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February 25, 2007

Anne Jensen - Feb 25, 2007

Lent 1C Luke 4:1-13 Last Sunday at Trinity Menlo Park

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Well, my friends, we have come to a time of saying goodbye, and at the same time, a new beginning for you as you move into the next era of life at Trinity. If there is a theme for today, and I strongly believe there is, it is this. Choose God, as Jesus chose God in the Gospel.

The first Sunday of Lent is an odd day for leave taking. We move from the images of light in Epiphany into a more reflective time, a solemn time, a time of honest assessment, a time of preparation. But it’s not necessarily a sad time. The best Lent I ever had was the one where I came to know the loving presence of Jesus in a personal way, and to know that Jesus embodies all the authority of God. Lent was positively joyous. It was like falling in love with all the accompanying energy.

I suspect that this Lent will be different from other years—more joyous as you welcome a new rector. Yes, there is still the emphasis on recognizing where in our lives we have not kept faith, but at the same time, there is the persistent message of God’s overwhelming love. You have been through a year of self-study and reconciliation. You have sought out and courted a new rector, and he has said “Yes, I will come.” You don’t really know each other, and yet we believe this process is filled with the Holy Spirit. We have put our trust in God.

"After his baptism, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted." Jesus had been filled, brimful to overflowing, with the Spirit at his baptism. But the Spirit is not finished with him by any means. This same Spirit leads him into the wilderness. Actually, the Greek word translated in the text as "lead" might better be translated as "hurled, threw, impelled, directed." It's not a blithe spiritual expedition here. It is the very Spirit of God throwing Jesus into the physical wilderness and, even more so, hurling him into the wilderness of his own soul, his own call, his own identity.


The point is this. Jesus chooses God. And as Jesus chooses God, he also chooses his own call, his own mission, his own pathway of service and compassion.

Truth is, Jesus could have been terribly distracted by the things offered to him. He could have been distracted because he was hungry after fasting for 40 days. And who would not want dignity, respect, empowerment, safety and security (which are really what the other temptations offer)? But, no, he doesn't get stuck, distracted, paralyzed by these tantalizing offers. Rather, he rests in the Spirit of God that led and threw him into this place and experience to begin with. And, still, brimful to overflowing with that Spirit, he chooses God; and he chooses to move ahead in his call and mission.

He returns to his hometown but with clarity about his mission and purpose. Jesus attends the synagogue there, opens the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and reads these words, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me. He has sent me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim release for the captives and recovery of sight for the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the Lord's favor." Then Jesus rolls up the scroll and says to the assembled worshippers, "Today, today, in your very hearing this text has come true."

There it is: Jesus comes out of the wilderness, out of his temptations, filled and armed with the Spirit. He proceeds to embrace his mission and be embraced by it. And that mission is clear in its purpose and focus: good news proclaimed, restoration and release, reconciliation and renewal. Jesus embraces and is embraced by his mission. He breathes it. He lives it through preaching, teaching, healing and welcoming the outcast and poor. He shows it finally in his willingness to offer himself on the cross as an action of love poured out for all.

In his experience in the wilderness, Jesus does not become distracted by the things that the tempter tries to offer him. No, he keeps his eyes on the prize. He rests in the Spirit of God and refuses the power, security, and satiation that could keep him temporarily satisfied while deterring him from his real purpose in life. Jesus chooses God. Jesus chooses his mission and call.

The same choice confronts individual people of faith and the whole Christian Church itself. Will we choose God? Will we embrace our call and be embraced by it? Will we hear and listen to God's Spirit at work in us?

God's Spirit is at work in our lives, sustaining, guiding, directing, inspiring and strengthening us. Will we choose God? Will we choose our own call and mission to live in the love of God? Will we choose or own call and mission to live in the love of God? We are called, we have a mission, a purpose because God loves us, is present with us, and guides us in our lives. Will we choose God?

This is the story in which Jesus reveals who he is, not by seizing power, but by turning it down. God’s Beloved will not practice magic. He will not ask for special protection or seek political power. As much as it may surprise everyone, maybe even including him, he will remain human, accepting all the usual risks.
Through Jesus, God has fully identified with the human condition.

“What temptations face us?” Remember that Jesus was famished, so the devil tempted him with food. Just a word about “the devil”: we may conjure up images of red figures with pointed ears, but the devil is a literary device used to personify the power of evil. We don’t need to look very far to see that powers of evil exist. For the sake of narrative, Luke personifies evil to create a conversation that reveals the tension between human desire and trusting in God to provide what we need.

