"Voices"
A Sermon of
The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector
All Saints Parish
Brookline, Massachusetts
The First Sunday in Lent
March 5, 2006
Text: Mark 1:9-13
I
Jesus in today's Gospel passage is baptized in the Jordan by John. He sees the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. "And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'"
This is a powerful voice, an affirming voice, a voice that proclaims Jesus' dignity and identity: Jesus is God's beloved. Jesus is a child of God. Jesus is loved.
But that is not the only voice that Jesus hears this day. The Gospel tells us that Jesus was sent into the wilderness for forty days and he was tempted by Satan. Here he hears other voices, voices contrary to the voice telling him that he is God's beloved, full of worth and value.
The same is true of us. We have each heard more than once that we are loved by God. Raise your hand if you have ever heard that you were loved by God. We have heard probably many times that we are children of God, sons and daughters of a loving Creator. Raise your hand if you ever heard that you were a child of God.
But we have other voices that tell us the opposite: that tear down our self-worth and self-esteem, that tell us that we not good enough, that we are failures, that we don't measure up. Raise your hand if you ever heard that.
This Lent, like Jesus, we have forty days to sort out the voices that we will listen to -- and to listen to the voices that speak of God's love and goodness and to turn off the voices that demean and destroy our value and worth.
This Lent, rather than focus on yourself as a sinner, think of yourself as a beloved child of God. Whenever the thought comes to you reminding you of past failure or inadequacy, push it aside and say, "No, I am God's beloved. I am a child of God. This is what my baptism means. I am part of the royal priesthood of Christ. I am created in God's own image and I am a creature of great goodness and value."
This Lent we can decide which voices we will listen to -- the voice of the Spirit that calls us children of God or the voices that demean and destroy our value and worth.
II
A while back, in Brian Basset's comic strip, Adam@home, Adam and his wife decide to spend a quiet evening at home with a movie. As Adam puts the videotape in the player, she asks, "Adam, what've you heard about this movie?" Adam replies, "Just that the heavy guy gave it a big thumbs-up and the thinner guy gave it a thumbs-down." Oh good," she says, "I like the heavy guy's opinions." "No, wait," Adam says. "It might have been the other way around. . . . Yes, I'm almost certain. It was the thinner guy who liked it. . . . I think." The movie begins and a rather unsettled Adam says to his wife, "Shoot. Now we have to really watch it in order to decide for ourselves."
Yes, we have to decide for ourselves which voice we will listen to. Lent calls us to decide, in the depths of our souls whether to listen to the voice proclaimed at our baptisms that we are God's own, holy and beloved, or to listen to the voices that push us out of the household of God's love.
Like Jesus in the desert, we need to decide whether we will listen to the message that we are God's beloved sons and daughters or to voices that demean and destroy our self worth.
III
We each are on a spiritual journey. Like Jesus we arae led into the wilderness and we are tempted. Our spiritual path is not always straight, but God is with us and calls us back to our original blessing. God's message is that we are beloved and cherished.
On this first Sunday of Lent, I invite you to take a few minutes to share your spiritual journey with each other. Please find someone in the church that you do not know and pair up with that person.
Then, I invite one person can tell the story of his or her spiritual journey -- who you are and the highlights of how God has been present in your life -- while the other person listens. Then in a few minutes, I will ask you to switch and the other person will have time to share. Church should be a place that we can speak to one another from the heart about our spiritual journey and a place also to listen from the heart.
Let us pray. O God, you spoke to Jesus at his baptism and called him Beloved. You call each of us your beloved sons and daughters. This Lent, may we listen to this voice which speaks of our great value and dignity in your eyes -- and shut out the voices that demean and destroy our worth. May we listen to your Holy Spirit.
Amen.