Oasis in the Wilderness

[00:00:00] In the name of jesus. Amen. [00:00:08] In our Gospel reading this morning, there's a contrast with what comes before. Maybe you caught it at the beginning of the reading. We inserted something there in brackets. [00:00:23] Now, when Jesus heard about the death of John, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. [00:00:34] John the Baptist, Jesus calls the greatest prophet, had spent a lot of time in the wilderness. That was his ministry. He went out into the wilderness to a desolate place. It's the same word in Greek. [00:00:49] Went out into the wilderness. [00:00:52] And people gathered to him in the wilderness. [00:00:56] Where there was nothing. [00:00:58] Well, there were some things. There was locusts, wild honey, the Jordan river, which is normally just a little piddly river with a little bit of water in it. [00:01:12] Mostly, though, there was nothing compared to where the people were coming from. [00:01:17] That was a desolate place. [00:01:19] They were coming from the city, the gathering place where people worked together, where you could specialize and have a job that serves everybody else, and they have jobs that serve you, and you work together and you have something more than just one of you could provide. [00:01:40] Where did they gather? [00:01:42] Not in an inherently desolate place. [00:01:45] Speaking in terms of geography, where do cities happen? [00:01:50] Jerusalem was built where there's the Gihon spring. [00:01:54] There was a spring of water, which, wow, thank you, Lord, that there's water coming out of the earth here continually. [00:02:03] It's a perennial spring, and that means water all the time. So Jerusalem started there. They ended up building it so you could access the spring from inside the city. And then Hezekiah built a tunnel so that the spring water would go underground to a pool, and they could have it there and be fortified. [00:02:28] Cities were built where there was a spring. It wasn't a desolate place. It was a place of provision, place of life, place where you could settle down and be sustained, work together and have all you need. [00:02:44] Well, they were leaving that place and going out to John the Baptist for something. [00:02:50] Making that long journey down into the Arabah, down into the region of the Dead Sea and hearing God's word. [00:03:03] What did they go out to see? Not a prophet or not a king or someone dressed in fine clothing. [00:03:11] Right? Not somebody in palaces, but a prophet, the greatest prophet. [00:03:18] Well, what's a prophet? [00:03:23] Not somebody magnificent or impressive, somebody who speaks God's word. [00:03:30] That's who John the Baptist was out there wearing funny clothing, eating funny food, living in a place with nothing, but he had God's word. [00:03:44] That's what they were traveling to hear. [00:03:47] They were coming to receive bread and life. [00:03:56] So Jesus hears that John has died, notably killed at the hand of a king. [00:04:05] A king enjoying all the niceties of royal life. [00:04:11] In fact, John dies because he's there at a party with other well to do people, enjoying dancing. [00:04:21] Somebody else is dancing. [00:04:23] There he is enjoying wealth and prosperity. [00:04:27] And John the Baptist, who had accepted the wilderness, received the cost of carrying out his ministry. [00:04:38] Utter wilderness desolation. [00:04:42] He lost his head. [00:04:49] Sorry, I wasn't trying to make you laugh, but I get is extreme. [00:04:57] It's extreme. [00:05:00] That was the cost of following Christ. [00:05:03] And that's what he was doing. Remember? He was preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness. [00:05:09] And now the Lord has come for John the Baptist and for everyone else. [00:05:16] John, who accepted the wilderness, is in Christ and has everything. [00:05:30] Skip to revelation. And that image of the city with water flowing from the throne of God and. [00:05:38] And fruit trees and abundant life in the city of God. [00:05:44] That's what John has. [00:05:46] John, who received everything the wilderness had to offer. [00:05:53] Desolation. [00:05:56] Well, Jesus hears that John has died and interestingly, he goes to a desolate place like. Well, that's what John did. [00:06:06] I don't think he was imitating John. [00:06:10] I think John was imitating him. [00:06:13] This is the pattern of Christ. And I just keep saying it, but I'm going to keep saying it. This is the pattern. [00:06:21] Philippians 2. [00:06:23] He had it all. [00:06:25] But he took the form of a servant and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. [00:06:30] Jesus Christ accepting desolation, accepting the wilderness. [00:06:39] So Jesus goes to the wilderness and what does he find? [00:06:42] A bunch of people. And he heals them and then he teaches them and they stick around. [00:06:53] There they are gathered in the wilderness, just like Israel had gathered in the wilderness. [00:07:01] Actually, that word is used in a couple of places. Gathering, which is ekklesia. That's the word for church in Greek. [00:07:10] Israel was the gathering of God's people out in the wilderness. And what held them together? [00:07:18] The prophet. [00:07:20] God's word spoken through Moses and ultimately Christ. [00:07:27] The rock in the wilderness. [00:07:30] They received everything that they needed without price or money. [00:07:38] There the people are gathered in the wilderness, hearing from Jesus and the disciples. [00:07:47] There's something they don't see. [00:07:50] They say this is a desolate place. [00:07:53] Well, they're right. Jesus went to a desolate place. [00:07:57] The people followed him to a desolate place to hear from him. [00:08:03] But Jesus is the spring. [00:08:09] Jesus is the one who says, if you're thirsty, come to me, I'll give you living water. [00:08:16] Jesus is the bread of life, come down from heaven. [00:08:20] This is not a desolate place. [00:08:24] With the eyes of faith they could see that this is no longer a desolate place. [00:08:31] This place in the wilderness is now the place to build a city. [00:08:37] The place to receive everything for life. [00:08:42] It's a place to stick around even when you're getting hungry, when you don't have much according to the flesh, or when it