On the first Sunday in Lent, we skip back to where we were the first Sunday in Epiphany, back to that Jordan River where Jesus is baptized, anointed by the Holy Spirit and affirmed by the voice of God proclaiming, “This is my Son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit in that moment, but he doesn’t get to dwell in the water or the delight of his heavenly father for long. No, the Spirit who fills him immediately hurries him on to the next step in his mission: a period of trial.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
It so often seems that really fruitful, beautiful times in our lives are followed by dry periods, times of trial and testing. Is this a pattern of God’s design? Are there things we can only learn in the wilderness times? Certainly the dry times aren’t as joy-filled as those seasons when we feel ourselves to be in the flow of the Living Water cascading from the throne of God. But maybe they’re as important.
Later this week we will enter the season of Lent, a season when we often voluntarily choose desert over river, seeking to strip away some of the clutter and chatter that fill our lives and can keep us from learning to depend wholly on God. Sometimes we give things up in order to listen better or focus more; sometimes we take things on. Ask God, “Holy Spirit, where are you leading me this Lent? What comfort zones or avoidance activities are you leading me away from? What practices and patterns are you leading me into?”
I’m urging my congregants to add a weekly small group to their Lenten practice – growing in intimacy with others who are walking Christ’s Way of Love can be both comforting and challenging, and will lead us deeper into God’s heart.
(If you would like to be a part of such a group (some will meet online), click here.)
Of course, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for a specific purpose, to be tested and tried and tempted and strengthened for the mission ahead. I can’t be sure where the Spirit would have us go, but I do believe s/he wants us ready for action. So let’s be open to how the Spirit will prepare us for our part in God’s great mission of wholeness and reconciliation.
The river is lovely, and we'll get to come back. Now maybe it's wilderness time.
Of course, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for a specific purpose, to be tested and tried and tempted and strengthened for the mission ahead. I can’t be sure where the Spirit would have us go, but I do believe s/he wants us ready for action. So let’s be open to how the Spirit will prepare us for our part in God’s great mission of wholeness and reconciliation.
The river is lovely, and we'll get to come back. Now maybe it's wilderness time.
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