Thus it should come as no surprise then that Mark says few words about the baptism, temptation, and start of Jesus’ ministry . . . it is all covered in the seven simple verses, and then Jesus gets down to business. He gets down to the business of God. He marks this beginning with a stark, but powerful intention: “The time has come. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
In the Gospel of Mark, it is not that the words aren’t important . . . because they are, but it is that the words are lived out in the life and ministry of Jesus. For the writer of this gospel faith is not something that is lived out in one’s head . . . it is not something that is expressed through one’s mouth. No, faith is how one lives his or her life . . . how he or she loves God and how one loves others. That is what the writer wants to show in Jesus’ actions and ministry . . . how that love is lived out. How that love is lived out in each and every moment of a person’s life. In Jesus, according to Mark’s gospel, we have the holy prototype of that love in action.
I suppose we should give the writer of the Gospel of Mark some credit despite the gospel’s brevity . . . he covered the important stuff. Jesus got baptized--God confirms him . . . he was tempted . . . and, then, coming out of his trial of temptation, he begins his ministry as he proclaims: “The time has come.” The time has come to get down to the business of doing God’s work.
I think that it is interesting that what takes place before Jesus begins his ministry is that he went to the wilderness where he was tempted . . . tempted, according to the gospels of Matthew and Luke, with all that would keep him from doing the work of God. The writer of Mark does not care what those temptations were, the writer only shares that Jesus was tempted . . . he was tempted and out of the temptation he began his ministry. In Mark’s gospel it is almost as if Jesus comes stumbling out of the wilderness . . . surveys the situation . . . and decides that enough is enough . . . it is time to get down to business.
In minimalist style, the writer does not tell us how long Jesus was tempted . . . so, we glean that information from the other gospels . . .that it was forty days. And, we assume--not because the writer tells us, but because Jesus hops right into his ministry--that Jesus must have overcome those temptations that might have kept him from fulfilling God’s will. The baptism, temptation, and ministry all bear the same weight in Mark’s explanation.
Between confirmation and ministry fell temptation. The struggle of Jesus with that which could keep him from fulfilling God’s will. The writer does not tell us what those temptations were, but does tell us that he struggled. Out of that struggle comes Jesus’ determination to do God’s will . . . to put God’s desire into action . . . to share the kingdom. It is with that determination that Jesus announces that intention: “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
During Lent the temptation story usually kicks off the season to set the tone for the faithful. Lent is the season in which the followers of Jesus, the faithful, are called upon to examine their relationship with God . . . their relationship with others . . . and, how well they are living up to that call upon their lives. Lent is a season of looking at one’s strengths, and also one’s weaknesses. It is a call to examine that which “blocks” the ability to live one’s life in the will of God . . . a life modeled by Jesus. In other words, the season of Lent is our invitation to enter into the wilderness and battle with our temptations.
Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that Lent is forty days. The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday--which happened to be on the same day this year as Valentine’s Day for the first time since 1945--and ends on Holy Saturday--the Saturday before Easter. Sundays are not counted in the forty days. But, that is not important. What is important is that the faithful are called into their own temptation struggle. It is a struggle that must take place . . . year after year . . . to move us into living God’s will.
We are now in the season of Lent . . . we are now entering the wilderness . . . entering into our time of struggle with temptation. Temptation that separates us from God and one another . . . separates us from establishing the Kingdom of God.
I think the question that must be asked of the faithful as they enter into the season of Lent is: What keeps you from fully living your life as Jesus lived his life? What are those barriers that inhibit you from living and loving as Jesus did? What is it in your life that keeps you from fully loving God and others? What are your temptations?
Think about it . . . and, as you think about it, remember that it is often said that where our time, energy, and resources are--that is where our loyalty and love really lie.
Let me make a few suggestions.
Is it work?
Is it money?
Is it our hobbies and recreation?
Is it our status . . . our wealth . . . our race . . . our gender?
Is it our politics?
Is it our theology . . . our church . . . our community?
Our temptations are those things in our lives that keep us from fully loving God . . . that keep us from fully loving others . . . that keep us from building God’s Kingdom. Until we overcome our temptations, we can never enter into ministry . . . we can never be prepared. Thus it is that we are called upon each year to enter into the season of Lent . . . called upon to step into the wilderness . . . called upon to wrestle with our temptations. It is a necessary part of the journey of faith . . . so important that it is mentioned in three of the four gospels--though Mark’s zips through it in two verses. At the start of the season of Lent, we are called upon to rid ourselves of our temptations . . . to prepare ourselves . . . so that we, too, can step up and begin our ministries.
As Jesus said: “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Let us begin . . . Amen.
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