In the Wilderness

 You’d think that after an incredible event such as the baptism of Jesus, when the heavens opened up and God spoke, that Jesus would get a free pass from having to face that isolating wilderness journey.  You’d think that God’s Son would be off the hook from having to walk the dark journey that is part of the human condition.  You’d think that if God had said that he was well pleased in you, that you’d be spared from the dark night of the soul that challenges your mettle and your fortitude.

Well apparently not.  Here as clear as day, we read that the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted.  Here, Jesus, the Son of God, the one whom we serve, is led into the very place that we all fear going; the place we all try hard to avoid. 

Jesus Christ was sent into that dry, dusty deserted land that challenges one’s determination, character and faith.  Mark goes so far as to say that Jesus was driven into the wilderness.  That seems to imply that he didn’t go with any more enthusiasm than the rest of us.  

And yet, Jesus Christ, the son of God still went into that desert buttressed by the presence of the Spirit.  Jesus Christ faced the challenges of being human in that desert and with the help of the Trinity returned to the world, strengthened, encouraged and more focused in his call knowing that he was not alone.

God doesn’t send us into the wilderness to punish us even though it may feel like it.  Though we face temptations, God doesn’t send us into the desert to test us to see what we are made of.  No, God accompanies us through the work of the Spirit to face that part of the journey that is difficult.  God is present with us and transforms the powers of destruction into the power of new life.  And in the midst of what seems like death, God brings us life.

The wilderness experience is a part and parcel of what it means to be human.  The wilderness experience is what comes about on the winds of change that blow through everyone’s life.   Each one of us struggles with our own desert experience at some time in our lives.  Each one of us faces that dark night of the soul.  And perhaps you feel as if you are facing the dry barren land alone right now. 

We can learn from Jesus own confrontation with the forces that are at work against us.  We are not alone on that journey, as difficult, as frightening and as isolating as it appears to be.  God goes before us into the wilderness.   The Spirit is with us in the midst of those difficult times.  Christ accompanies us on our journey to the dark night of the soul. And the holy Trinity will be bringing life to us in the midst of the desert. 

God is with us in the wilderness.   Buttressed by the presence of the Spirit,  we can faced the desert challenges of being human and with the help of the Trinity return to the world, strengthened, encouraged and more focused knowing that God is the source of our being.  Thanks be to God.