Lent 1 2009

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.”


Several weeks ago Joy and I were in the car together driving along to some errand we were doing together. Actually, usually I do the errands and she sleeps. We were listening to All Things Considered on public radio. We heard an interesting story about some plans in the making to offer internet access on airplanes in flight. What if you could spend that time sitting on the airplane checking and responding to email or surfing the web instead of trying to read a magazine, book, or newspaper. Especially for business travelers, this could be a plus for flying from coast to coast—time to do work while flying from work to do more work. No time lost, and for any of you who travel often for your career this may be at least an intriguing possibility. But I travel for leisure for the most part, and I must admit that I was a little saddened by this proposal. An opinion piece by author Eric Weiner followed the news story, and the author gave some points for keeping the in-flight experience free from connectivity. He talked about a 17-hour flight he had recently taken in which he was able to read 2 books, stare out the window, and have some…thoughts. But what I really connected with was when he said that without access to the internet while in flight he feels no guilt. He’s free to think and have new ideas and wonder about things like the decline of downtime and expressions like “offline,” “out of the office,” or “on vacation.”

Can you remember that feeling of setting your voicemail or email to give the same message to everyone who tries to connect with you while you are taking some time off to relax and be with family? It seems like a very long time ago now that I saw at my desk here and recorded a message on my voice mail and wrote a return message on my email both letting anyone trying to contact me that I would be on maternity leave from December 1 through February 28. At the time, that seemed like an amount of time that I couldn’t even calculate. Now it feels like a blink. But what a journey it has been since November 30th, 2008: the last time I was with you to lead in worship. On that day, I had no idea what I was in for, but I knew it was less than 24 hours away.

There is something wonderful about going away—from your regular schedule, from the busy-ness that seems to suck up all of our time, from the things in life which take us away from our relationship with God, from the mercy of Christ, from the presence of the Spirit in and around us all the time. Time away frees us for a little while from the expectations placed upon us at work and at home. It can free us from stressful decision-making, and give us time to recharge and refresh so that we will be more productive when we return to the daily grind. It also helps us reconnect with who we are—the people God created us to be in the first place and the new things God has in store for us if we will just pay attention and receive the message. Mr. Weiner talks about the cultural practice all over the world of going “offline” for a while:

Every culture has its out-of-bounds venues, circumscribed places and times in which the normal demands of society no longer apply. Buddhist monks on meditation retreats, college students on spring break. Instinctively, we humans recognize the value of tuning out the world, at least for a while. We know we'll return refreshed and ready to cope again.

There is something important about observing your faith journey. It is not, after all, just about getting into heaven when this life is over. It is about this life! It is about the decisions we make, the people we know, the relationships we cultivate, the work of the people done in faith and in community. I agree with Mr. Weiner about keeping internet connectivity offline while in the air. “So, please, airline executives,” he says. “I beg of you: Don't do it. You've already deprived me of leg room, decent food and dignity. Don't take away my peace of mind, too.”

I want to invite you to observe a holy journey during this season of Lent. The rest of the world is now on the bandwagon of giving things up; that is no longer a practice unique to the Christian world during these 40 days of Lent not counting Sundays. On Wednesday I heard a local DJ announcing her noon hour “Radio Free Lunch” theme: "Songs about all the things that you could give up for 40 days for Lent." People called in with suggestions like , “Brown Sugar” by the Rolling Stones and “Chocolate” by Snow Patrol. Usually for Lent we decide to give up things that are vices, and then we suffer for 40 days without those things all the while planning a huge coffee/sugar/caffeine/chocolate/desert/carbs blow-out for Easter Sunday and the week following. But this year we’re already in the habit of giving things up, aren’t we? What’s different about the church’s call to deprive yourself of something that you probably don’t need to survive when many are already doing without things they really do need because our economy is tanking? What kind of counter-cultural witness can we have in this holy season that invites the world to come and see what is so special about this faith we share, where there is hope when all the things we normally rely on for life are failing us, where there is a place to find some kind of relief from the constant woe of serious changes we’re all making in life just to make it. We offer something different, something holy.

We are here today because at some time in our lives we have decided to begin the holy journey of faith because God called and we responded. What has the journey been like for you so far? Where will we be when it is over? Are the risks we take along the way worth it, and what about the ones we don’t take? This year, let’s not make it about what we are giving up. Jesus’ journey into the desert as told to us in Mark’s gospel does not focus on the fact that Jesus fasted for 40 days but that he was sent by the Spirit away from everything. He had time to deal with Satan, and he was in the presence of the messengers of God. It is no accident that this journey began immediately after his baptism. So it is for us. As we are initiated into the faith, we are prepared for the journey that is ahead—a journey of God- and self-discovery. Friends, today I invite you to begin a journey through Lent, observing the call of God in your life perhaps to do and be new things, the risks you will take for the sake of believing in the hope of Christ crucified and raised from the dead. Let it begin for us here, at this table, where we receive bread for the journey. And be sure to make time during these 40 days to be offline, even for just a little while, to stare out the window, to have thoughts, and to listen to God.

May it be a holy season for us, friends. May it be.


 “The End Of Offline In Flight? Say It Ain't So” by Eric Weiner.