ is greater than the power of Satan. The
power of love is greater than the power of hatred. Even in the
wilderness Jesus was not alone. He was ministered to by angels.
Mark tells us even the wild animals of Israel came and sat at the
feet of him who rules heaven and earth. As Saint Francis was
later said to have preached to the birds, so we can picture
Christ gently praying and reflecting on his mission surrounded by
the wild creatures of the desolate Dead Sea area.
At Lent we think of our own temptations. We recall the line in
the Lord's Prayer, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us
from evil." Paul put it well in 1 Corinthians 10:13. "God is
faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your
strength." When we do nothing to combat temptation we tempt Satan
to use his powers to corrupt us. When this happens we are used as
tools of foul deeds hammered out in the Devil's Workshop on sin's
dark street.
An American flyer during World War II had to parachute into a
jungle in Burma. A Burmese came along slashing his way through
the jungle. The American cried out to his rescuer, "Where is the
way? Where is the road?" The Burmese in broken English turned to
him and said, "I'm the way. Follow me!"
You may feel lost and lonely. When like Oscar Wilde we cry in
despair, "I can resist everything but temptation," then our eyes
penetrate through the heart of darkness to see Jesus in the
wilderness. Then we know there is a light at the end of
the tunnel, a rest upon the way. Then like the spring season,
hope springs eternal in our hearts.2
When Sir Edmund Hillary's exploration team climbed the
forbidding Mount Everest they made months of careful preparation
to increase their chances of a safe ascent. Several base camps
were established on the mountain, forming a ladder of helpfulness
where the climbers could stop for refreshment. At these camps the
climbers could have their injuries looked after and rest for the
next stage of the climb. Lent is a base camp for the soul. A time
when we quietly reflect on life's journey and prepare to continue
the climb.
Sir Winston Churchill spent more than 20 years out of office
following World War I. He was considered a "has been." Later,
Churchill called this creative time when he wrote several books,
painted beautiful paintings and traveled, to be his time in the
wilderness. From his time of testing he emerged a great leader of
war-stricken Britain.
In those moments of testing and trial we too are strengthened
for the road. In this world we travel bravely onward as pilgrims
of him who is the Lord of Lent.
A poem says of the Lord of Lent:
Jesus our brother
you followed the necessary path
and were broken on our behalf.
May we neither cling to our pain
when it is futile,
nor refuse to embrace the cost
when it is required of us;
that in losing ourselves for your sake,
we might be brought to new life.3
Lent calls us to follow our Lord on the wilderness road to the
foot of the cross. As we pray together, sing together, laugh and
cry together, let us do so united by love. For they will know we
are Christians by our love.
1-Kalas, Ellworth, Get Wise, p. 63, Winsome Ministries,
Cleveland, 1990.
2-Chinn, Edward, The Wonders of Words, CSS Publishing Co., Lima,
Ohio 1987, p. 67.
3-Morley, Janet, All Desires Known, Movement for the Ordination
of Women, London, 1988, p. 14.
