Wild Beasts and Wilderness

Mark 1:9-15

March 1, 2009

Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.

On my sabbatical last summer in the Middle East, I had the chance of visiting two wildernesses. The first was visiting the Negev that is a desert south of Jerusalem in the southern part of Israel. Our study group traveled away from the metropolis of modern Jerusalem and entered into a desolate and lifeless place. Our teacher showed us how these places were fought over in the past because of their strategic locations of controlling trade routes.

Then our teacher wanted us to go further into the wilderness. It would mean a short hike in 100-degree temperatures. We walked across unbeaten paths and jagged rocks. In a while, we came upon a huge rock overhang and were invited to sit quietly for what almost felt like eternity. I was asked to read the passage about Jesus being driven into the wilderness and for forty days, tempted by Satan and that Jesus was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

The second wilderness was when our church group after spending the good part of our tour in Israel was ready to visit Egypt. The way to get there was to travel through the Sinai to Cairo. We wanted to simulate how the Israelites were taken into slavery in Egypt or how Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus escaping the terror of Herod hid in Egypt before it was safe again to return to Nazareth. The Sinai is a desert wilderness of unmatched impressions and expanse. Although we were in an air-conditioned bus, we still felt the heat that was outside. Crossing the Sinai was probably the most threatening part of our trip. Perhaps it’s because we have just left the comfort and security of Jerusalem and our favorite guide, Jack. Maybe it was the unfamiliar scene outside of Bedouin shepherds and their camels and their makeshift tents along the highway. Maybe it was the thought that we are now under more security and getting off the bus was unnecessary unless you really had to go.

Today it is hard to find wilderness. Some people are willing to pay good money, large amounts of money to find it. Before California was settled, it was for the most part a desert wilderness; now we have imported vegetation that is devastating indigenous plants. Besides a coyote now and then, there are no wild beasts in San Francisco.

The Gospel

Today is the first Sunday of Lent and as always on this day, we hear about the temptation of Jesus. His temptation is part of the drama of his opening days of his ministry. To inaugurate his saving work, he is baptized in the Jordan.

And immediately, after his baptism, he is driven, according to Mark’s Gospel, into the wilderness. And there, “wild beasts confront him.” Other Gospels mentioned only Satan or the “tempter,” but in Mark, besides the fact that Satan was there, wild beasts were there too.

For people who lived in that day, in that part of the world, huddled behind high walls in their cities, you can imagine what “wilderness” signified for them, what these “wild beasts” meant. “Wild beasts” are those forces that fight against civilization, against goodness and peace, against the humane. The “wild beasts” are the shadow side of reality, that deep, dark world of chaotic evil that bubble up from time to time to challenge us.

What are the “wild beasts” running loose in the world today? Last week in our Sermon Talkback class, we discussed the presence of evil in the world. Did God create evil or is the existence of evil is when God is absent? Is evil the wild beasts in our world today?

With the Enlightenment or Age of Reason, Satan or the Devil was demythologized. But did we throw the baby out with the bathwater? With the loss of the Devil, we also lost sin. We no longer need priests or ministers or the gospel to receive atonement. Repentance was no longer needed. Evil was reduced conceptually from sin to unhealthiness, neurosis, maladjustment and unenlightened behavior. The gospel of God’s realm and reign was replaced with a very human gospel of progress; whose article of faith was that evil was diminishing over time, and good was ultimately going to win out.

However, all that gospel of progress came to a crashing collapse with the twentieth century. With technological advances, evil advanced even more: holocaust, genocide, totalitarianism, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, 9/11, wars and rumors of war—violence that is unimaginable.

All this real and apparent evil has forced theologians and pastors to “re-mythologize” the concept of the Devil, whether as a literal, cosmic personal being, or as a symbol of that personal evil beyond us. It matters little how we conceive of the Devil, whether as an actual being or as a power that is in us. It is not the source of temptation that is the issue, but the fact that there is temptation that we succumb to and once it has a death grip on us, we are powerless. This is the reason why we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” May we call evil in the world, today’s wild beasts?

