Sicamous United Church

With reference to Mark 1:9-15

Every Lent begins with Jesus post-baptism experience of the Holy Spirit sending him or driving him into the desert.

Mark’s version of this time is so succinct. It’s done in two verses.  “Immediately the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness, and he remained there for forty days, and was tempted by Satan.  He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him.”

The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness…

The Greek word ere¯mos translated “wilderness” in the NRSV is also the word for “desert” or “deserted place.” Wilderness in the Bible refers to uninhabited areas and is symbolically the opposite of civilization and is the place where animals reside that are dangerous to humans.

In Australia, the word wilderness becomes `the Outback.’    The Outback has been described as “where the soul of Earth is untamed by human boundaries. “ I think there is something profound in that description – “where the soul of Earth is untamed by human boundaries.”   So we have Jesus being compelled to go where the soul of the Earth is untamed by human boundaries and we have him there with the wild animals.

The Seasons of the Spirit curriculum, on the other hand, suggests this reference to Jesus being with wild animals would have been understood by Jews and the early church as a reference to the end of violence, to heralding a time of peace between all creatures, as we read in Isaiah 11:6   “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.”  They believed that this peace symbolized in the animal world, and enacted in the human world, would accompany the coming of the Messiah.

I borrowed the title of this message “Where the Wild Things Are” from the wonderful children’s book by Maurice Sendak, who writes of a little boy named Max, who sails away on an adventure to go where the wild things, the monsters, live.

This morning I invite you to step outside the boundaries of a regular Sunday sermon, and go on a small adventure.  I invite you, not into the wilderness, but to a walk-about around the sanctuary.   Spend some time looking at the different pictures portraying the life of Jesus.

(At this point in the service, people did a `walk-about’.   There were about 25 pictures/posters/bulletin cover  from different international artists, portraying some aspect of Jesus life.  If you are were not at Sicamous United this morning, you might want to find a book, or Google international images of Jesus, and see what you come up with.   

You might want to make some notes to yourself as you reflect on these questions in the bulletin:

Which picture or two, catches your attention, calls you to a deeper look?

What attracts you to this picture?

How does this picture relate to your life?

I invited you to reflect in silence about this picture, perhaps make some notes.

Then after a time of silence – connect with another person and share what you discovered.  (Some people found another person to talk to, others shared their images with the whole congregation.) 

At the end of the service we had a potluck and pancake feast – perhaps not liturgically correct but that’s o.k. – it worked for us 🙂

Based on 1st Corinthians 9: 16-23, and Mark 1:29-39

When you think of all the things that you want to do, you should do, you might do… what is it that you cannot NOT do?  The thing that without it, you would feel that you were missing a vital part of yourself.  (People responded to this question.  What would your answer be?) 

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Scripture:  the book of Jonah

 What a delightful day we had!  Seven members of the Baha’i faith from the Shuswap area joined us for worship, as well as my colleague in ministry, Michelle Rowe from Golden, her husband and mother-in-law, as well as our own congregation.  They also took turns reading the prayers from other faith traditions.  I began with this invitation: 

 Find a neighbour and have a wee conversation about: When did you first experience a denomination or religion other than the one you grew up in?  What was that experience like for you?

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based on Mark 1:4-11   

I’m sure you’ve all heard some version of Jesus’ baptism.  It’s in all four gospels but told a little differently in each one.  Last Sunday I mentioned that the story of Jesus’ birth is only told in Luke and Matthew.  I wonder what our faith would look like if we spent as much energy on Jesus’ baptism as we do on the stories of his birth.

Mark’s gospel opens, not with a birth narrative, but by introducing John the Baptist.  John felt God was calling him to tell people to repent and be cleansed, and for generations since we’ve held a particular understanding of the English word `repent’.    You may have the image of John in the river, or any number of hell-fire preachers thumping the pulpit and yelling at folks to repent.

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with reference to Luke 1:46-55

The “Magnificat” – such powerful words by a young unwed mother-to-be.   This was her song of praise when she found she was pregnant, and trusted God with how things would work out.  I love the version we just sang, with that powerful Irish tune backing it up.  It is a song of God tossing the unjust rulers of this world off their thrones and lifting up the weak, and feeding the hungry and sending the rich away empty- handed.  I’m sure when Mary sang it she thought she was invincible and with a little help from God she could change the world.

But then – Jesus was born.  And despite the beautiful Christmas carols we sing of a blissful mother and a non-colicky baby, and hosts of adoring angels, I don’t think that’s what Mary experienced when the powerful contractions hit. Her baby, as the story goes, was born in some hovel, miles away from her extended family, in a political climate that would not tolerate murmurings of any kind of king or saviour, or anyone who might have the audacity to bring good news to the poor.  I expect that Mary felt very alone and afraid, despite the awkward assurances of Joseph.

We know, don’t we, in various ways what it is like to feel helpless in the face of someone else’s pain.  We know what it is to be frightened when we have no control over what is going on around us, or all our plans crumble beyond repair.

The stories around Jesus’ birth are more metaphor that they are history – we really don’t know how things unfolded; each gospel is different, yet each story has truth inside it.  Each story speaks to our human condition of danger and hope, of wonder and wandering.  The gospel of Matthew tells us that this little family had to go into exile – hiding over the border for a time in Egypt, for fear of King Herod – the narcissistic and powerful local ruler.

Mary gave birth to Love, and she and Joseph would protect that love however they could.  I remember clearly the moment I held my baby son for the very first time.  I didn’t think motherhood came naturally to me.  Suddenly I understood the primal animal instinct to protect one’s young.  I was shocked by it – I knew instinctively I would protect his life, even if it meant losing my own.  Fortunately, it hasn’t come to that, and in a couple months he too will discover the mysterious and marvelous world of being a parent.

But as I reflected on my experience of holding my babies in my arms, feeling the joy and the terror of being responsible for the well-being of these tiny lives, I wondered what is was really like for Mary, the mother of Jesus, on the night of his birth.  We sang the words of the Magnificat, the song Mary sang when she felt invincible before the child was born.

I wrote the song “After the Magnificat”, in 1986, as I pondered these things.  I wrote it as in `the words, and the guitar chords’, but it was not really accessible for the rest of the world.   Today it is.  In 2016, thirty years after I wrote the words, I penciled in the basic notes on a sheet of music paper, and my friend Sabrina listened intently to me singing and playing it.  “I detect a bit of a calypso beat”, she said, which surprised me – I didn’t know I knew how to play calypso!  Anyway – she did a wonderful musical score of the song, and I am delighted to have the Black & Bluez Band backing me up today, so I can share it with you.

After the Magnificat  

Tiny child, so soft and warm – How calm you are in the eye of the storm.

1. I was so excited with you inside of me

but now you’re in a big new world, now you are free.

I shall teach you how to walk, hope it will be fun,

but now I question in my mind – will you have to run?

Tiny child, so soft and warm – How calm you are in the eye of the storm.

2. The world is waging war on every side,

everyone wants more and more, they’re never satisfied,

we are so in need of hope, we long for liberty,

our cry is echoed in the wind, it’s moaning through the trees.

Tiny child, so soft and warm – How calm you are in the eye of the storm.

3. I am so frightened.  How can I provide

a place to grow and live, a place to hide?

Is there some secret that I cannot see?

Have you some wisdom that you can share with me?

Tiny child, so soft and warm,  how calm you are, – you `Eye of the Storm.’

Words and music – Juanita Austin – April 1986 

Musical arrangement – Sabrina Trigg 2016