Genesis 9:8-17 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:9-15 Psalm 25:1-9

Our visit to the Mount of Temptation last year at this time was on a day much like those we have had recently – wind-blown rain and piercing cold. There was no temptation for our group on this day to make the cable car journey to the top of the mountain. It would have been the worst of times to imagine being exiled in the wilderness and, heaven forbid, shadowed by the intense presence of the Devil as was Jesus in the days here following his baptism.

The Mount of Temptation towers above the town of Jericho in the Judean desert’s West Bank. It is an incredibly steep foreboding sight – rocky and barren. It makes you shiver even in nice weather. To be left alone in this place at the mercy of the elements, how could any of us resist the temptations of creature comforts offered by Satan, if only we would fall to our knees and give our souls to him?

We are told specifically that Jesus remained in this desolate foreboding place for 40 days, tempted by Satan and accompanied by wild beasts. Yet, angels were ever-present.

We begin our 40-day journey into and through the season of Lent with this foreboding image of the Mount of Temptation. And, as if a year-long pandemic is not enough to deplete our sunny dispositions and hopes for brighter days, it seems we are now faced with 40 days of 40-degree temperatures, endless rain, and cloudy skies. But, God sends his angels to be ever-present with us as well.

How appropriate that our lectionary for this first Sunday of Lent includes this account of Noah. With God’s help, Noah and his family had endured the flood – another familiar 40-day

sojourn in the wilderness. The Flood had destroyed the earth; all God’s creation had been wiped out with the exception of the remnant preserved in the ark that Noah and his sons had crafted under God’s direction. A remnant of all living creatures sequestered in the ark had sojourned along with Noah for the forty days of rain and flood. Together, this remnant of creation had persevered to begin again to repopulate the earth.

Never again would God destroy the earth by flood. As a sign of God’s covenant with all flesh of the earth, God set his bow in the clouds. And, as my grandmother used to say, it takes both sun and rain to make rainbows. As we look out onto our dreary rain-drenched surroundings, somewhere in the clouds there is a rainbow; God’s angels are tending us; God keeps his promises.

This past year of isolation has tested us. Week after week of Sunday worship in our pajamas has tempted us to forego return to Sunday morning gathered worship. The Devil grows bolder with his temptation as we spend more and more time physically separated from one another. We are tempted to dwell on our animosities as we are allowed less and less time for sharing in the bountiful goodness of our human relationships. The Devil is sneaky. We are not even aware of our movement toward the pinnacle of temptation. How easily we succumb to the selfish creature comforts that detract us from our call to mission and ministry. How quickly Lent passes without our attention to the disciplines of more intentional prayer and humble fasting and faithful almsgiving.

We are assaulted by many temptations. God knows the weaknesses of each of us. As never before, this season of Lent is a time to persevere as the remnant of God’s people who will revitalize our post-pandemic world. It is a time to seek out the angels who are ever-present with us in our wilderness as they were ever-present with Jesus in his wilderness. It is a time to look beyond the clouds to the ever-present rainbow that marks God’s covenant with all flesh of the earth. God is mighty to save.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” [Mark 1:15]