Embracing wilderness

 Mark 1:12

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

In the wilderness

Empty-handed

Devoid of the resources normally relied on

Vulnerable to the whims of nature

What is lying dormant 

ready to flourish?

What is hidden

that might come to light?

What surprises are waiting

to illuminate our path?

In vulnerability

there is an invitation

to be courageous

to welcome whatever is offered

with the spirit of curiosity and wonder

and, in our openness

there is the possibility

of transformation.

Where might we experience wilderness today?

May you see angels

 Mark 1:12-13

The Temptation of Jesus

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

As you face the wilderness today

may you see angels

As you own all that tempts you

may you see angels

As you hunger and thirst

may you see angels 

As you fret about the future

may you see angels

As you wonder what lies ahead

may you see angels

As you confront all that would trip you up

may you see angels

As you weary of grafting

may you see angels

As you surrender control

may you see angels

As you emerge into all that awaits you

may you see angels

waiting on you and ministering to you

at every turn

May you see angels

Who do you say you are?

 Matthew 16:13-15

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

The masters tools will never dismantle the masters house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. (Audre Lord: The Masters Tools Will Never Dismantle the Masters House)

Who do you say I am? asks Jesus

And, in our response to that question

lies the secret 

not just of our recognition

of the Son of God

but of our own identity

How we define the Messiah

belies how we define ourselves.

Are we prepared to embrace

Our power

Our vulnerability?

Are we prepared to voice

Our doubts 

and our certainty?

Are we prepared to be

the sassy

mouthy

provocative

beings

we were created to be?

Are we prepared to be too much for some

and not enough for others?

Are we prepared

to delight

and to disappoint?

Created in the image of God

who names us Beloved

and who calls us

to bring our whole selves

and nothing less

into the arena

The question: Who do you say I am?

demands that we answer

Who do you say you are?

And then step up

and step into

our change making role

holding space

for all our sisters

for the changing

and the healing 

of the world.

It matters!

Full of the Spirit

Luke 4:1

The Temptation of Jesus

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.

Jesus entered the wilderness buoyed up by the affirmation, in baptism, that he was God's beloved son. That was enough to sustain him through trials and fasting.

However we practice baptism, be it in infancy, relying on the grace of God and guardians of the promise or in adulthood, as a public proclamation of faith, we often quickly lose sight of the import of baptism at whatever age - the import of God calling us beloved children, enabling and empowering us to do all things. Blessed to be a blessing.

Baptism is not only our affirmation but our elevation. In Baptism we are called out to serve. No one can refute that calling.

And, however long it might take us to embrace the gift, the blessing and the call, all three elements are present in that simple yet profound act.

It was enough to sustain Jesus for 40 days in the wilderness.

Enough to sustain him through an itinerant ministry.

Enough to sustain him through death and resurrection.

In these days of Lent, in whatever wilderness we may find ourselves, may we recall the affirmation and the ordination we received in baptism and may we respond as beloved children of God, called and equipped to serve and sustained in all things by one whose grace is sufficient.