WILDERNESS

SNIPPET

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him."
Mark's record of the Spirit's compelling Jesus into the wilderness immediately following his baptism has always intrigued me. The original language is so forceful as to imply that the Spirit literally expelled Jesus into this land of wild beasts and satanic attack. It is even more striking when compared to Matthew and Luke's accounts which both suggest that Jesus was "led by the Spirit” into the wilderness.(1) Despite their gentler version, the force is still the same: the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested—nay, tormented by the devil. Why would the Spirit compel Jesus into the land of testing?

To understand this question, we must go back to the exodus of Israel from their Egyptian oppressors. After 400 years of oppression and enslavement, God sent Moses to deliver the people and to lead them into the Promised Land. A great drama ensues between the gods of the Egyptians and the God of Israel. Ten plagues fall, the Red Sea is parted, and the Egyptian army is swallowed up by the raging waters. And then we read, "Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water....and the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness" (Exodus 15:22; 16:2). Israel would spend the next forty years, the text tells us, wandering in that wilderness of lament and bitterness. A great beginning stalls in the deserts of Sinai.

Like Israel before him, Jesus's story as recorded by Mark begins with great drama. John the Baptist announces the Deliverer: Israel's exile was over, for the Messiah had come. The Deliverer is baptized by John and in front of the crowds declared the beloved Son of God. What a tremendous beginning to his earthly ministry. And yet, like Israel, Jesus begins that earthly ministry not with healings and miracles, or with fanfare and great teachings, but by being "immediately cast out into the wilderness." Jesus, many commentators have suggested, was re-enacting the great history of Israel in his own life and ministry. He was Israel's Messiah, their deliverer, just as Moses had been. Yet, like Israel, Jesus would be tested and his test had to precede entry into the Promised Land. But unlike Israel, Jesus would pass the test and his deliverance of his people would be his gift and offering to God for all eternity.

I am mindful during the days and weeks leading up to the forty days of Lent that before we can enjoy the promised land of resurrection life, we too must go through the wilderness. I do not go through a single day without hearing many stories about the wilderness spaces people dwell in through suffering, disappointment, doubt, or sin. Often, we want to rush through the wilderness to get to the other side. But maybe like Jesus, we too must travel through wilderness places. Like him, we will be compelled into that wilderness where there are deaths and deprivations. The wilderness is a place of testing trust. In the wilderness of unmet needs, what do we do? Who will we turn to? In what or in whom do we place our trust? When the Israelites faced lack of food and water, they wanted to return to the enslavement of Egypt; at least there they had food and drink. Jesus, on the other hand, took nothing with him into that desiccated place. He was hungry and enticed to turn stones into bread to meet his legitimate need. Instead, Jesus trusted solely in God's provision for his needs, in God's time and manner.

Often, we ask God "why" when we are compelled into the wilderness. We might grumble or complain in our lament, or try to hurry our way into the Promised Land by forcing our own way. Or else we might seek to return to Egypt to meet our needs in our time and through our own methods. But the journey of all Christ's followers is a journey through the wilderness towards the Cross. We cannot escape it, nor can we go around it. And yet, the wilderness, the Cross, and the ultimate resurrection of Jesus all demonstrate that no matter the wilderness we find ourselves in, God will bring us through to life on the other side. We will not be removed from the suffering of the wilderness, but with God's help we can be transformed by it.
Into the Wilderness Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Margaret Manning Printer Friendly Version


SCRIPTURE

One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him[e] like a dove. 11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, 13 where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him. Mark 1:9-14


SONG


Well the moon moved past Nebraska
And spilled laughter on them cold Dakota Hills
And angels danced on Jacob's stairs
Yeah, they danced on Jacob's stairs
There is this silence in the Badlands
And over Kansas the whole universe was stilled
By the whisper of a prayer
The whisper of a prayer
And the single hawk bursts into flight
And in the east the whole horizon is in flames
I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name
I can feel the earth tremble
Beneath the rumbling of the buffalo hooves
And the fury in the pheasant's wings
And there's fury in a pheasant's wings
It tells me the Lord is in His temple
And there is still a faith
That can make the mountains move
And a love that can make the heavens ring
And I've seen love make heaven ring
Where the sacred rivers meet
Beneath the shadow of the Keeper of the plains
I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name
From the place where morning gathers
You can look sometimes forever 'til you see
What time may never know
What time may never know
How the Lord takes by its corners this old world
And shakes us forward and shakes us free
To run wild with the hope
To run wild with the hope
The hope that this thirst will not last long
That it will soon drown in the song
Not sung in vain
And I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name

Rich Mullin's Calling out your Name

SENTENCE PRAYER

O; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Lord God, you draw us by your beauty
and transform us by your holiness;
let our worship echo all creation’s praise
and declare your glory to the nations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Morning Prayer on Saturday, 5 March 2011
http://daily.commonworship.com/daily.cgi?yesterday_mp=1