Jesus and the Wild Beasts

For those of us who have lived any substantial number of years of life, we would say that there is something in the world, something in us, something that is beyond our understanding that is evil. It may be referred to as the Devil or Satan or “wild beasts.” And these “wild beasts” that represent the dark side of chaotic evil tend to bubble up from time to time to challenge us.

But not before they challenged Jesus. Martin Luther said that when the word of God is rightly preached, demons are loosed. That is, when God in the flesh stands before us, the forces of evil move into action. Later in Mark’s gospel, there will be times when no one recognizes who Jesus is, except for the demons.

“Get out of here, Jesus of Nazareth, I know who you are!” they screamed at Jesus. The forces of evil know their enemy when they see him.

Today’s gospel reminds us that Jesus has come, not only to be our friend, our comforter, and our guide but also to be our comrade in arms in those situations when we stand face to face and must go toe to toe with the enemy.

What are the “wild beasts” that are causing havoc in our lives? Where are the dangerous and threatening places of wilderness that scare us from being the person that God wants us to be?

Baptism for the Wilderness

When the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, it was not like he was unprepared. At the Jordan River, John baptized Jesus and just as he was coming out of the water, Jesus saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. A voice came from heaven, saying ”You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Jesus’ baptism established his identity as the Son of God.

When we are baptized as believers, we also come to understand our own identity. Just as Jesus was baptized was immediately tempted in the wilderness, an essential part of the Christian pilgrimage includes travel into the wilderness. Temptation is unavoidable but when we are in the wilderness, it’s also a place where we can learn new things about ourselves and about God. After Jesus came out of the wilderness, he started to proclaim the good news of God. He was no longer afraid of the “wild beasts” in the wilderness.

With our baptism, we are equipped to face the baffling realities of the wilderness, the “wild beasts” that scare us—the things and places of evil that we see surrounding us. From our baptism, we can draw strength from God’s sustaining grace and begin the work of joyful proclamation of the gospel in both word and deeds.

We believe we can do this because when Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts, the angels waited on him. When we are in the wildernesses of our lives, faced with “wild beasts” in front of us, we too will have angels waiting on us. And when we come out of the wilderness, we will proclaim the good news of God too. Because Jesus has already gone before us, we can do this too.

Only you know what are the “wild beasts” in your life and where are the “wildernesses” that you are afraid to enter. But when you must walk in enemy territory—the cancer ward, the pain and suffering of injustices, the valley of the shadow of death, the places of hate and bigotry—know this, Jesus has invaded and became victorious before you. You and I do not walk alone in the wilderness. If the church only has a word that is sunny, upbeat, bright, and cheerful, then we haven’t told the whole story of who Jesus is.

The Catholic theologian, Monika Helwig, said some years ago, “If it won’t play in a cancer ward, or a shoddy nursing home for the elderly, whatever it is, it’s not the gospel.”

If your baptism won’t play in the heartless living conditions of Chinatown, it’s not the gospel.

If your baptism won’t play in the halls of government that deny human and civil rights for all citizens, it’s not the gospel.

If your baptism won’t play in the wilderness of our time where wild beasts are running loose and are devouring the lives of our children, then it’s not the gospel.

I may have seen and driven through the wilderness deserts of the Middle East last summer. But unless, I confront these “wild beasts” that have tempted me to disobey God’s plan for my life, I have yet to know the good news that Jesus has proclaimed. On this First Sunday in Lent, I pray that you and I will understand that we have sinned against God and each other and only through the grace of God in Jesus Christ that we are saved. If my baptism won’t play in confronting the wild beasts and wildernesses in your life, then I pray that the saving grace of the good news of Jesus Christ is once again renewed in my life.

Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news” (1:15).

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, lead us through life as we face the wild beasts of evil and the wilderness of temptations that confront us day after day. Reassure us that we are not alone facing such devious challenges but that you yourself have defeated those hostile powers of sin and death that enslave us. Remind us of our baptism to be a living and daring witness of faithfulness in this world so that we like our Lord, will proclaim that the kingdom of God has come, repent and believe in the good news. In his name, Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.