February 21, 2010 Sermon
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Lent 1 - C 2010
February 21, 2010 Allan Conkling
If you like traditional things, this is about as traditional Episcopalian as you can get. The Great Litany was the first English language rite prepared by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. It was first published in 1544 during the reign of Henry VIII when England was at war with Scotland and France. It was an amazing piece of work, and won immediate popularity, not because it included just about every conceivable catastrophe known to humankind, but because it was written in English and the people could say in English, "Lord have mercy upon us". The idea that one could talk to God as freely you would your neighbor, and to believe that God was actually listening to your prayers in whatever language, was revolutionary.
Many things have changed in the last 466 years. This year we are using a revised form of the Litany, published in our language, but one thing that always remains the same is our need to continually pray for God's abiding presence in times of prosperity and adversity.
As Christians we know that God does hear us, and that God does deal kindly with us. In fact there is nothing we can ever do; no calamity which could ever befall us, that would ever stop God from loving us. That is the testimony of the ancient Jewish faith (seen in the OT reading today), and is affirmed definitively by Paul (in the NT reading): "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (healed, made whole)."
The story of Jesus in the wilderness (today's Gospel reading) brings the point home, that God's steadfast love and the power of Christ can overcome any adversity. He is our rock when the rest of the world lets us down.
Author Tom Ehrich writes,
"Death and taxes aren't the only certainties in life. We can also count on disappointing other people and falling short of our best selves. Time and again we miss the mark, and we are left, inevitably with feelings such as shame, remorse, frustration and anger. To a greater extent than we usually appreciate, our lives are shaped by how we handle those strong feelings." (Tom Ehrich, Lenten Reflections)
Ehrich goes on to say that if we blame others we can count on growing bitter. If we punish others we play God. If we lapse into shame and remorse we betray God's faith in us, and if we ignore our flaws we lose touch with reality. Like Jesus in the wilderness, we are dogged at every turn by the temptation to look for easy ways out of problem situations. Denial, self-righteousness, blaming, shunning others who are different, warfare, hubris all these things cheapen our souls. But Christ, as our example, shows us a different path.
Jesus dealt with Satan's testing by remembering who he was. He didn't give in to self-righteousness. He didn’t sell out to the temptation for worldly power. He didn't exploit God or others in order to command the pinnacle. So it should be with us, and why the season of Lent can be so important in putting life into perspective, and putting our life into context of the world around us.
Reciting the prayers of the Great Litany will do us little good if in fact we don't believe God is truly active and cares about us. They are just dusty old words from a faith long gone if we also don't desire live our faith daily, not just at church, but in our family, in our jobs, at school, with our friends. Do we seek God's help to engage and overcome feelings of fear, despair, loneliness, and isolation which we all face as people of the modern world? Is God called upon to help us battle the demons of self-centeredness, arrogance, and inhumanity to our fellow human beings in our own lives, and in our nation? Is Christ's power brought to bear in the battle with those age-old demons of pride, covetousness, lust, envy, gluttony, anger and sloth? If not then what is the point of being here?
During these weeks of Lent we are called to do two things:
First we are called to look inward: to dig deep and open our hearts by prayer and reflection.
And second, to outwardly change our lives, by fashioning ourselves after the image of Christ.
Simply "giving up things", like chocolate & sweets, is not where the true value of Lent is found.
For the next several weeks we are being given an opportunity to think bold, new thoughts; to consider how in Christ, we can live victorious lives over the forces of evil. Then, by God's grace, to live our lives as though we mean it.
Having a season like Lent, and a church like Emmanuel with our wonderful, old-fashioned traditions and Bible stories to come back to, can help us reconnect with the things that we know matter the most.
So, as I do every year, let me invite you to take this bulletin home and keep it with you this week; take the Litany and put it on your Fridge. Circle those petitions which speak to you.
Finally, make it your goal to trust in the One in whom the final victory lies.
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Revised: 03/09/10