This week we hear echoes from last week. ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him!’ was heard by the disciples as Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, when he turned his face toward Jerusalem, the cross and resurrection.

We have now gone back in time. ‘You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased’ is heard by Jesus at the very beginning of his ministry when he is baptised by John in the Jordan. The Holy Spirit is seen to descend upon him like a dove, after the heavens are torn apart. God the Father is affirming him in what he is about to do. And immediately the Holy Spirit drives him into the wilderness, where he is to remain for 40 days and 40 nights.

As Jesus is tempted in the wilderness, he is able to hold on to those words of encouragement, to the symbol of the dove which signifies new life - it was a dove which was sent out from Noah’s Ark and returned with an olive leaf - and to the angels who wait on him.

Jesus had said goodbye to his old life and stepped into the new, as Noah and his family had done, and in the same way as we still do when we are baptised or confirm our baptism. Peter said that baptism is ‘an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.’ The desire to change our ways, to resist temptation and become more faithful to all Jesus teaches us and wants us to be, needs to be in our hearts if we are to live in relationship with God and receive the hope and promise of the Holy Spirit.

The relationship we have with God is a dynamic one, it is active not passive. God’s covenant with each one of us is not one of equals, as God is all-powerful. God does give us a choice however, to accept what is on offer and say yes to all of the obligations this puts on us, or to walk away. If we say yes, we walk the way of Jesus.

A few years ago, Angela and I went to the Holy Land and physically walked the way of Jesus. We went to the place in the Jordan thought to be the spot where John baptised Jesus. We were able to renew our baptism vows there and to go into the water. It was touching, and wonderful, to be there. It was also interesting, in that the border between Israel and Jordan ran along the river, and there were bathers being baptised on both sides. We were told not to stray from the area, as there were minefields nearby. Behind us in an elevated position were border troops with large guns. The river itself was depleted as it has been dammed upstream. The landscape has been corrupted by human hands since Jesus was there.

While standing on the same ground as Jesus, however, we could know that the Holy Spirit was still living and active in those making their way to the water of life. ‘The Kingdom of God has come near,’ said Jesus, ‘Repent and believe in the good news’.

We might feel at times that we are in the wilderness, with the wild beasts of evil, hatred and deception around us. It might seem as if the whole landscape has been corrupted. But we can be assured that God is with us, God loves us, God’s angels will wait on us and the Holy Spirit will guide us as we continue to be faithful to him.

Repent - that is, change your ways - this Lent, and believe in the good news: The Kingdom of God, built on earth as it is in heaven as long as we love one another, is all around us.

Amen.

Julie Rubidge, Lay Minister