Sermon on Lent 1

In our sacred scripture, we find lots of symbolic imagery and symbolic numbers.  In our readings today we have both:  We can see the symbolic use of desert imagery, and the use of the number 40.

When we look at the number 40 we find it appears frequently in the bible. The rain of Noah’s flood lasted forty days and nights. Moses fasted for forty days and nights before receiving the Law. The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after fleeing the Egyptians. The manna rained down on the Israelites for forty years. The Prophet Elijah walked forty days and nights to reach the Mountain of God, Horeb. Jesus fasted for forty days and nights to prepare for His public ministry. Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after his glorious Resurrection from the dead.

So, its fair to say that the number 40 has significant meaning, but why?

If we look at each of these events, the events in which the number 40 plays a role, we can see common themes arise.  Generally, the number is used when the characters involved are facing a period of trial, temptation or significant change.

This number seems to point towards a theology of  transformation.

In each of the events I listed, the outcome of the event is invariably change.  Be it new life or growth, a time of great transition or purification, or a time of preparation, each of these events points us to the ideas we should be considering this Lent.

When we come to the end of our Lenten fast, we should have been through a transformative process.  We should have grown as Christians, and we should be fully prepared for what is to come, the new life given freely to us following the death and resurrection of Our Lord.

Many of these 40 day events occur in the wilderness, in places of trouble and hardship.  If you ever visit the Holy Land and go to Jerusalem, you will see that it is marked out by the Kidron Valley.  Holy Land and

 This is an important geographical feature of the land, and the Old City of Jerusalem was built just above it.  The walls of the city are a few hundred metres above it, and the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was arrested, sits in it.  The Kidron Valley is a riverbed.  Water almost certainly flowed through it in ancient times, and it therefore very lush and green, full of life.  The Mount of olives is opposite the Old City on the other side of the valley.  These were places of growth and life.  But when you get to the top of the Mount of Olives and carry on down the other side, you very quickly notice a different kind of landscape.

It is hard for westerners to understand that a place so barren and void of life can co-exist so closely to a lush, green oasis.  But it does.  And even to this day, when you go up the Mount of Olives and descend down the other side through Bethany to the edge of the Jerusalem boundary, you are hit by dry desert dust, and  an environment so inhospitable, it makes a summers day in Queensland seem tame!

So why the number 40?

No one scholar can really answer this.  But there is much use of logical deduction.  In the ancient world, 40 was a good life expectancy.  If you reached this momentous number in years, you were considered old.  Age was associated with weakness, ill health, decline and inevitable death.  So it’s not really surprising that 40 is a number which was considered bad news by the people of the ancient world.

Remember that our scriptures were written for a particular people at a particular time, and the people of the time would have understood what 40 meant!

But the scriptures in both the old and new testaments suggest that we should see this in a different way.  Instead of the dread and fear associated with the onset of old age and ill health, we should embrace the opportunity to reflect, repent and prepare for what is to come.

This theme is clear; we have nothing to be afraid of, for we have eternal life, which is freely given to us through Jesus Christ.

Part of being a person of faith is that we don’t take this for granted.  Often, I see young evangelical Christinas sporting T-shirts with big emblems on them that say things like “saved” or “Washed in the blood.”  There is a simple truth in this – we are saved through the death of Our Lord.

But the question I always ask myself is, “how am I living up to this?”  This amazing gift, which came with so much love and pain, is not something I want to put on a t-shirt and casually wear on a summers day.  It’s not something I want to take of and put in a washing machine. This amazing reality is something I want to wear inside my very soul.  I hope and pray I wear it with courage, with humility and with the grace God gives me.

So how do you wear your faith?  Do you wear in it in fear of what is to come – age, decay and death?  Do you wear it loudly, in bright pink colours which scream out to the world that Jesus loves you?

Or do you wear it humbly, yet boldly?  Do you proclaim you faith and your Gospel through your actions towards one another?  Do you turn the other cheek when slighted, and do you lead with true righteousness?

These are big questions to consider, and this is the time, right now in Lent, when we are given space to consider, reflect and prepare our answers.  Because one day we will all be called to account for the way we claim Christ, and I hope and pray that I live up to that calling.

Lent is a time to prepare yourself, and there are lots of ways you can do that.  At the very least, you should be taking something on that is out of your normal routine.  You should be making a commitment to God and to yourself to put your faith first, to give it an annual service, and ensure you are fit and ready for what is to come next.

However you keep your Lenten fast, consider the many things that the church does to help you answer some of these challenging questions.  And as a minimum, pray more, repent of your sins, and study God’s Holy Word.

Amen