Through the Wilderness

If you’re part of any christian faith tradition, you may be in the middle of Lent right now. If you’re not, you might want to consider that the origin of the name isn’t anything to do with a loan or borrowing, it means “springtime” or “lengthening of days.” So maybe instead of the classic church traditions, you might just consider that now is an opportune time to do some spring cleaning.

That’s a worthwhile way to see Lent, I think. You’re taking time for some self-reflection, working on yourself a bit, maybe letting go or cleaning out some baggage, maybe dusting off some things you haven’t looked at for awhile. That’s what those spiritual practices that churches often suggest are meant to do. “Abstinence, prayer and almsgiving” are personal things you can do in order to direct your contemplation, thoughts, reflecting on who you are, your relationship with God (however you know God) and the world around you. It’s about working on you.

That makes sense, given that the story that inspires Lent is Jesus going into the wilderness alone to be tempted or tested or find himself, depending on how you understand the story. Or which version: it’s in three of the four gospels. It’s worth remembering, by the way, that each account says the Holy Spirit goes with him. That same spirit of life is in you and me and all living things. It’s the very power and energy we need to do life, so that’s what you’re working with when we’re tested or tempted or working on ourselves.

But Jesus isn’t the only one in the Bible who goes into the wilderness to find himself. His ancestors spent forty years wandering in the wilderness. Having spent generations in slavery in Egypt, the story goes, God sent Moses to lead them out of that life into a new life as their own nation. But they weren’t ready to be that, they needed to learn, to figure out who they are, what their relationship is with God, and learn how to care for each other and live together - as a people, a community, a nation. The experiences they had, how they were fed (spiritually and physically), the “commandments” even, were all about how they live together in relationship. They weren’t lost in the desert, they were finding their way.

Now seems to be a good time for us all to think about that, too. It can feel very much like we’re lost in a wilderness right now, one devoid of love, empathy, compassion, grace or even basic respect, not just individually but as communities, as peoples, cultures, nations. Whether it’s war (or whatever we’re calling it this week), politics, services, business or society in general, strength seems to be measured in weapons, power over others, brutality, meanness and just plain cruelty. Before we get mired in that wilderness, maybe we should be looking for the ways in which we can learn our way out of it.

Let’s look for leaders who build relationships, look for equity and model respect and care. Let’s look for ways to care for the sick, broken and hurting, to use what resources we have to support the weakest among us and lift people up, not knock them down. Let’s look for ways to build peace on mutual respect and build trust, honouring people for who they are and how they live. Let’s look for ways to imagine, create and build together.

I know what that sounds like. Warm, fuzzy, even woke. It is. It’s also Jesus. It’s also easily set aside as an unattainable ideal, just as Jesus often is. But maybe the first things to hold onto in the wilderness are our creativity and imagination. Maybe the first things to hold onto are each other.