Jesus’ Baptism and the Wilderness
Jesus in the Wilderness

First Sunday of Lent B
The Rev. Eric LeBrocq
St. John’s, Sealy
February 26, 2012

This is the first Sunday in Lent. The church season we are told to reflect on our lives, examine Jesus’ life, be penitential, repent of our sins and study the Scriptures.

That is a lot for most of us to take on; especially if we are not accustomed to dealing with all of these issues at one time; but, let’s use the Baptism of Christ and Jesus’ time in the Wilderness as starting places.

Let’s start with the Baptism. 

Jesus’ baptism is a moment of divine joy. It is an anointing of power and recognition never before seen; an acknowledgement of Jesus’ messianic status. A great moment in history, second only to the birth of Christ.

The River Jordan is a small river that begins above the Sea of Galilee and feeds that lake and then continues on to the Dead Sea. In most places, the Jordan is not a particularly spectacular river. Above the Sea of Galilee the waters run faster and cleaner. The river is fed by the streams and mountains of Lebanon. 

Below the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River makes it way south toward the Dead Sea where the water moves more slowly, the riverbed is fairly shallow, and its color is brown. It is somewhat a muddy river.

The crystal clear images portrayed by Hollywood of Jesus’ baptism by John are quickly erased in the presence of the muddy and earthy banks of the River Jordan. Most likely Jesus, in his white robes, did not come out of the waters of the Jordan River snowy white.

Perhaps the muddy waters are a better image for us to reflect upon as we consider the wonder of Jesus being baptized. Perhaps it is a better image because so much of human life, as we know it, is not pristine or crystal-clear and sparkling.

Our Lord enters the real and challenging human condition that we all face. He does not avoid it; rather, he goes into the midst of it, is washed within it and comes up from it to meet a dove and hear a voice from heaven.

In a way, Jesus bursting forth from under the muddy waters of the Jordan River is a harbinger of his life to come, living with us as another human being. It is a foretaste of his bursting out of the tomb after his terrible crucifixion and death; and rising up to heaven. 

There is a great power around him at the beginning and at the end of his ministry: A great power that never leaves him; a power that can only be described as the real power of God.

Here the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove; and His Father said, “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The voice of the Father who is delighted with his Son who becomes vulnerable, like us, by sharing our humanness. 

The River Jordan feeds two bodies of water: The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is alive. It is filled with fish and small communities were built around it because it was a place of life.

The Dead Sea is lifeless. It is filled with a superabundance of salt and minerals, no fish live in it and its water cannot be consumed. 

The biggest difference is the Sea of Galilee shares it fresh water of life; water flows in and out.

The Dead Sea keeps its water to itself and is not living water.

Here we have an image of ministry. The blessing and empowerment, the life giving Spirit that Jesus received at his baptism was not meant to only bless and remain stagnant in Him. The power of the Holy Spirit which settled on Jesus was meant to flow out of him and into us, to be given up and spread around the world.

That is what we were called to do when we received the Holy Spirit; share it with others in our ministries.

Then Jesus is, to use a modern term, “dished”, when he goes from being heralded from the heavens, to banished to the wilderness, the “boondocks”.

The wilderness is biblical shorthand for being outside of acceptance; the place where those who have no place are banished; a place outside of acceptable society.

You know that place. Each of us has spent time wandering in the wilderness, haven’t we? For us, it was not beside the Jordan River, but it was just as real for us today.

For some of us it was childhood neglect.
For some of us it was an adolescence abuse.
For some of us it was just a long, hard life – requiring stamina and steadfastness, to keep going on a hard path that we know is the right path.

The wilderness is a real and raw place for us, just as it was for Jesus. The wilderness is a familiar location for all of us:

We all know those moments when the bottom falls out.
We all know those hours that linger as we wait for bad news.
We all know those days that drag as we wallow through despair and disappointment.

Not the suddenness of death or disaster. But the day-to-day, drip-by-drip declarations of defeat that we are tempted to take to heart.

“You are not good enough”
“You cannot do it”
“You cannot get out”
“You will never make it”

Those are the mantras we have all head, and still hear. Those are the beasts in the wilderness we must always reject- and turn instead to the ministering “angels” in our lives.

Yes, the beasts in the wilderness are with us today, just as they were with Jesus two thousand years ago.

And yes, we have the Holy Spirit within us just as Jesus did two thousand years ago.

Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit and “angels” to survive his time in the wilderness, where he praised God and went about his ministry to the world.

We too, relying on the Holy Spirit and angels, can survive our time in the wilderness, praising God and going about our ministry of God’s Grace to the world.

 Lent is a time of reflecting on Jesus’ life, the Scriptures and our sins. Just think, Jesus was praised by God as His Son of whom God was proud; and driven into the wilderness for 40 days and nights.

We have the same God and the same Holy Spirit with us to carry us through our times of trial; and to support us in our ministry of God’s Word.

Mark  1:9-15