means giving up something. [00:09:00] Like Paul who gave up all things considered, the loss of all things, nothing because he had everything in Christ. [00:09:13] This is a desolate place, this church. [00:09:18] Not a lot of economic productivity happening right now. [00:09:23] Not a lot of, let's say even in the school, economically speaking, it gets. [00:09:33] It's not like a well oiled business. [00:09:36] We'll just say I'm sorry if you thought that it was earning a ton of money, right? But this is like, this is not really a place of business. [00:09:48] There is tuition and things like that. [00:09:51] But we don't come here and gather because it benefits us in our earthly life. I mean, it does, it does. God's word, you know, seek first the kingdom of God, then all these things will be added. [00:10:07] There are benefits, but you don't count on those. [00:10:15] This is a desolate place. And that's right, it's actually good and important. We come here because Christ is here. [00:10:28] Christ is here through his word and sacraments. He's here in the gathering of his people together. That's what he says. Where two or three are gathered, there I am among them. [00:10:39] What a promise. [00:10:42] So we've come where Christ is and where he is is no desolate place. [00:10:47] We're gathered here and you like good food. [00:10:52] Well, good food. [00:10:55] And the sustenance received by it is just an image of the sustenance that we receive from Christ spiritually in the wilderness. It's just to get us excited for the true goods. [00:11:15] Jesus Christ is here among us and that's what gathers us together, not how well oiled of a machine. Trinity is. [00:11:27] However, like in whatever aspect you want to look at or how magnificent our physical surroundings are, the church building or our location in Greeley, or however you want to look at that. [00:11:46] We are gathered together because Christ gives us his gifts. What are those gifts? [00:11:53] Forgiveness. [00:11:56] This wilderness gets water and life because God wants to give it. That's what grace is. [00:12:05] Jesus gathering us to Himself and forgiving our sins, taking them away as far as the east is from the west. [00:12:16] Loving us not because we deserve it, just because he wants to. [00:12:21] And by faith we receive these gifts and live in him peace and unity. [00:12:32] These are gifts from God, not things that we build or buy with money. [00:12:40] They're gifts from Him. All of us looking to Christ, believing in him, following him together are being built up as his body and division melts away, as we forgive one another as God has forgiven us. [00:12:58] Jesus, we're built up together and unified. [00:13:03] And that's the Garden of the Lord. [00:13:07] It's the Garden of Eden, receiving from Jesus the living water and living together in peace and harmony in him because of Him. [00:13:21] It's paradise we are here to enjoy a paradise that can't be seen, that can't be bought, that can't be achieved by work. [00:13:32] It's like the people out there in the wilderness, don't send them away, give them something to eat. Well, we don't have much to give. [00:13:42] Jesus is right there. [00:13:45] Jesus has everything to give. [00:13:49] There's nothing that he doesn't have. [00:13:54] And he provides for them there in the wilderness. He provides for you in the wilderness. [00:14:01] So next time you come to a desolate place, you say, wow, this is a desolate place. [00:14:08] People that you love are now turned against each other. [00:14:12] That's a desolate place. [00:14:14] Like, what's here for me? I gotta run to the town, run to the village. It's like, no, Jesus is right here. [00:14:24] If you can remember, Lord, remind us Jesus is there. [00:14:33] Turn to him in prayer and for forgiveness together as a group. [00:14:40] Trinity is bound together by Christ. [00:14:45] So is your family, Lord willing. [00:14:49] Your family's bound together. You work together. You're like a city. [00:14:54] Kids doing chores and family working together as a city. [00:15:02] But you're not bound together solely based on each one of you, like your ability to. To be a good economic partner in that relationship. [00:15:17] It's not just that, actually. [00:15:20] Primarily it is Jesus Christ who binds you together. So when things get out of sync or there are problems, turn to Jesus. [00:15:35] Seek first the kingdom of heaven. [00:15:38] Then all these things will be added to you. [00:15:42] And take that to all your cities. [00:15:45] Maybe it's work or, I don't know, a club. [00:15:52] Your group, not all those groups are full of Christians, but ultimately, you know that peace and joy come in believing in Jesus. [00:16:06] And that's a unitive kind of thing. This morning we receive Jesus, body and blood. [00:16:14] This was not technically a Communion Sunday, but it was like, I can't get up here and tell you about the goods God has to give in Jesus and then not give you the goods. You know, how can we not have the meal today, right? The fullness of what Jesus has to give here. He came to our wilderness to give us nothing less than Himself. [00:16:38] His body and blood. And in doing so, he unites us to the tree. [00:16:48] He unites us to life itself. [00:16:53] Jesus is the way. He's water in the wilderness. [00:16:57] He's life. [00:16:58] And so let's enjoy him together. [00:17:03] When you come to the altar, don't forget our unity in Him. [00:17:09] Don't forget all the other kinds of. [00:17:17] Well, it's like the people. People going to buy food in the villages. If they were sent away, you know, they would be like. Some would probably buy different kinds of food than others. Somebody might have gone hungry. Maybe they didn't have what they needed. [00:17:32] There are all these kind of differences that come into account when you talk about an earthly city and economics and such. [00:17:42] And maybe, I don't know, maybe there were divisions among them. Maybe you think of the outcasts versus the insiders and all those kinds of things. When we come to Christ, when we come to be united in receiving him and being built up as his body, there are none of those divisions, none of those differences. They all melt away in forgiveness. [00:18:09] They're all forgiven, covered in Jesus in His name, Amen.