{"id":650296,"date":"2024-01-17T21:53:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T02:53:57","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-15T11:15:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T15:15:23","slug":"temptation-wild-beasts-and-angels-lent-1-b-february-18-2024","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/temptation-wild-beasts-and-angels-lent-1-b-february-18-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Temptation, Wild Beasts, and Angels, Lent 1 (B) \u2013 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-purple-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-purple-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm?e=DFMS6949475951&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-purple-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-purple-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/lectionary\/lent-1b\/\">[RCL] Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/L1-2024-Cover-FB-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-300301\" style=\"width:512px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a church, we find ourselves in the Lenten wilderness for another year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We understand the concept of <em>wilderness<\/em>. Literally speaking, even those of us who are non-hikers can imagine life on something like the Appalachian Trail or some other long trail. Many of us know someone who\u2019s done a long hike like that, staying in the literal wilderness for days or weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We understand metaphorical wilderness, too. All of us have a time in our lives when we have felt ourselves searching and lost. Any number of things can land you there: the illness or death of a loved one. An illness or injury to your own body. A vocational crisis. A financial crisis. A broken relationship. A general sense of dread from what you see on the news. Any combination of these factors and countless more can land a person in the wilderness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We know the many feelings of the wilderness, too: sadness and depression, anger and bitterness, relief and gratitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We know what it\u2019s like to find ourselves in this kind of wilderness. Maybe you\u2019re plunged into the wilderness of loneliness and confusion suddenly when you hear the bad news \u2014 that she\u2019s sick or that you\u2019re sick or that he died or that they want a divorce. Or maybe it happens more gradually, as you slowly find yourself sliding into a general confusion about your life and your identity and what\u2019s happening in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It doesn\u2019t matter how you get to the wilderness, but it\u2019s rarely by choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In today\u2019s Gospel story, we get a re-run of Jesus\u2019 baptism before we\u2019re told that the Spirit <em>drove <\/em>him into the wilderness. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus didn\u2019t get there gently. While Matthew and Luke phrase it something like \u201cwas led\u201d by the Spirit into the wilderness, Mark is much more forceful in his description. He says that the Spirit <em>drove <\/em>Jesus into the wilderness \u2014 using the same Greek word that Matthew, Mark, <em>and <\/em>Luke use to talk about Jesus driving out demons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, Jesus, like many of us, is driven into the wilderness, and there he meets three things: temptation, wild beasts, and angels. And so today, we\u2019ll talk about the wilderness in three parts, using the experience of Appalachian Trail hikers to help us along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Chapter One: Temptation<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because Mark\u2019s Gospel is often scant on details, we don\u2019t know anything from him about what Jesus\u2019 temptation was supposed to be like. As for us, though, we usually think about temptation in pretty petty terms, really: temptation to do bad things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It would seem, however, that the biggest temptation that grabs all of us is hopelessness. That this will never be okay, that we have failed, that we are tired and can\u2019t go on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hopelessness. Trail hikers get it in the literal wilderness, and everyone gets it in the figurative wilderness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These days, the temptation for most of us is to give up and resign ourselves to the way things are. The nation is polarized and the world is war-torn and we often seem unable to solve anything. Many of us feel resigned to living in an entirely different political reality than those that we love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you hit the temptation-to-hopelessness phase, you know for sure that you\u2019ve found the wilderness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Chapter Two: Wild Beasts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mark tells us simply that Jesus was \u201cwith the wild beasts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Animals aren\u2019t for everyone, but those of us who love and appreciate the presence of animals know that their noticing us can lift our day. The internet cartoon called \u201cThe Awkward Yeti\u201d is often a discussion between parts of the body. For example, the brain is analytical, the tongue is demanding, the gut is ornery and embarrasses everyone all the time, and the heart is whimsical and impulsive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One particular cartoon goes like this: Panel one: the heart is walking alone and sad. Panel two: A cartoon dog walks up to the sad heart and wags its tail. Panel three: The heart walks up to the dog and pats the dog on the head<em>. <\/em>Panel four: The heart bounds away smiling. Pets, whether our own or someone else\u2019s, have a way of lifting our hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the \u201cwild beasts\u201d can be just that \u2014 wild. They can come to you in the form of wild geese over your head or the hawks floating around the mountains or a rabbit or a deer that you see in your yard. This is the part where the real wilderness and the metaphorical wilderness are the same. People wouldn\u2019t undertake demanding hikes through ugly places, and what often keeps hikers\u2019 feet moving is the promise of beauty \u2014 beautiful creatures and beautiful views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the same way, part of what can make the metaphorical wilderness okay is the chance to enjoy the real wilderness, even if it\u2019s just the beauty of the snow or the sunlight or the birds outside your window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">St. John of the Cross knew a wilderness of his own, and he wrote this poem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cI was sad one day and went for a walk; I sat in a field.