A Renewed Commitment

In his message for this season of Lent the Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry states,  “It is a season of making a renewed commitment to participate and be a part of the movement of Jesus in this world. You can see some of that in the Gospel lesson for the first Sunday of Lent where Luke says that after the Baptism of Jesus he went into the wilderness, there to be tempted of Satan.

“Baptism is the sacrament of commitment to the Jesus Movement. It is to be washed, if you will, in the love and the reality of God, and to emerge from that great washing as one whose life is dedicated to living that love in the world.

“Jesus was baptized and began a movement in the world.  Immediately he found himself tempted by the devil.  It is an ever-present reminder that this movement is not without struggle. It is not easy. The truth is, this movement is difficult. It’s hard work. It’s the work of following Jesus to the cross. And it’s the work of following Jesus through the cross to the Resurrection. To new life and new possibility. That is our calling. That is the work of the movement. To help this world move from what is often the nightmare of the world itself into the dream that God intends.”

Our Christian story of faith begins with Jesus.  Following his baptism "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, ...was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.… When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time."

At the time of his temptations Jesus was just beginning to sow the seeds of his message.  He had gone into the wilderness where he fasted for forty days.  The reference to forty days reminds us of Moses and the experience of God's people.  Just as the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea, so Jesus waded through the Jordan River and then headed into the wilderness.  There he was tempted three times by the devil.  He was tempted to seek power, to be distracted by physical needs and wants, and to seek a private, personal salvation through a false form of trust.

The first temptation was the biological drive of hunger.  The Israelites had complained of hunger, and God provided them with manna.  Jesus was hungry and refused to complain.  He reminded the devil that bread is not enough to nourish the entire human person.  In Luke's account of this temptation the use of a single loaf of bread seems to suggest that personal hunger could be satisfied by magic.  Jesus' reply indicated that there is much more to life with God than simply meeting physical needs.

The second temptation was the lure of power and worldly glory.  The eighth century prophets maintained that Israel's troubles began only after they had made for themselves a king and a political structure like that of other nations.  Jesus refused to fall victim to this temptation to kingly power and answered the devil by saying that only God is to be worshipped. 

The third temptation was the desire for protection and support from God.  The devil urged Jesus to throw himself on God's care and do something foolhardy to test God.  This had been a test the Israelites had failed.  The psalms remind us, "they put me to the test, though they had seen my works.  Forty years long I detested that generation" (95:9-10).  Jesus refused to put God to the test. Then the devil, having used up his bag of tricks, departed until another opportune time.

Jesus went into the wilderness and was confronted with these human temptations in order to teach people to trust in God, to put their faith in God's governance, to worship God alone, and not to put God to the test.

Bishop Curry reminds us, “Baptism is the sacrament of commitment to the Jesus Movement. It is to be washed, if you will, in the love and the reality of God, and to emerge from that great washing as one whose life is dedicated to living that love in the world.”

In a moment we shall move to the Baptismal Font and welcome Famata Kamara into the household of God as she becomes part of the Jesus movement.  Baptism is the beginning of a life-long relationship with God and the people of God.  The Christian life is necessarily one of continuing struggle, but it is also one of continuing experience of the grace of God.  In this new relationship, the baptized person and all of us live for the sake of Christ while waiting in hope for the realization of God's new creation and for all people to be reconciled to God.

As we continue to grow in the Christian life of faith, we share a common responsibility to bear witness to the Gospel of Christ, the Liberator of all human beings. Within a fellowship of witness and service we discover the full significance of baptism as the gift of God to all people.  We acknowledge that baptism into Christ's death and resurrection motivates us to strive for the realization of God’s will, and to work for peace and justice with love and compassion for everyone.  Amen.