A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 21 February 2021. First Sunday in Lent, by Hope Antone.
The scripture readings that day were Genesis 9: 6 – 17 and Mark 1: 9 – 15.
Shalom greetings to everyone!
It is the first Sunday of Lent, following Ash Wednesday four days ago. Lent is the season of penitential preparation before Easter. Excluding the Sundays of this 6-week period, Lent commemorates the 40-day journey of Jesus through the wilderness before embarking on his mission/ministry.
At Kowloon Union Church, our Lenten observance includes several activities, from Ash Wednesday service to weekly or daily reflections, mid-week prayer and reading of scriptures, and Sunday worship.
Our Lenten theme, “One in the Covenant of the Cross,” affirms our congregation’s commitment as a community that gathers, grows and serves together. The theme also affirms that our being one is centered in the covenant of the cross. The covenant of the cross is the good news of God’s liberating love that binds us together as one, despite the great diversity that characterizes Kowloon Union Church.
Our lectionary reading from Genesis (9: 8-17) reminds us that God initiated the covenant with Noah, his family and all living creatures. In ancient times, a covenant was a legal agreement that defined mutual obligations of the covenanting parties. So when a powerful kingdom and a weaker kingdom enter a covenant following a war or invasion, they would define the winning kingdom’s pledge of protection and the losing kingdom’s pledge of allegiance. Any breach of the covenant would have serious consequences for the concerned party. But God’s covenant with Noah is somehow different. God offers it not only to Noah and his family but to all living creatures, the future generations, the whole earth. As the account puts it, God sealed the covenant with the rainbow. And that is why, up to this day, the rainbow is seen as a symbol of peace, of God’s covenant of care and healing, a sign of God’s promise to protect and preserve the earth.
But I am sure that some people would ask: If God has made a promise to never let flood waters destroy the earth again – why then the climate crisis? Why do we still have typhoons and floods? Why do have more occurrences of calamities like bush fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions? And now, why this lingering pandemic?
A number of commentaries on this passage in Genesis have noted that the rainbow covenant is one-sided. Initiated by God, the covenant only states God’s obligation not to punish the earth with another great flood. Few commentators tried to say that the floods that happen now are nothing compared to the flood in Noah’s time. I think it would be a big misunderstanding if we’d continue to think that the covenant of the rainbow is one-sided – that only God is expected to protect and preserve the earth.
Reflecting on this biblical passage, Old Testament scholar Patricia Tull has challenged believers to consider their part of the covenant. She said that if we cannot heal the forests which are the earth’s lungs that clean the air, feed and shelter earth’s creatures; if we cannot heal the rivers which are the earth’s circulatory system which nourish aquatic life, irrigate lands and water all living creatures; and if we cannot heal the atmosphere which is the earth’s skin that conditions the temperature for our survival – then we should at least covenant with God to stop destroying the world so it can begin to mend. Here is a quote from Patricia Tull:
“Knowing that God has made the world, like living bodies, with extensive but not infinite capacity for self-healing, can we covenant to stop destroying, so it can mend? Do we, who boast of being made in God’s image, imitate our creator by helping the earth and its creatures heal?” [Patricia Tull, Professor Emerita of Old Testament, Louisville Presbyterian Seminary]
The rainbow covenant is not one-sided after all. It has an inherent obligation for humankind. It is needless to say that having been created in God’s image, human beings are called to be co-stewards with God of God’s creation.
But as the Lenten observance will remind us, the rainbow covenant did not put an end to human waywardness or wickedness. Time and again, God initiated other covenants to call and bring us back to God. This is why Lent is the time for wilderness experience, time for deep reflection and serious introspection on our relationship with God.
According to our gospel reading in Mark (1: 9-15), Jesus’ wilderness experience immediately followed his baptism. He had just come up out of the water when he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove; then he heard a voice from heaven saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan forty days and nights; he was with wild beasts there and was attended to by angels.
Mark does not provide the temptation dialogue between Jesus and Satan. Many paintings on the temptation dialogue have depicted Satan as an animal-human-like creature with red eyes, fangs, horns, wings, and tail. But I think Satan was more of an inner force that tried to offer Jesus a different kind of kingdom by way of power and popularity, as compared to the kingdom of God by way of the cross. Jesus went to the wilderness to seek inner strength and deeper wisdom as he tried to clarify the meaning and implication of his identity as God's beloved Son. Jesus came out of his wilderness experience, strengthened in his resolve to proclaim the good news, saying: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
These words are full of meaning. I would imagine it to be like saying: ‘The time is fulfilled’ because I am ready now. I have overcome my inner struggle. I have understood my mission. I am launching it with wide open eyes. ‘The kingdom of God has come near’ because the in-breaking of God’s reign begins now. In-breaking because it is just the beginning and the process takes time like how the seed grows. ‘Repent’ means turning God-ward; aligning my will with God’s will; my mission with God’s vision. Turning to God means turning to one’s neighbors, who are also made in the image of God. ‘Believe in the good news’ that the in-breaking of God’s reign is possible and real. Sow love, instead of hate. Sow mercy, instead of judgment. Live out justice, instead of abuse. Then the reign of God is truly near: the transformation of the world has begun.”
Today’s gospel account does not explicitly mention the word “covenant.” But it speaks about God who continues to reach out and establish a covenant with us, in spite of our waywardness. When the covenant of the rainbow wasn’t enough, God kept on initiating other covenants – even the covenant of the cross.
Lent is a time for wilderness experience as we prepare for the covenant of the cross. We can follow the footsteps of Christ, not necessarily by going on a physical journey to the wilderness. Wherever we are, we can embark on a deep reflection on our identity as children of God and how that identity is expressed in our relationship with God, with our neighbors, and with all of God’s creation.
We started this reflection with the covenant of the rainbow. I’d like to end this with another rainbow story.
Debora Natalia Sudjito, a physics educator in Indonesia, has a way of teaching about the rainbow that applies to life:
“The principles of physics are similar to our spiritual values. Take for example the rainbow – it is a set of colors produced from the dispersion of white color. When white color passes through a prism, it will disperse into seven colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Similarly, our lives are the dispersion of the goodness of God. God is like the white color and we are like the prism. As God does good for us, we have to disperse (share) God’s goodness in various ways to others so they can see the beauty of God just like we see the beauty of the rainbow.”
I take this to mean that just as there are different colors of the rainbow, our wilderness experiences may also vary because of our own social locations.
If we have been always on the go, the wilderness experience may be a time to slow down, to listen to our body’s need for rest…
If we have been slowed down or slacking, the wilderness experience may be a time to catch up, to speed up…
If we have been self-focused or self-centered, the wilderness experience may be a time to turn to others to enrich our humanity…
No matter what our wilderness experience is, may it be a time of reconnecting with God and God’s will for us.
During this time of our wilderness experience, let us also pray deeply for those struggling for truth, justice and peace – in our cities and countries, especially in Myanmar and Thailand.
Dear God, help us embrace our wilderness experience that we may grow in our commitment to serve you, through your people and creation. Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, February 21, 2021
