In Jesus, the kingdom of God has come near. Let us turn to him and believe in the good news.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, enable us to receive your Holy Spirit.
Lord, have mercy.Jesus, be with us in our wilderness times.
Christ, have mercy.Jesus, help us to turn to you, determined to lead a new life.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Mark 1:9-15
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. [10] 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. [11] And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." [12] And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. [13] He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. [14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, [15] and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."
Story:
According to Mark, immediately after the "high" of Jesus' baptism, the Spirit drove him into the wilderness for a long time. This often happens with us, too. After a particularly wonderful time, we're plunged into the depths. We need to learn to see God in the depths as well as in the heights, and to know that both experiences are sent by him.
This is a story of Roly the puppy to illustrate that.
Oh dear, Roly!
Roly the dachshund puppy was very excited. He was so excited that his tail wouldn't stop wagging, and he kept turning round in tight little circles, trying to chase his tail. And he yipped and barked and yapped and tried to jump up at all the human beings who kept coming into the room.
Surprisingly, no-one shouted at him or told him to get down. They all fussed him and petted him and made him feel very special, although he wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps it had something to do with the previous night, when he had suddenly woken from a deep sleep because his sharp ears had caught the gentlest of sounds. Roly couldn't help himself. He had started to bark loudly, and because he wanted to get to the sound and find out what it was, he had begun to frantically scratch and paw at the door.
The lights had gone on immediately after that, and Roly had heard angry, sleepy voices grumbling about him. But when Roly heard human footsteps running down the garden path, the voices had changed and suddenly everybody loved him. Roly caught the word "thief", but he didn't know what that meant. Then he caught his name, Roly, being spoken in the way he loved best, all warm and caressing.
Today, new people had come with flashing lights to take pictures of him and something called a television camera was following his every move. Roly somehow knew he was a hero, although he still wasn't sure why. But he began to show off in the best way he knew, and nobody said a word against him. It was a wonderful time, and Roly loved it.
Roly was so excited that although he was dimly aware he needed to go out into the yard, he couldn't bring himself to leave the party. Suddenly, to his horror, he felt his back leg lift all of its own accord, and felt a warm stream pour onto the floor. Roly looked. He had made a puddle - indoors! Roly was horrified. He hadn't made a puddle indoors for weeks, ever since he was a very tiny puppy. He prided himself on being nearly grown up now and always went out into the yard to make his puddles.
Roly felt his tail drop between his legs, and he slunk behind the sofa, hoping nobody would notice him. For a while they didn't, but it wasn't long before Alice, his special owner, spotted the pool on the floor.
"Roly!" she cried, "How could you! You naughty boy!"
Everything went quiet and Roly tried to squeeze underneath the sofa, he was so ashamed. But Alice had seen him and pulled him out. She began to scold him in front of all the strange people, and Roly felt terrible. He wanted to run away and hide, but Alice wouldn't let him. She made him gaze into the little pool on the floor until he was really, really sorry.
One minute things had been the best they'd ever been, and Roly was more excited than he'd ever been in his life before, the next minute he'd ruined it by his stupid behaviour.
But Alice's anger didn't last for very long, and when she saw how sorry he was, she put her arms around Roly and loved him. And Roly began to realise that Alice always loved him, even when she was cross with him. And he was so pleased with that thought that he began to lick her hand to show her how much he loved her. Alice hugged him tightly, and Roly knew he would never again make another puddle inside the house.
Activity:
You need:
Individual sheets of paper
Coloured pens or
crayons
A laptop computer with PowerPoint,
or a long sheet of paper, and
glue
Get the children to draw the sequence of events in today's gospel story with each child being responsible for one sheet, i.e., sheet one, John baptising in the Jordan. Sheet two, Jesus appears. Sheet three, Jesus is baptised by John. Sheet four, as Jesus comes out of the water, the heavens being torn open. Sheet five, as sheet four plus a dove descending on Jesus. Sheet six, as sheet five plus the voice from heaven. Sheet seven, Jesus being driven into the wilderness. Sheets eight, nine and ten - Jesus in the wilderness being tempted, attacked by wild beasts, angels waiting on him. Sheet eleven, John being arrested. Sheets twelve onwards, Jesus beginning his ministry in Galilee.
If you have the skills, the laptop and Powerpoint, scan the children's drawings into Powerpoint so that you can make a slide show of their drawings. You may have to do this at home and show it next week! If you don't have the necessary equipment, mount the drawings on a long sheet of paper, to form a kind of comic strip, and display in the church.
Diary Time: For details, click here.
Remind the children that Jesus had a very hard time in the wilderness and that he didn't go there of his own accord, but that the Spirit drove him there. So even for Jesus, after the excitement of his baptism and being recognised as God's beloved Son, something awful happened. The children may be able to remember occasions when they have been on a "high" for some reason, only to find it somehow ruined very soon afterwards. Perhaps on holiday or at their birthday party when they've done something to make their parents cross with them, or perhaps on an important occasion when they were the centre of attention but ruined it by saying something silly. They could write about this, or draw a picture of it, but make sure they know that God loves them all the time, even when things go wrong.
Intercession:
God who loves us, we pray for all those people who think that nobody loves them. We pray for children without parents, for people who live alone and would rather not, for those who live in war zones, for those who face hatred every day, and for those who know only anger and bitterness in their hearts. May all these people realise your great love for them at all times.
God who loves us, help us to use any difficult times we may experience, to grow strong and purposeful. Give us the courage to face all our problems, and give us the skills to cope with them. We pray especially today for any in our own community who feel that they are in the wilderness at the moment.
God who loves us, when our church experiences tough times, help us to remember that Jesus went straight from the high of being recognised as God's beloved son to the dangers and hardships of the desert. Help us to follow you at all times, and especially to cling onto you when the going gets tough.
God who loves us, we ask for your help and your loving power towards those who are ill. may they be aware of your presence with them, and may they begin to feel better straight away. We ask that you restore them to full health and strength as we name them before you ....
Blessing:
May God the Father call you his beloved child,
May God the Holy Spirit protect you even in hard times,
And may God the Son give you strength and purpose.
And the blessing of God almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you now,
be in your homes and in your families
and with all those whom you love
and for whom you pray,
now and always.
Amen.
