Late winter and early spring is, in church life, the season of Lent. Lent reminds us of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness fasting, praying and being tempted, and of Israel’s foundation with 40 years in the desert as reported in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible.
What was the deal for Jesus? He had just been baptized by his cousin John, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and now by that Spirit is driven into the wilderness. Why? Perhaps because it was vitally important that he learn certain disciplines. Perhaps it was to learn to resist temptation. Perhaps more so that through the learning of the disciplines and the facing of temptation, he would discover just who he was and what his purpose was on earth as determined by his heavenly Father’s will. Remember that the expectation in that day was the Messiah would come as a conquering hero, delivering Judah from the military, political and economic enslavement of Rome. The idea of a Suffering Servant was far from the mainstream of Jewish thought or hopes. God wanted his Son to discover his true identity.
Israel’s 40 years in the desert was in part a punishment for that first generation that came out of Egypt, but would not trust God; they would not enter the Promised Land. It was also the length of time needed for Israel to reproduce itself, to raise up the next generation. But most important, it was the time period in which God forged a new identity in the nation. It was a lean, mean, confident, and dedicated-to-God generation that established itself in the hill country of Canaan. Oh yes, it made its mistakes. But in general it walked in trust and obedience to God. God was its God, and it was God’s people.
First Baptist Norwich was founded 196 years ago. Doing the math, that’s almost 5 full generations. Each generation, and the individuals within them, had to learn lessons of godly identity, courage and faithfulness, and most often those lessons were learned through the experiences of hardship, and of being forced to adapt to new circumstances. In this, we are not at all facing something new. But it can also be fairly said that with the difficulties and hardships and lessons learned, we also gain new opportunities. First Baptist has gone through some very painful times. But we stand on the threshold of the Promised Land, at the beginning of a new ministry of proclamation and service, and of a deeper, closer walk with our Lord and Savior. Through the Empower process we will, as a church, go forth to conquer Norwich with love and compassion, with blessing and service, with faithfulness to our God and his Word. We – you and I – are God’s chosen people to proclaim the nearness of the Kingdom to a community that God loves dearly and in which he is already very active. Therefore let us enter fully into our identity as Christ’s followers and fulfill our divine calling!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Jim
