Emily Schaming
If you saw the story of Noah in today's newspaper, how do you think the headlines would read? Thousands Perish In Turkish Flood? or perhaps Little Hope For Survival in Mid-East Disaster? maybe Relief Agencies Say Ararat Region Requires Millions in Aid? I think it's unlikely that we would see anything like, Dove Carries Branch! or Rainbow In Sky- God Says No More Floods! the Weekly World News might have something like, Wild Animal Man Strands Boat On Mountain. We don't like bad news, or we say we don't, but it's what we're most comfortable with. In fact we don't usually even think of news as a good thing. "The news" is how we hear about bad things that are happening around the world, and if there's time, we get a "human interest story" about something positive. Yet, here we are, thousands of years after Noah's world was destroyed by water. Of course we remember the destruction of the flood, but we also remember a dove, a rainbow and a promise from God.
Today is the first Sunday of Lent, a time of reconciliation to God. It is often a time when we think of sin and repentance. But all of the Bible readings for today take us beyond just repenting of sins. They show us that God's promise to us is Good News. Noah goes through a flood, and emerges with a promise. After his baptism, Jesus is tempted in the desert and comes out proclaiming good news. In Peter we read that baptism was not about just washing away dirt, but is, "an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ". Like a baptism Lent is a time of renewal, we face our temptations and testing in order to prepare "a good conscience" for the good news of the Christian faith, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Temptation and Testing
Most of us have a tougher time with temptation than we like to think. Take Stan. Stan wasn't making much headway with his diet. He was one of those people who could resist everything but temptation. One day he came into the office with a whole box of freshly baked Danish pastries. When his friends questioned him about his diet he explained that really wouldn't have gotten the pastries if it hadn't been for God.
"What do you mean?" one of his friends asked.
"Well", he said, "as I was about to pass the bakery I prayed that if it were God's will for me to have these Danishes today I would be able to find a parking place in front of the building. Sure enough I found a space right in front on the eighth time around the block"
Temptation can be described in many ways. We often speak of being tempted by food, but I think that may be more of a marketing ploy by chocolate companies. We may not even be aware of the temptations that we face. It is tempting to do the easy thing rather than the right thing. It is tempting to use mockery and sarcasm instead of praise and kindness. It is tempting to yell at children when we are tired instead of taking the time to help them learn from their mistakes. We are tempted to help someone we see suffering, but find ourselves feeling too busy or helpless. Fulton Sheen once said, "We are more often tempted to do good than we are to do evil and it is a temptation that we don't often enough give into."
We want the bad news because it seems clearer and easier to understand what is wrong with the world than what is right. Many of us give up things for Lent, things we ordinarily enjoy. This Lent, we may also strive to give up things we do not enjoy- anger…anxiety…fear…negative thoughts…
As we give these things up and we make more room in our lives for God's good news- for understanding where we once had anger…peace in the face of anxiety…calm replacing fear…and gratitude instead of negative thoughts. God's covenant is that we are protected and cared for no matter how bad the news.
Promise and Fulfillment
In his book Up From Slavery, Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Virginia: "I found that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his body; and while he was paying for himself, he was to be permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased.
"Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he went there. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some three hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands.
In talking to me about this, the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had given his word to his master, and his word he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom till he had fulfilled his promise."
God made promises to humankind throughout the Bible. Like the slave in Washington's story, these are not idle promises or empty words, but an unbreakable vow.
In modern times we define many relationships with contracts. These are usually for goods, services or cash. The contract, formal or informal, helps to specify failure in these relationships. God did not establish a contract with Noah or with the church. He created a covenant. There is a difference. Contracts are broken when one of the parties fails to keep his promise. For example, a patient may fail to keep an appointment with a doctor, the doctor is not obligated to call the house and inquire, "Where were you? Why didn't you show up for your appointment?" The doctor simply goes on to the next appointment. The patient may find it harder the next time to see the doctor. He broke an informal contract.
In the book of Isaiah, however, God asks: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:15) The Bible indicates the covenant is more like the ties of a parent to her child than it is a doctor's appointment. If a child fails to show up for dinner, the parent's obligation isn't canceled. The parent finds out where the child is and makes sure he's cared for. One member's failure does not destroy the relationship. A covenant puts no conditions on faithfulness. It is the unconditional commitment to love and serve.
The promises of God are not soon forgotten. The good news of God's protection and love for us resounds through the generations. Peter spoke of God's promise to Noah, two thousand years later, we speak of that same promise.
Good News!
The god of the ‘bad news' has been and will always be a dark and awful presence before whom we must bow down in contrition and pray that we have earned favour. The god of the bad news is a terrorist in the sky smiting his enemies. The god of the bad news is a dysfunctional parent in the sky before whom we tremble and pray that we won't be punished. For many of us God is not accessible because we have made it impossible to hear the liberating message that Jesus brings: God's GOOD reign, a reign of peace and love, can be seen in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Today, as we begin Lent, we recall the story of Jesus, and how after he was baptized he spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted and how he did not remain there, but then went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God saying: "The Kingdom of God is near, repent and believe in the good news."
Fritz Kreisler was the world-famous violinist at the turn of the last century. He earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered a magnificent violin on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase the beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. "Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?" he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such lovely music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred. "I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed. "It's yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it."
Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Jesus left his home -- abandoned his family, they would say in the village -- on a spiritual quest.
We have now entered the desert of Lent on a spiritual quest of our own. But if we want to experience this quest fully, it is important to note that the quest we're on for these forty days is NOT tame or respectable. Jesus left his family and entered a desert with wild beasts and angels (and I don't know about you, but I suspect that the reason that the first thing out of an angel's mouth is "do not be afraid!" is that angels are often at least as terrifying as wild beasts), and we strive to follow Jesus into that desert.
That sounds lonely as well as terrifying. How on earth could we do it? Why on earth would we do it?
And if that's God's call, those wild beasts won't destroy anything worth keeping. Mr. Beaver said of Aslan in C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe "he isn't tame, but he's good," and I believe that's true of God as well. If we want to be alive in the spirit, as Jesus was, that's a good enough reason to follow Jesus. If God is there, we won't be alone. We can enter the desert and emerge to take God's music into the world and let people hear it.
Unfortunately good news is called "good news", not "easy news". We think we pray for God's good news when really it is not what we are seeking. There is a short piece of writing that may be familiar to some of you. It is known as "The Testimony of a Confederate Soldier" and was written at the time of the American civil war. In it, the soldier describes what God can accomplish in us through our wilderness experiences, through our times of testing. It reads,
Through all our trials and temptations, God's promise to us shines through. At the end of the flood is a rainbow, the desert is full of angels to support us, the bad news may threaten to overwhelm us, but at the end of the forty days the covenant is fulfilled. And so we may enter the wilderness of Lent, not knowing where God will take us, but secure in the promise that we will emerge bearing good news.
I asked God for strength that I might achieve
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for - but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men, most richly blessed.
All quotations of Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version.