Lent Week 1

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-10

Old Testament: Genesis 9:8-17
Gospel: Mark 1:9-15
Epistle: 1 Peter 3:18-22

We seem to have an interesting collection of Scripture set before us this week.  In Genesis, we have the story of God’s covenant with Noah-- that God will no longer flood the earth and sets the sign of the rainbow in the sky.  And in Mark, the story is the baptism and temptation of Jesus.  The passage from 1 Peter bridges the gap between the flood story, Jesus baptism, and our own baptism.

First a word about Lent.  I have already discussed Lent and Ash Wednesday and their importance in the life of the church and the believer.  I hope that we are all taking this time to draw closer to God. We have all heard the story of Jesus’ baptism and temptation so there isn’t much need to take time discussing it. I will just point out that Mark is careful to say that the Spirit “impelled” Jesus to go into the wilderness to be tempted.  Even Jesus, the Messiah, needed this time of forty days to prepare for his ministry.  So the forty day fast as a time of preparation grew up around Easter, in some ways, just emulating the life of Jesus.

The passage of 1 Peter is very interesting and honestly leaves more questions than answers.  Christ has died once for all so that we might be brought close to God.  Then, we get this strange word that Christ went in “prison”, presumably in hades. The text doesn’t say what the point of this was, but we can guess that a proclamation is given of the Gospel and that at a positive response was possible.  Admittedly, Protestants are uncomfortable with the doctrine of Purgatory as understood by the Catholic Church, but I think there is a lot we Protestants fail to recognize in the Bible.  This is just one example that a careful reading of the text ought to cause us to pause and wonder what Peter means here.

But, Peter brushes past any theological problem we might have and so must we.  Peter moves to Noah’s ark being brought through the flood.  Peter compares Noah passing safely through the waters to our own baptism, which “now saves you.”  First, Peter does what so many Christians have done since, he reads back into the Old Testament for signs and foreshadowing of Christ.  This type of reading definitely has its place, but I just want to say that it is important to first think about what the Old Testament said in its own context before jumping to Jesus.

One last word, I think, needs to be said about 1 Peter that concerns baptism.  Peter at least seems to think that it is our baptism that saves us.  Granted, only 3 verses earlier, he says that Christ’s death has redeemed us.  But still, baptism wasn’t and isn’t an option in the life of the believer.  Christ commands it!  It is a sign of our new birth and the work God has done in us.  Our baptism, be that as infants or as adults, whether given by a Catholic Priest, a Lutheran minister, or a Nazarene Pastor, is effective not because of the minister who gave it, but because we are baptized into the One who saves.  The efficaciousness our baptism isn’t due to anything other than the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

The Lenten time reminds us of our baptism.  It reminds us that we owe our life and resurrection to the God who saves.  The God that saved Noah through the flood is still the God that saves.

I hope more than anything that as my readers, you are reading the Scriptures each week and thinking about what the text says and means.  I think there are a lot of surprises as we read the Scripture even if we’ve read it all before.  The Lectionary not only forces us to read places from all scriptures, it invites us make new connections in the Bible in our lives.  I pray the Lord’s Grace and Peace on you this week.