The First Sunday in Lent - 26 February 2012
Genesis 9:8-12
Psalm 25:1-9
I Peter 3:18-22
St. Mark 1:9-15
Background: Covenant
The Hebrew word for “Covenant” appears 286 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, and represents an important concept in both Judaic theology and later in Christian theology. Its roots are in the Ancient Near East where covenants were made between peers, or between non-peers, with conditions or without conditions, in a religious context, or attested to by local deities, or absent all of that. There are several prominent stories in the Hebrew Scriptures that illustrate the various covenants addressed to the patriarchs such as Noah, Abraham (who had at least 4 separate covenants), Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. Several writers in the Hebrew Scriptures take aspects of covenantal terms, and shape further theological statements around them. One such idea is the notion of blessings and curses; another is the notion of natural witnesses. In the blessings and curses idea blessings are assigned to one or both parties should they keep the terms of the agreement, curses are assigned when they do not. St. Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount is written in this style. Often covenants will be witnessed by “the heavens and the earth” or other natural elements. Our first reading for this morning is the Noahic Covenant.
Genesis 9:8-17
God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."
This reading, taken from the latter parts of the Noah Flood Story, mirrors the Mesopotamian flood hero Utnapishtim, a principal character in the Gilgamesh Epic. The theme of life (the gift of the gods) and the inevitability of death is the major theme of this work. There are several themes and traditions that are interwoven in the biblical version, and here the focus is on God’s promise (covenant) not to destroy the earth with a flood – and to grant life. One aspect to this story is its etiological nature – a story told to explain a natural occurrence or event. Here it is the rainbow, to which the story supplies a theological purpose. The event also functions as the cusp of a new era, during which God plays a different role over against humankind. This subtext is the probable reason the reading is included on the First Sunday in Lent. It anticipates the readings in the Great Vigil of Easter in which the Flood becomes a type of Baptism.
Breaking open Genesis
- What is the point of the Flood Story for you?
- What is the point of the “rainbow ending”?
- How has God kept his promise?
Psalm 25:1-9 Ad te, Domine, levavi
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
my God, I put my trust in you; *
let me not be humiliated,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
Let none who look to you be put to shame; *
let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.
Show me your ways, O LORD, *
and teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, *
for you are the God of my salvation;
in you have I trusted all the day long.
Remember, O LORD, your compassion and love, *
for they are from everlasting.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; *
remember me according to your love
and for the sake of your goodness, O LORD.
Gracious and upright is the LORD; *
therefore he teaches sinners in his way.
He guides the humble in doing right *
and teaches his way to the lowly.
All the paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
In this psalm, the psalmist takes a long view, casting his vision to his youth. From that vantage point (verse 7) he confesses his “offenses” and his “crimes” (Alter), and pleads with God for understanding and mercy. The psalm begins with a startling phrase, “I lift up my soul”. The word for “soul” is in Hebrew an expression of “essential existence” or “breath”. Thus he not only lifts up a conceptual part of himself, but rather his very being. In line with the season, the psalmist requests God’s instruction, show me your ways, and having walked these new paths of God’s own design, the request is made for God’s mercy and kindness. The psalmist seems to have a notion of self not dissimilar to that of Luther’s notion of simil justs et pecator (at the same time justified and sinner) with his phrase Good and upright is the Lord. Therefore he guides offenders on the way.
Breaking open Psalm 25
- What were the “sins of your youth”?
- How has God helped you to deal with them?
- What kind of instruction or paths has God provided for you?
1 Peter 3:18-22
Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-- not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
This is a rich text, full of several themes and comparisons. It begins with the dichotomy of “flesh” and “spirit”, and “righteous” and “unrighteous”. Thus Jesus shared flesh with us so that we might share life in the Spirit with him. Jesus (the righteous) dies for the sake of the Gentiles (the unrighteous). In a happy serendipity, the author recalls Noah and his family (see the first reading) and views their salvation in the ark as an example of the efficacy of Baptism. A similar contrast is made between cleansing (washing away dirt) and the cleansing of Baptism (a participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Breaking open I Peter:
- How are you righteous in your living?
- What unrighteousness burdens you?
- Did you baptism make a difference – do you look back on it for strength?
Mark 1:9-15
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 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. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."
The themes of the first and second readings for today flow into Mark’s account of Jesus’ baptism at the Jordan, and the Temptation. If Noah’s covenant with God marks the beginning of a new relationship with God, a new era of revelation, then Mark’s account of the Baptism marks a similar division and horizon. The signs at Jesus baptism are personal, only known and experienced by him. These markers are important: 1) The opening up of the heavens, 2) the descent of the Spirit upon Jesus, 3) the appearance of a “dove” (a symbol of Israel, and 4) The heavenly voice. This personal revelation to Jesus is in keeping with Mark’s keeping of “the Secret” of who Jesus really is.
Mark’s temptation is rather brief, and has a different purpose than that of Matthew or Luke. In Mark’s temptation, Jesus is the conqueror over the evil spirit of this age, another expression of the rift in time seen in the “opening up of the heavens.” Mark’s account of the temptation is not so much reportage as it is a mythological vision of the mission of Jesus.
Breaking open the Gospel:
- How does Mark reach back to the past and forward to the future to speak about Jesus?
- In what ways is Peter naïve?
- What is meant by the secrecy in Mark?
After breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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