First Sunday in Lent March 1, 2009
Scripture	Mark 1:9-15 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan . 10 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. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee , proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Devotional	“In those days, Jesus came for Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John.” Jesus’ baptism caused problems with the writers of the Gospels. The superior status of Jesus over John the Baptist provides problems for the writers. The writers of the Gospels choose differing ways to explain. Matthew provides an explanation (Matthew 3:13 -15). Luke just sidesteps the whole issue (Luke 3:21 ). John finds a way to deny that Jesus was baptized (John 1:32 -34). Just as the writers of the Gospels find that to describe Jesus’ baptism was a little messy, I find spirituality becomes messy at times. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” What if the kingdom of God does not feel near after I have not done these things? Michael Yaconelli’s book on Messy Spirituality provides a way to understand how my spirituality can be so messy, even if he does not explain exactly why. Stuff just happens, I guess. He tells this story which helps me. One particular hot spring day, I attended a junior high track meet, arriving in the middle of the boy’s 1500 meter race. During the last lap of the race, the audience stood, cheering two boys running side-by-side for the final fifty meters, a short distance behind them ran a pack of about four or five boys jockeying for third place. The crowd broke into applause for the first-and second-place finishers, and then crescendoed as the pack fought for third place. Another runner suddenly caught my attention. As I looked down the track, I saw one boy lagging far behind. Poor kid. The portly seventh grader struggled for each breath, his face red and sweaty, the main artery in his neck bulging and throbbing to supply oxygen to his deprived muscles. Suddenly the woman to my left stepped over me and rushed down to the railing overlooking the track-obviously the boy’s mother. She screamed, “Johnny, run faster?” I wish you could have seen the incredulous look on the boy’s face. He had to the thinking, Mom! I’m running as fast as I can! 1 How many of you are running as fast as your can and continue to fall farther behind? We will always have those two fast runners ahead of us, so how do we finish the race? Michael Yaconelli reminds us that Jesus enjoyed the company of lepers, sinners, and misfits-which means we qualify. “True spirituality – the kind Jesus honored in the Gospels and honors today – is for imperfect people who long to let God turn their messes into his masterpieces.” Messy Spirituality sure describes my workshop of the spiritual life. Jesus’ baptism doesn’t seem to be a problem for him so why was other so disturbed? I think I will stick with “God annoying love for imperfect people.” 1 Michael Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality: God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People. Grand Rapids : Zondervan 2002. p. 95-96