A short while ago I was in the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. I noticed there was lawn and garden section.

A little statue caught my eye. It was of a turtle, standing on its hind legs. He had his front paws together, as if praying or mediating and a big smile on his face.

“Cute,” I thought and took him home with me.

A few years ago, I was preaching on Jesus’ time in the wilderness and noticed that St, Mark has a very short description of it. Mark only devotes two verses to it.

Verses 12 and 13 of the first chapter merely states. “12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.”

There are no loaves becoming bread, and Satan does not take him to highest part of the Jerusalem temple.

Footnote: If you are ever reading that portion of the story, don’t make the mistake I made as a young pastor and say “Pinochle” for “pinnacle.”

Why so brief?

I still remember my religion professor Hagen Staack at Muhlenberg saying that Mark was the “The gospel in tennis shoes.”

The earliest and shortest of the gospel, it is so brief, the entire story used to be able to be fit on a 90-minute cassette tape. (Long, long ago in a galaxy far away there were these little plastic things from which you could listen to music and store computer data ...)

You would think it would be the first gospel in the New Testament, but the early church realized it did not have an infancy narrative.

Matthew is first because it describes the birth of Jesus. If folks are either reading the bible for the first time or dusting the book off after a hiatus, I usually recommend they begin with Mark’s gospel.

Verse 13 is an interesting verse, despite its brevity. At first it sounds like no brainer. What else is Jesus going see in the wilderness but animals? (Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!)

But there is a very interesting interpretation to the passage. Jesus would become the second Adam, as Adam would name the animals. Only Jesus would be the Adam that got it right! No fall for this new guy! Cueing in on the line, “”He was with the wild animals,” I would write about four animals I’ve been and known.

One of the fab four was “Tommy The Too Timid Turtle.” He was well protected by his shell, yet afraid to stick his neck out. Why? Because most folk in the animal kingdom, including you and me find it hard, at times.

St. Paul stuck his neck out and had his head handed to him. Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer stuck his out, speaking out against Hitler and a noose placed around it. It is just not easy. It would so be easy for Tommy to stay behind the confines of his shell. You might say he had a shell of a problem.

There is, however an answer. For me it is found in another shell. In my preaching bag I keep a large white sea shell, in case I might have a baptism. I joke that as I supply preach to congregations that are without pastors, I should have a card, “Have shell, will travel.”

In Christian symbolism the shell with three water drops illustrating the Father, Son and Holy Spirit symbolizes Christian baptism.

It is also reminiscent of a helmet. St. Paul’s talks in the sixth chapter of Ephesians about the helmet of the knowledge of salvation.

At times in the pulpit, I have been known to place the shell on my head to illustrate this, fighting off the temptation to sing, “Hello my honey, hello my baby, hello my ragtime gal …”

Baptism is a symbol and sign of the love of God. It is God’s love song. The shell may pour water, the shell may provide sustenance, and give protection. Too Timid Tommy was carrying one along with him the whole time.

I was impressed several years ago learning about the Navajo wind talkers of World War II.

These brave Native Americans would talk to one another over the radio using the Navajo language. It confused the heck out of Germans and Japanese. I found it interesting that the code word they used for “tank” was “turtle.”

It made me think, “If God could turn Tommy into a tank, what could God do with you and me?”

A snapping turtle’s bite registers 1000 psi. It could easily bite through a broom handle. What might God do with our jaws, hands, feet, wallets, and love?

Years ago, one of my favorite bands, “Blood Sweat and Tears “ had a song “Spinning Wheel”

A lyric goes “What goes up, must come down.”

As of this writing we have celebrated our Lord’s Ascension. When Jesus left us, (A rocket’s escape velocity is 17,500 mph!) he promised a great outpouring of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. This would occur on the on Pentecost. Frightened, simple folk would become God’s bold ambassadors. Talk about turning turtles!

A dear colleague shared with us recently a good analogy for the promise and use of our baptisms. He asked us to think of the time when we used to have to have a phone installed in our houses. Long, long ago, when dinosaurs walked the earth, our house had only one phone, in our kitchen with a long cord.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, previously mentioned, would say something to the effect of, “The validity of a sacrament depends on God, the benefits of a sacrament depend on you.”

Know this week that in your baptisms God has opened a door that can never be closed. Reach out to God, know that almighty love that can turn turtles into tanks.

Ask God what he would like you to accomplish in this life. Write those ideas down and act on them. Go forward, knowing that in this world, you can make one shell of difference!