Reigning in the Wilderness with God

This was the sermon I preached at the opening worship service in Miami for the SEPA LYO Servant Trip. Our theme for the trip was "Reigning in the Wilderness with God"

Exodus 13:17-18 “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought. “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people by the round-about way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.

Mark 1:12 “And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness”

The two readings seem to present very different reasons for entering the wilderness.

God leads the Israelites, going in front of them,

they have a choice, follow, or…

Jesus, on the other hand, is driven into the wilderness…

God has just said “You are my Son, the beloved,

with you I am well pleased”

and immediately God’s Spirit drives Jesus out into the wilderness,

is that any way to treat your beloved Son?

Being led seems an easier, gentler method

while being driven requires some amount of force-

use of enough force to overcome the driven one’s reluctance,

enough to move them in a direction they probably don’t want to go.

Some scholars interpret the original language as hurled, or thrown.

I picture people being driven out of their homes by the rising waters of the Mississippi

or the indigenous peoples of North America driven onto reservations by colonialism

or children driven to begging, stealing, and prostitution

after loosing their parents to AIDS, or Malaria,

or war in Africa, South America, and yes, even in the United Sates-

just ask the kids who are driven out of the house by their parents after they came out as gay or lesbian what they are driven to do to survive.

Have you ever thought about what drives you?

Is it success, popularity, an unquenchable thirst for knowledge,

a love of music, art, sports or something else?

What drove you to come on this trip?

What convinced you to give up two weeks of your summer vacation

for this?

Maybe you’ve never been on a servant trip,

and you wanted to know what it was like

Maybe you really like hot humid weather,

hotter than back home,

maybe your friends were coming

and you wanted to spend part of your summer with them.

I hope part of your answer includes “Jesus”

and that your love for him drove you on this trip.

I pray that part of your answer includes wanting to experience something new,

because I believe that God is going to show you something new

each day that we are here.

God is going to show you things inside yourself you didn’t know were there

and God will show you things outside yourself which will amaze you

and sometimes horrify you.

I hope that part of your answer includes

wanting to make a difference in this world

and I pray God will help you do that

with great joy, love and enthusiasm on this trip,

especially when you are feeling tired, hungry, and overheated-

know that you are out there showing the face of Jesus to all whom you encounter.

Speaking of Jesus, let’s think about the reading again

We know almost nothing about Jesus’ life, between when he was born,

and when he was baptized by John ,

except for what St. Luke tells us about Jesus when he was twelve

and he forgot to leave Jerusalem with the rest of his family

when the festival of Passover ended. Luke also tells us Jesus is about thirty years old when he began his ministry, so some 18 years are up in the air,

the years we would say are some of the most important in anyone’s life,

the years of becoming the person you will be for the rest of your life…

the years that most of you are in now.

Jesus is baptized by John, and immediately has his comfort zone destroyed

his support systems, his friends, his family,

are all abandoned …for the wilderness

imagine how that must have felt,

especially knowing that his journey through the wilderness

would not come to it’s completion until his death on the cross,

how else can you explain it, than “the Holy Spirit made him do it?”

Jesus will spend the next 40 days in this wilderness he has been driven into

40 days of conflict, tempted by Satan, wrestling with giving up his own needs

so that he can remain faithful to God.

A wilderness can be many things,

but there’s always an element of “wild-ness’ or chaos,

there’s a risk to those who enter it

from things that are yet unknown.

You will spend the next ten days often facing the unknown,

you’ll find yourself in strange places with people you don’t know that well…

perhaps doing things you’re not sure you want to do…

remind yourself that God is with you,

that you are serving God’s creation,

that you are helping to undo the work of the evil one,

remember that even in the wild-ness,

God provides sustenance and salvation.

God led the Israelite through the wilderness

rather than have them face war,

What has God driven you away from to be here?

What is God driving you toward?

How does it feel to be driven?

How does it feel to know God is in control?

What sustains your faithfulness to God?

We pray that you will receive countless blessing by being part of this trip.

We pray that your journey will draw you closer to God,

fill you with the Holy Spirit,

and bring you face to face with the risen Christ,

who is present in our joy and in our suffering.

Amen