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Let’s go into the wildernessMark 1: 9-15Well, we knew that the evangelist Mark, does not like to go into details, that there is no superfluous word in his Gospel, but really: to describe the temptation of Christ in 2 verses, that is taking simplicity a bit far ...Let’s hear those words again;“Thereupon the Spirit sent him away into the wilderness, and there he remained for 40 days tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts, and the angels waited on him.”No stones to turn into bread, no temple to throw himself of, no kingdoms offered on a plate...Just the wilderness, the Spirit, Satan, wild beasts and angels.And about what happens in that wilderness not a word. Maybe that is because Mark sees the wilderness experience differently from the other gospel writers.Indeed whereas the other evangelists focus on the temptations Jesus experiences, Mark describes what this wilderness is about: it is about wild beast and angels, there at the same time. It is about God’s Spirit and Satan, there at the same time. It is about facing darkness and recognising God’s presence in the middle of it.Usually when we read about Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, we imagine the deserts of the middle East we think of heat and thirst, of danger and loneliness. And we think of Jesus and temptation.But biblically wilderness experiences are not just about Satan and temptation. In fact wilderness experiences are always about God and spiritual growth. Remember, it is in the wilderness that God calls Moses, and think of the 40 years the Israelites travelled through the desert; that journey was not about temptation; though the Israelites were tempted on several occasions, that journey was about getting to know God better, about learning to trust him. That journey was about being equipped to start a new life in the land God had promised.In the Bible the wilderness is as much a place to encounter God and listen to his message as the mountain top. For there is no better way to meet God, and experience his presence than to be alone with Him in a deserted place.And during his ministry Jesus will continue to seek solitude in order “ to renew his relationship with God and to support his soul” Witt p24 Jesus shows that the wilderness experience is not something to avoid, but something to embrace, something that is a necessary part of our journey of faith. Why? Because wilderness experiences are about sorting out one ‘s life: It is not for nothing that the same Hebrew word tohu vavohu, describes the confusing state of the universe before creation and wilderness.Wilderness experiences are about separating the good from the bad. They are about finding the light in our darkness.And so wilderness experiences are about letting go of all that we do to keep ourselves safe; letting go of all the pretences , the masks, and coming before God as we are, asking him to teach us to rely on him and him alone.That the wilderness experience is something to embrace rather than avoid was the reason for some men and women in the early centuries of our modern era to leave the world and society as they knew it behind. in order to retreat to the desert where they would be more likely to find God and better able to hear God speak. These men and women were to be known as the Desert Fathers and mothers. “Their aim was to experience God in each moment and activity by reducing their physical needs and committing themselves to the discipline of regular prayer and self-enquiry” (Paintner )They “ became some of the first great spiritual teachers and some of the first psychologists” (Jamieson) of our time.In the wilderness they felt close to God. But as they were no longer distracted by the busyness of their society they found they met not just with God but also with their true selves, including their personal temptations. This experience was a deep and emotional one: the so called gift of tears. “These tears are signs of both (their) sorrow over how they have rejected (their) true nature and (their) joy in (their) discovery of the beauty of God” Paintner pXXVIIThe wilderness and its solitude enabled the desert fathers and mothers to grow spiritually. Through emptying themselves they made room for God who filled the empty space left behind, a little more every day. And I think that is exactly what Jesus’ wilderness experience is about according to Mark.There in the wilderness into which the Spirit has led him ,Jesus is faced with his true self, the temptations he undoubtedly would have had, but also his calling as the Son of God. There in the wilderness, there were beasts and there were angels, both there at the same time. There in the wilderness Satan tempted Jesus but God’s Spirit never left him.The Hermits of the early Christian church knew about the power of the wilderness experience, but today few of us will see that as an option for us to grow in faith. We want to be refreshed, we want to find peace...And when I did my research about spiritual retreats I thought that retreats were about just that; being refreshed and nurtured, finding peace. In some way I thought that retreats were a bit like holidays, but I was soon to discover that all retreats no matter how comfortable the space, no matter how good the food, no matter how beautiful the surroundings, all retreats will have their moments of wilderness, because truly listening to God will mean making place for him, emptying ourselves of that which is not of God, and that involves looking at ourselves and our lives with honesty. Wilderness experiences are about cleansing ourselves from that which is not important in our life, from that which is not good and Christ like. Wilderness experiences are about realising that we are thirsty and we need the water of life.Ignatius of Loyola called these desert moments “desolation” and explained to his followers that these moments were not something to be avoided, but on the contrary moments to be embraced as they help us not only see that God is with us in the dryness and thirst of our desert experience but they also help us move forward in faith.Ignatius himself had found faith after having been seriously wounded in battle. His military career at an end he set off one day, unsure where he was heading. His adventures took him to a cave where he stayed and reflected on his own experience of desolation and on how God healed him.It is there, away from the world, that he like the desert fathers and mothers before him, learnt to separate God’s voice from that of the human distractions. There he learnt how to discern what was of God and what wasn’t in his life .These wilderness experiences are about finding the strength to set off on a journey in order to become the person God sees in us. Through these desert moments we will realise that God is with us, and that at the centre of every meaningful life is our relationship with God.And maybe that was the main reason why the Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert: so that he would experience God’s presence there with him in the harshest of environments at the hardest of times. If God was with Jesus there in the wilderness every second of the 40 days, then Jesus would know that God would also be with him on the cross; no matter how lonely the place and how painful the experience.Every wilderness experience reminds us that the life of discipleship is not just about the joy of being loved, if that were the case we would be ill equipped to return to our daily lives. The desert encounter prepares us for all these daily distractions and temptations that affect our lives . Yet the desert is also a place of healing, for in the openness and vulnerability it involves, God’s love is experienced.And it is in that encounter with God that we are changed and so the wilderness becomes a place of new beginnings.Most of us would never choose the wilderness as a place to go of our own accord, we like to protect ourselves from pain and hardship. And yet, in recent years more and more people have felt attracted to the wilderness, whether that is the wilderness of Mount Sinai or that of the Arctic. Though in first instance such trips may be about endurance, I wonder if deep down they aren’t also about wrestling with our own wild beasts and about searching for God and realising that in the harshest of situations when there is little else to rely on, God is there.Maybe you feel you are in the wilderness right now, so let me say this again; wilderness experiences are not to be feared or avoided, for they are the best way to experience our need for God and to find out that he journeys with us in not just in the highs but especially in the lows of our lives. Which is why in the end the wilderness experience does refresh, and does bring peace. ................
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