So what temptations might you as a congregation face? Two temptations come to mind. The first is buying into the idea that once the new rector, Fr. Mike, is here, everything that you, individually or collectively, want to happen here will start happening. The relationship between the rector and the congregation is more like a partnership. Programs will develop as you and he develop the vision God has given you. It will require that more of you give more of your time to the work of the church. It’s a matter of making the development of this faith community a priority in your life and the life of your family. You are a gifted group of people…you can do amazing things! In my annual report, which maybe a few people read, I wrote that if you want to make a difference in the world, start by making a difference at Trinity. It’s like the environmental slogan, “Think globally, act locally.” You have wonderful lay leadership and how we need more of you to support them.

The second danger/temptation is related to it. That is the idea of making Trinity Parish a successful enterprise, that is, a project of your own making. This gets tricky, because of course you want to grow. Let me use an analogy that my preaching professor used. If I spend a lot of time and effort trying to write an excellent sermon because I want everyone to think I’m a fine preacher and because I want to get noticed by important people, then I am working on my own agenda and I’m trying to meet my own ego needs. By contrast, if I work hard on a sermon because I find the gospel compelling, and I believe that it can change people’s lives, and I want them to know the power of God’s love and mercy, then I am working out of faith.

As Trinity Parish works to extend Christian hospitality and to live the gospel, you must be grounded in your own spiritual growth. By all means, use the gifts and talents you bring from your business and professional lives, but most importantly be people of faith, first and foremost. Help Trinity become a school for disciples, a center for formation of faithful families, a center for spiritual nurture for the newly arrived and the life-long Christian. Because when we meet Jesus and know that he loves us individually and together and that he is our savior, we become people of joy, with incredible energy to do the work of the gospel. Help people live out their ministries of love and compassion, wherever they are—in their families, their volunteer activities, in the community and at work.


Recent research shows that healthy congregations are able to make three affirmations about their life:

* Our congregation is spiritually vital and alive.

* Our congregation helps members deepen their relationships with God.

* We have a clear sense of mission and purpose.

[Congregations that show forth God’s saving love, that connect people with God’s love, and that are communities of transformation are vital and alive. Congregations that possess clarity about their mission have chosen their mission and are mission-focused thrive and grow. They are not distracted or tempted to look elsewhere. They know their identity and purpose, and they live into it.

God’s Holy Spirit is with us. God’s own Spirit leads, directs, guides, strengthens and renews us as individual believers and as communities of faith. Sometimes God’s Spirit hurls us into the places where we did not expect to go, but always, always, that same Spirit is with us.


So, here we are, back to joy, even though it is the beginning of Lent. Lent is indeed a journey to Joy!

And now it is time to say how much joy this ministry has brought me. As I have said to many of you, “It has been a good run,” but that doesn’t quite get to the depth I feel. I am grateful that I found a place here. I wasn’t sure about this interim position when I first heard about it, but once I met the people from the search committee, the vestry and the staff, I was hooked. You gave me new life after a cross-country move. In my head I knew that God could use me wherever I was, but you made it real. My daughter-in-law said I was a new person after I started here. You have enriched my life, and I will always treasure my time with you.

I could not do this work alone. I am profoundly grateful to my colleagues in ministry: Fred, Bill, Frannie, Michael, Beth, Alex and Alecia. This really was a team, and I will miss them. I already missed Bill and he came back. Thank you to the altar guild, the choir, and the commissions. Thank you, Doug. And thank you to each on of you as you have shared a part of your life with me. It has been a great privilege.

Many of you have said kind words about my ministry here, and I appreciate them, but I want you to know that I was just a part of what happened here. You were open to the Holy Spirit, and you allowed that Spirit to do the healing that was needed. God is not finished with you—in fact, God is just getting started!

I will miss celebrating the Holy Eucharist with you. Last Sunday at the altar I was overcome with how precious this time is. I wanted to grab Fred’s hand and Carl’s hand…it doesn’t get any better than this. We have been together in meeting God in the bread and wine. I really do believe in the Communion of Saints—that there will be a time when we will once again all be gathered at God’s holy table, and this belief helps me move from one congregation to another.


Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And may you have a holy and joyful Lent.