<\/em><br><em>A rabbit noticed my condition and came near. <\/em><br><em>It often does not take more than that to help at times \u2013<\/em><br><em>to just be close to creatures who are so full of knowing, <\/em><br><em>so full of love that they don\u2019t chat.<\/em><br><em>They just gaze with their marvelous understanding.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Final Chapter: Angels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the wilderness, Jesus also meets some angels, whom we are told \u201cwaited on him.\u201d Unlike Matthew, Mark doesn\u2019t tell us that the angels show up at the end. In Mark, it seems that the temptation <em>and<\/em> the wild beasts <em>and <\/em>the angels are with Jesus at different points all along his journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the Appalachian Trail, there\u2019s a whole other culture with its own set of terminology. \u201cTrail magic\u201d is an unexpected thing that lifts a hiker\u2019s spirits. \u201cTrail angels\u201d are people who make trail magic happen, whether giving a ride into town or a hot shower or a hot meal. At its heart, a trail angel doesn\u2019t spend all their time in the wilderness but takes time and effort to help someone who is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you\u2019re in a period of metaphorical wilderness yourself, there are plenty of trail angels along the way. They\u2019re the ones who give you a meal or a smile or a helping hand when you need it most. They can\u2019t take you out of the wilderness, but they can help you endure it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next time you find yourself in the wilderness, look for and give thanks for the trail angels along the way, be they family, friends, or strangers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While you\u2019re at it, this Lent, consider how <em>you <\/em>can be a trail angel. Consider who you know in any kind of wilderness right now, and consider whether you\u2019re in a position to help. Everyone can be a trail angel to someone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Epilogue<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Lenten journey isn\u2019t only about pious observance. Lent is most useful when it helps us understand something about our lives outside of church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">May you find food for the journey here, because the bread we break is God, the one driven into the wilderness before us, teaching us to withstand the temptation to abandon it all, the one who was with the wild beasts and created the beauty of the wilderness we see, and the one who met and sends us angels along the way. We don\u2019t usually go into the wilderness by choice, but the Good News is that we also do not go into the wilderness alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When hikers reach the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail at the summit of Mt. Katahdin, they are greeted with a plaque with these Ash Wednesday-appropriate words: \u201cMan is born to die. His works are short lived. Buildings crumble, monuments decay, wealth vanishes but Katahdin in all its glory forever shall remain the mountain of the people of Maine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ash Wednesday reminded us that we came from dust and will return there. All of our journeys in the wilderness will not save us, but they can teach us. And sometimes, when we\u2019re lucky, we find the end and a stunning view and a glimpse of a loving God who shall stand far longer even than Katahdin, and we will feel small, humble\u2026 and fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So let us journey this Lent \u2014 together. <strong>Amen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This sermon was written by <strong>the Rev. Anna Tew.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-188cc00d-371f-41d3-bfcf-4d858d36ce92\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sermon-Lent-1B-English.docx\">Word \u2013 Lent 1 (B) Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sermon-Lent-1B-English.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-188cc00d-371f-41d3-bfcf-4d858d36ce92\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-700fdfaa-0d81-44ad-ad6c-c74ef113d587\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sermon-Lent-1B-English.pdf\">PDF \u2013 Lent 1 (B) Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sermon-Lent-1B-English.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-700fdfaa-0d81-44ad-ad6c-c74ef113d587\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[RCL] Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15 As a church, we find ourselves in the Lenten wilderness for another year. We understand the concept of wilderness. Literally speaking, even those of us who are non-hikers can imagine life on something like the Appalachian Trail or some other long trail. Many of us&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1963,43,52,1953],"tags":[301],"class_list":["post-650296","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lent","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-lent-1b"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1963,"label":"Lent"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":1953,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":301,"label":"Lent 1B"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/650296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/650296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3473382,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/650296\/revisions\/3473382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}