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We arrive in the season of Lent. A season of repentance, of introspection, and of transformation—a theme I’d like for us to reflect on these next few weeks.
One of my favorite TV shows is from the 1990s called Northern Exposure. The show tells the story of a young Jewish doctor from New York City who finds himself in a work contract with a very small mountain town in the middle of nowhere, Cicely, Alaska. It’s a classic “fish out of water” premise for the series, but in this one particular episode, well, it’s a fish story.
Dr. Joel Fleishman is fishing at a local lake, only to hook what some of the townspeople consider a mystical gigantic fish called Gunaakadeit, or Goony, to the locals. It is said that this fish could possibly weigh thousands of pounds, and some even rumor it has mystical powers.
Joel stays with this fish for hours on end, from dawn until dusk, even jumping into a rowboat so as not to lose contact, as the fish drags him out into the center of the lake in the middle of the night.
As if this story is not odd enough, suddenly, things get weirder.
Surrounded by a rolling fog, Joel feels a tug on his line from under the surface yet again, only this time there is something rising from the water. It is not the fish, but rather…his old rabbi from New York City?!
Rabbi Schulman comes out of the water, to share of his experiences with Goony as well.
The Rabbi points out to Joel that fish have historically been associated with faith journeys throughout time. Could it be that Joel is encountering a spiritual experience in this moment? Could it be that Joel is experiencing the very presence of God?
Joel reflects on this potential spiritual journey as he asks the Rabbi, “What’s it like down there, in the water with the fish?”
The Rabbi responds, “It’s dark, Joel. It’s dark, and it’s deep.”
Suddenly, the great fish breaches, in like that of the story of Jonah, as Joel and the Rabbi are swallowed by the great fish.
Both Joel and the Rabbi encounter their personal spiritual dilemmas while inside the belly of the fish as they journey alongside one another, each of them on their own faith journey.
And once their minds and their hearts are transformed, Joel awakens on the lakeshore, later to be discovered by the townspeople once again the next morning.
Joel awakes unscathed, but now a different person after experiencing the great fish. His neighbors ask him, “How did you get here?”
Joel’s response, “I think the fish spit me out.”
Today as we begin this season of Lent, we do so by reading of Jesus’s wilderness experience. The wilderness has historically been a time and place where individuals have encountered God’s very presence.
We remember stories like Jacob wrestling the angel.
We remember Moses on Mt. Sinai.
We remember Jonah and the great fish.
We also see that the wilderness experience is a place of transformation. People do not return the same as they once left.
Some describe the wilderness as liminal space; a space that is transcendent, where the sacred and profane meet, where the individual is transformed into a new being.
This morning I’d like for us to reflect on how the wilderness experience changes us, as we begin our Lenten season on the theme of transformation. We pick up once again with Mark’s Gospel, as he tells the story of Jesus’s own transformation in the wilderness.
We are reading again from Mark, chapter 1. Now, just a few weeks back we reflected on the first part of this reading, as Jesus is baptized by John in the River Jordan. But I’d like for us to pay attention to what happens next to Jesus during this wilderness experience.
12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tested by Satan, and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels waited on him. (Mark 1:12-13)
That’s all Mark gives us. The later Gospel of Matthew will build upon Mark’s story and add in some dialogue between Jesus and Satan,
but for Mark, it was most important to note that:
1. The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, and
2. Jesus was tested for 40 days, a complete biblical amount of time.
We remember all sorts of stories with the theme of the number 40 which we included in our Words of Praise this morning. The stories of Noah, the Israelites, Moses, Elijah, Jonah, and now Jesus.
And what happened following these 40 days of being tested in the wilderness? We read that,
14 … Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:14-15)
Jesus returned to the towns and the people a changed person. Somehow, in the midst of the challenges and testing, Jesus was transformed as he was given a clear message and purpose in his life.
Friends, the good news for us this morning: the wilderness, likewise, has the ability to transform us as a people of faith as well.
Maybe it’s the literal wilderness where we encounter the sacred,
or maybe it’s more an experience of the metaphorical wilderness.
Whether we literally get swallowed by a great fish,
or if the fish is more of an allegory,
the wilderness provides a space and context for us as Christians to encounter the very presence of God.
Whether we find ourselves highup on a mountaintip,
or exploring the unknown terrain of our spiritual lives,
God is here.
First Presbyterian, during this season of Lent, we are invited to encounter the transforming power of God in the wilderness.
What new insights might we learn about ourselves and one another?
What new experiences might we share in?
What new visions may God place upon our hearts for our lives ahead?
My prayer is that we use this sacred time of 40 days to slow down a bit,
to take a step back from the normal routines and schedules of our daily lives,
and to make some space for God to transform our hearts once again.
We are invited to walk alongside Jesus as he makes his way to the cross of Good Friday, and the empty tomb of Easter Sunday.
Who knows what surprising things we may discover along such a journey!
As the rabbi described the spiritual journey as “dark and deep,”
we, as Christians, place trust in the knowledge that God transforms the darkness into light, forever changing us,
so that we can become bearers of the light of God.
Today we celebrate our invitation into such spiritual wilderness journeys with God.
We celebrate the Holy Spirit driving us into new experiences of faith and trust.
We celebrate Jesus, journeying alongside us, our hearts and our lives never the same in following him.
Rev. Dr. Jeff Binder 