Grace Lutheran Church

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+ In Nomine Jesu +

The Rev. Evan Gaertner

2^nd Sunday in Advent                                                                                           "The Promise in the Wild"

December 4, 2005                                                                                                                               Mark 1:1-8

Where do we begin when we tell the story of Jesus? Maybe we should begin with the angel Gabriel visiting Mary, with any angels in the sky, shepherds in the field, and wise men traveling by a star.

Appropriately enough St. Mark begins his account of the gospel by saying, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God." But instead of beginning with a family ancestry like Matthew or the birth of Jesus like Luke, Mark begins with a promise in the wild.

The beginning of the Gospel began in the past with the promises of the prophets. St. Mark structures his gospel in such a way to say that if you want to understand Jesus, to get why it is good news that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, go to the wilderness. So today we will go to the wilderness.

John the Baptist was a living parable. The wilderness for John was not just a place he chose to do ministry it was a living example of where we are as a people in sin. John wanted no deception in the lives of the people that he proclaimed to. He was a man dressed with camel's hair, a leather belt around his waits, and eating locusts and wild honey. Stripped away of all that makes comfortable in this world, John the Baptist prepares the way of the Lord.

Sure the people in the city of Jerusalem with the Temple and the people in the countryside with their flocks and fields could find themselves comfortable. But they were drawn out into the wilderness which for a long time has been the setting for God in action.

The wilderness, the arid region down by the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, is a place of struggle and death always close by. Everything of the comfortable life that could help you survive is stripped away in the wilderness and you are left with the naked truth of your life lived.

When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea after their escape from the slavery of Egypt they were led to the wilderness by the Lord. A pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day led the people through the wilderness. When they set out from the Red Sea they went into the wilderness of Shur. They traveled for three days but had not found any water. They came to a place they called Marah, because the water was bitter and they could not drink it. The people grumbled against Moses saying, "What shall we drink?"

Moses cried to the Lord and the Lord showed him a log, and Moses threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. (Exodus 15) Then they were led to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and palm trees.

The Lord led the people in the wilderness but he also made the bitter places sweet. The wilderness was not going to be a place where they made for themselves grand houses and became comfortable. The wilderness was indeed a place where the people would have wasted away if left to themselves.

When they set out from Elim they came to the wilderness called Sin, not sin like do wrong, but a shortened version of the word Sinai. Forty-five days after having departed from Egypt the people were hungry. The gathering of Israel grumbled to Moses and Aaron and said to them, "Why didn't GOD let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You've brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!"

The Lord made it rain bread from heaven for the people, from then on every morning Manna from heaven was gathered by the people. In the wilderness the Lord provided hope for the people.

There are times when our lives in slavery to sin look more comfortable and sustainable, but in the long view we discover that God is at work in the wilderness. John the Baptist prepared the way in the wilderness for the savior to come; he brought the people out to the wilderness. To some he might have been the weekend entertainment. To others he might have been an alarm clock going off. But no matter the reason that brought the people out into the wilderness they heard his message of a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. But besides the wilderness, besides the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, they would also hear that there was more coming, one mightier than him, whose sandal straps he wouldn’t even be worthy to untie. John the Baptist in the wilderness was bringing people out to the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some may talk about coming to church and being comfortable. If we want seekers and visitors and members to keep coming back then we need to help make them feel comfortable. Indeed it is appropriate to make sure the bathrooms are clearly marked, the parking is accessible, that we have good lighting and comfortable pews, and during the winter heat in the sanctuary is a pleasant amenity. But inasmuch as the church provides a physical level of comfort, we don’t necessarily make people feel comfortable.

Some may find it uncomfortable that our baptism liturgy includes the lines "We also learn from the Word of God that we all are conceived and born sinful and so are in need of forgiveness. We would be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation." This language of conceived and born sinful, and lost forever unless, causes us to consider are true situation on account of sin. It would be dangerous for a church to avoid talking about sin and the need for a savior.

Before the blue hymnal came out in 1982 there was some talk of toning down the confession of sins by getting rid of the line, "We justly deserve your present and eternal punishment." That line did not get removed from our hymnal and that line in our baptismal liturgy is not avoided because we need to be brought to the uncomfortable reality that we are in the wilderness lost and hopeless without our Lord God.

But even as we our brought out into the wilderness, we are encouraged that this is not the end of the story but the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The next line in the baptism liturgy is, "But the Father of all mercy and grace has sent his Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sin of the whole world that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." And then of course the person is baptized, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

And the next line in the confession is "For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your holy name." And sure enough the pastor responds to this confession with the comforting words, "Almighty God in his mercy has given his Son to die for you and for his sake forgives you all your sins." And your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Even as we examine ourselves and confess our grievous sin we have confident hope that the promise of the Lord comes into our lives. The wilderness was the place where God had blessed the people in the past. The wilderness would be replanted with seeds of promise and give life where people were used to finding hopelessness and despair.

The ministry of Jesus began in the wilderness when he was baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus took upon himself our desolation and burden under the law. Throughout his ministry he went out to where the people were, to their wilderness and hopelessness. It is in our wilderness that Jesus lived and died. He carried his cross out of the city of Jerusalem to the place that was called The Skull. And when Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, he brings to us a promise fulfilled that we hold onto by faith. Even while we continue to live in the wilderness we trust that Jesus is the bread from heaven and so we continue to live in the wilderness but not without hope.

This weekend our concern is not for a restored lush paradise of no worry. John the Baptist was in the wilderness. He did not camouflage his surroundings, he dressed for the wilderness. But even while he dressed for the wilderness his call for repentance was companioned with a baptism for the forgiveness of sins. There in the wilderness John the Baptist proclaimed his longing and hope for the savior that was coming.

Today as a church we must not camouflage or hide away from the true conditions of the world we live in. We would do a disserve to ourselves and others if we sugarcoated life and made it an easy street. We need to be honest about sin and the need for repentance in our lives. But we also give thanks for the savior that has come who feeds us with hope and confidence.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the promise in the wild. The promise in the wild of our lives is the forgiveness of sins, and one that was coming that, has come, and will come again. There is nothing else in this world that we can rely upon but firstly the promises of the Lord. How much sweeter the love of Jesus Christ is when we truly have tasted the bitterness of our sin.

Soli Deo Gloria

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