Bus, Bus, Spirit Bus!

The Holy Gospel According to St. Mark, the 1st Chapter

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well

pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

In those days the people of St. Mark’s came from the West and the people of Prince of Peace opened their doors and they joined together in ministry.  Together they remembered their Baptisms and in that worship they were reminded, “You are God’s children!  You are beloved!”  And immediately the Spirit drove them into the wilderness where the chairs were moved, the music was changed, things were not as they had always been and to top it all off it snowed on them for forty days and and forty nights and that just seemed like gratuitous pilling on... even for Satan!

So... how are you doing out here in the wilderness?  Of course, being in the wilderness (and not liking it) isn’t exactly new.  Even Jesus’s wilderness time from the lesson today isn’t the first wilderness time in Scripture.  Abraham crossed a wilderness when God told him to just “go” with no destination.  Joseph was thrown into a well in the wilderness before his brothers sold him into slavery.  Moses saw a burning bush in the wilderness... the same wilderness the Israelites set off into out of Egypt for 40 years.  The same wilderness that had them moaning and complaining and longing to return to Egypt... where they had forgotten they had lived in SLAVERY!  God chose David to be king in the wilderness.  Elijah hid from God in a cave and heard that still, small voice in the wilderness.  There was the wilderness that the people were marched across into exile in Babylon and the wilderness which was made straight for their return.  Dry bones were brought back to life in the wilderness and the wilderness was where John the Baptist proclaimed the coming Messiah.  Jesus’s ministry took him across the wilderness and the disciples suffered the wilderness of despair after his crucifixion and the wilderness on the road to Emmaus was where Jesus was eventually revealed in the breaking of the bread.  Saul became Paul in the wilderness and the Ethiopian was Baptized in the wilderness.  

We are not the first of God’s people to be driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, but that doesn’t make our wilderness any more comfortable than it was for anyone else.  Wilderness is wilderness and wilderness feels like... well, let’s just say wilderness feels bad!  There are, however, a few things about being driven out into the wilderness by the Spirit that I want to help us all try to remember... things that might help us live in this wilderness time.  

The first thing to keep in mind is that, just as Jesus was driven there by the Spirit, IT‘S THE SPIRIT WHO DOES THE DRIVING for us as well.  If you are looking to blame someone for the uncertainty and discomfort that you’ve been feeling here in the wilderness, then look no further than the Holy Spirit.  I didn’t do it.  Neither Bishop Hazelwood nor Bishop Lane did it and neither the Council nor the Vestry did it either.  When a bus gets driven into the wilderness, it’s the Holy Spirit who’s always at the wheel and I hate to tell ya, the Spirit keeps driving the bus no matter how we rearrange the seats inside!  Now, I’ll admit, I REALLY like what’s happening here.  I believe God is doing this for our benefit and not our harm and both bishops too, were very clear that they also seem to like where the Holy Spirit is driving this bus, but no human has the power to drive God’s people into the wilderness... Driving THAT bus is solely the work of God’s Spirit!  

Another thing to keep in mind, is that the Spirit doesn’t drive just anyone into the wilderness and doesn’t drive people there just for kicks and giggles.  There’s a method to this madness... or maybe a madness to this method!  People and nations and congregations that are driven into the wilderness, are driven there because GOD HAS SOMETHING BETTER IN MIND FOR THEM on the other side.   Abraham’s time led to the founding of a nation.  Moses’s time led to him being equipped to lead a nation.  The people of Israel’s time led to the Promised Land, the prophet’s time led to a return to faithfulness for a city or a nation and Jesus’s time led to a life, death and resurrection which reconciled all of creation to God.  AGAIN, that didn’t make their wilderness time a walk in the park for ANY of them, but being driven into the wilderness means BOTH, that God thinks enough of us to call us to something more than what we’ve been AND that God knows, that in order to do the greater and bigger things God has in mind for us we will need to be equipped for that work.  

You see, the wilderness isn’t just an unfortunate prickly patch in between what was and the something greater God has in mind.  The wilderness is also a training ground.  It’s a tool, like a sharpening stone is to a knife.  It’s something which God uses to hone us into the exact shape and sharpness we need to be in order to complete the task which God has in mind for us.  Again, that doesn’t mean it’s an easy or pain-free process.  A knife being sharpened often sets sparks flying... it means steel being scrapped against a stone and it means the shape of of the blade is physically, and forcefully changed forever.

Another wilderness reality is that it ALWAYS takes longer than anyone wants it to take.  Forty days for Jesus or forty years for the people of Israel... forty is Biblical shorthand for just too darn long!  And yet, the Holy Spirit seems to act like “forty” is exactly the amount of time that is needed to shape people into the instruments God is calling them to be.  Keep in mind, though, when it’s needed... like it was for the people of Israel... if one forty doesn’t do the job, the Spirit seems perfectly fine driving around for another 40!  

So here we are.  Out in the wilderness.  In one way, it’s quite an honor.  It means God has chosen us for something bigger, better, different and much more than what we could have imagined for ourselves before.  At the same time, though, it’s still the wilderness... so it hurts, it’s confusing, it’s insisting that we change and that it isn’t comfortable AND to top things off... it’s taking way longer than any of us would like... certainly longer than just forty days since today is day 53... I’ve been counting. 

The last thing about being driven into the wilderness we need to remember is that we are not alone here.  God always sends manna, water, a voice, a sign or angels to care for us in wilderness time.  It's a difficult time we live in right now, but that's because God has great things in mind for us.  Together, let us care for one another, let’s watch out for the wild beasts together and let's open our hearts and minds to see both what God is doing among us and the angels God has sent us... for the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has indeed come near!  Amen.