Today is the first Sunday in Lent, the forty day period - not counting Sundays - leading up to Easter. The length is a reflection of the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness struggling with temptation. Lent was originally a time for instructing new converts in the basics of the faith so they could become members of the church on Easter.
Within two or three hundred years Lent became a penitential season observed by all Christians. Unfortunately "penance" came to mean performing trivial acts of service or devotion to make up for past sins. Lent became a season for long faces and guilt trips. Many Protestant Christians have dispensed with the observance of Lent altogether as an outdated tradition of little value, and I can't say I blame them.
But we change the oil in our cars, do laundry, and pay bills on a more or less regular schedule. We do maintenance chores so as to avoid bigger problems - a blown engine, stinky clothes, or creditors at the door - later on. At its best Lent can serve the same purpose in our spiritual lives. We don’t judge and condemn material things for needing occasional maintenance and adjustment. We don't need to judge and condemn ourselves either. We do need regular spiritual maintenance. Lent is on the calendar each year so we don't forget. It is a time for honest review, fearless examination, and mid-course correction.
The Scripture readings for today give us an obvious model for our observance of Lent and a benchmark by which we might measure ourselves. The model is Jesus in the wilderness. The benchmark is God's covenant represented by the rainbow. God will never again respond to evil with total destruction. God remains a realist. God knows perfectly well humans are still capable of horrendous cruelty and injustice. God expects to be provoked. The rainbow is there to remind God to use restraint.
The rainbow represents God's determination never to give up on us. From that moment on God will approach humanity with unlimited patience no matter what we do. And not just humanity. God makes this covenant with all Noah's descendants which, in the biblical view, includes all human beings of every religion, culture, and nationality and every living creature. In this covenant God affirms the essential unity of all life, of all creation which is all redeemable in the eyes of God and all worth saving.
As Christians we believe Jesus was God's ultimate answer to evil. In the Gospel of Mark there is also an echo of God's covenant with all creation. In the wilderness Jesus was "with the wild beasts." They do him no harm. In many religions and cultures there are stories of people with a certain spiritual quality which allowed them to live at peace among natural predators. Jesus had that quality, a profound bond, not only with all people but with every living thing. His peaceful stay among wild beasts is a glimpse of God's intention for all humanity and all creation.
Today it is painful for me to read and reflect on these passages from the Bible. It appears that in a matter of days our nation may be at war with Iraq. There are wild beasts in the wilderness, and Saddam Hussein is one. He has provoked wars with neighboring countries, used poison gas on his own people, and presides over a despotic, corrupt, and oppressive regime. I am not myself an absolute pacifist. If I came upon a child being abused by an adult and the only way I could stop it was by picking up a baseball bat I would. I understand that sometimes the best way to avoid a war is to prepare to fight one. I still hope and pray that the conflict may yet be resolved short of actually going to war.
What if it isn't? What if we do go to war? Knowing God's intention is to reconcile all humanity and all creation, knowing God sees all creation as redeemable and worth saving, knowing Jesus refused to put up a fight to save his own life, but gave up his life for the sake of all humanity; how then shall we live our Christian faith if our nation goes to war?
If we go to war it must be with a deep sense that we have failed. We have failed God and our sisters and brothers. It is not enough to blame Saddam Hussein for this war, as despicable a character as he is.
We must also look into ourselves. We must accept a measure of responsibility for we are not without fault. No nation is without fault. What sacrifice did we fail to make? What opportunity did we pass up which would have brought the world closer to God's intention? There will always be wild beasts in the wilderness. There will not always be war:
They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
The way to God's vision spoken by the prophet Isaiah is laid out for us by Jesus:
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if someone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do unto others as you would have them do to you.
If we go to war we will have departed from the way of the Lord and deferred God's vision for creation. If we go to war it must be with a heavy heart and a prayer for forgiveness.
If we go to war we must be prepared to mourn our dead and the dead of our enemy. We seem to be counting on "smart" bombs, computerized tanks, and stealth technology to keep American casualties to a minimum. But what about Iraqi citizens serving in their country's armed forces? The American Civil War was especially horrendous because it was, sometimes literally, a war between brothers. In God's eyes every war is a civil war, every war is a war between God's beloved children. If we go to war and images of burned Iraqi tanks and bombed Iraqi bunkers start turning up on the evening news they will give us no joy. They will give us no cause to puff out our chests and swagger. We will see images of Iraqi death and destruction through the eyes of our Lord for what they are: the graves of members of our own family.
I don't know if we can stand such a burden of grief. I hope it breaks our hearts. I hope it breaks our hearts open to Christ who made it clear with his own life and death that God's kingdom is better received by suffering than by causing others to suffer.
If we go to war it must be with the commitment that for every dollar we spend to defeat Iraq we will spend at least two more to rebuild the country. For a Christian war can never bring satisfaction. For us joy comes in service to others. After the war, if it comes to that, we will not be able to bring back the dead. We will be able to "build up the ancient ruins . . . raise up the former devastations . . . repair the ruined cities . . ." Before any shots are fired we must commit ourselves to that. If it means raising taxes we must demand our taxes be raised and pay them willingly.
Admittedly that would triple the cost of war for us. Fine. America's enormous wealth and awesome technology threaten to make war relatively cheap and painless - for us. No other nation has stood alone holding such enormous power. The temptation to use our power to advance narrow, selfish interests has never, in all of history, been greater than it is for us today. As Christians we can not look only to our own interests but are called to put the interests of others ahead of our own.
In a sense we have become like God in our power to destroy and must now find ways to restrain ourselves. We can't hang a bow in the sky. If we hang a big enough price tag on war, including rebuilding afterward, we might find creative, nonviolent alternatives for settling future conflicts.
As we enter this season of spiritual self examination and correction we may also be going to war. Let us be prepared. If we go to war let us be prepared to confess our failure as peacemakers and accept our share of responsibility, through action or inaction, for the violence that tears the fabric of God's creation. I say this as one who believes we sometimes leave ourselves with no better alternative than war. On the day we go to war, if we do, this Sanctuary will be open at 7:30 in the evening for prayer and reflection.
If we go to war let us be prepared to pray for our enemies as much as we pray for ourselves. Let us remember the people of Iraq are our brothers and sisters, human beings with hopes and dreams for their lives just like our hopes and dreams. Let us be prepared to grieve for all God's children.
If we go to war let us be prepared to pay the price to rebuild. If we send young men and women to pay with their lives for our failure to resolve conflict without war and then refuse to pay with our money to repair the damage done we will have sinned twice. May the Lord have mercy on us.
God's intentions for us will not be put off forever. The day will come when nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Even as we prepare for war let us examine ourselves in the light of that day. Let us steer our course by the light of that star. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Amen.