Second Sunday in Lent

Last week, we talked about temptation and personal sin. I mentioned that a good way to think about sin is to consider it as “twisted good.” Sin is a symptom of a spiritual dis-ease. The cure is to repent, to recognize that we have somehow allowed our focus to be turned to something else and to reorient our lives so that our focus is back on God. With God’s help, we can return to the good root.

That is an important part of what we do during the season of Lent. We seek out the sin in our lives, confess it, amend our lives, and turn our eyes once again toward God. That’s part of what we are called to do during this season, but that’s not the end of it. We don’t live in a vacuum. Our personal repentance is the beginning of our Lenten journey. Now we must look beyond ourselves. We look for the need for our larger community to repent and return to the Lord.

To some degree, cleaning up our personal lives is the easy part. Going out into the world with a message of repentance is a lot harder. But, unfortunately, if we are to be followers of Jesus Christ, I don’t think we have a choice.

In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus is warned that Herod is going to kill him. He does not waiver in his mission. He sets his face toward Jerusalem, and the cross. Neither can we hesitate when it comes to proclaiming the message of Christ to the world outside these walls.

The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. To Restore All People. We are Christians not only for our own sakes, but for the sake of the world.

It seems to me that one of the primary roles of any congregation is to "equip the saints for ministry." To some degree, we offer worship and Christian Education opportunities to prepare us for the work God has set before us. But so many times there seems to be a lot of equipping going on, but not a whole lot of ministry. It's as if sometimes we feel that we're not quite ready -- one more class, one more experience of the living God, or one more prayer, and then (and only then!) we'll go out into the world and proclaim the Good News.

In the Gospel According to Mark we hear of John the Baptizer boldly proclaiming repentance and forgiveness through Baptism. We hear also of John's confronting King Herod. I would imagine that more than a few of John's followers gulped hard before accompanying him. But John and his followers continued in their prophetic preaching, and their ministries were blessed by God.

We have been called to go forth into the world and bear witness to the healing power of God's love. Inspired by the prophetic ministries of the Old Testament prophets, John and Jesus, we bear witness in word and deed. And we always remember that with each step of the way, we will find Christ in our midst, who breathes the Spirit upon all disciples. That is all we need. We are ready for this mission, whether we know it or not. What are we waiting for?

Amidst the struggles that the Church faces today, there will be times as we venture out into the world when we are called to prophetic ministry. We must put our hope in Christ, and not shy away from this calling.

We are called to prophetic action. We are called to be the John the Baptists of the world, proclaiming the message, “Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand!”

The image of John the Baptist may make some of us a bit uncomfortable. He is depicted in scripture as being a hard, angry man, usually delivering his message stridently. And maybe we have good reasons to question if such a strident way of proclaiming our message would be well received outside these walls.

Maybe there’s another way to express our prophetic role. Let’s return to the example of Jesus in this morning’s Gospel. Consider his response to Jerusalem, the beloved center of the world for all Israelites:"Jerusalem, Jerusalem," he says, "how often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"

Jesus knows that he is going to Jerusalem, and will be will be rejected by the people. He knows what he is going to face there, that he will be arrested, suffer and be executed by his enemies. And yet, he weeps, not for himself but for the very people who will reject him. His heart breaks because he cares for them. He is willing to do whatever it takes to gather them under God’s wings. He weeps over Jerusalem, and all of humanity, because he has the heart of God. And God cares.

Those who follow Jesus, follow his example. At the root of the ministry of Jesus is love. And so, at the root of our message to the world must be God’s love. Two men were sitting at lunch one day when the topic of church came up. The first said that his congregation had a new preacher.

"What happened to the old one?" his friend asked.

"We didn’t much care for him, so he left."

"What didn’t you like about him?"

"It was his preaching," the man said. "He kept telling us we are sinners and that if we didn’t repent we would face the judgment of God."

"Oh," the second man said. "So what does the new one preach?"

"He tells us that we’re sinners and that if we don’t repent we will face the judgment of God."

The second man looked a little confused. "I don’t understand," he said. "What’s the difference?"

"The new one," his friend noted, "has tears in his eyes when he says it."

What was the difference between the two? The new one cared. The plight of people mattered enough for him to weep over their place before God.

Writing in a journal on ministry, William Easum once asked, "When was the last time your church leaders wept over the plight of your city instead of worrying about paying the bills?"

It is a good question isn’t it?

When was the last time we wept for the homeless men and women who live in camps just outside of our towns?

When was the last time we wept for the children who go to bed hungry every night?

When was the last time we wept over the people who have never heard the Good News of God in Christ?

When was the last time we wept because people refused to let God gather them under God’s wings?

Stepping into such a prophetic role will be difficult. We will make some people uncomfortable with our words and actions. No doubt this role was difficult for the prophets of the Old Testament as well, and John the Baptist handed over his very life to it. But if we have been called by God to this ministry, it is time to drop the excuses and go! The road may be hard, but the joy and peace we find on it will be deep, for our companion on the journey is Christ, who promised, "I am with you always, to the end of the age."