Mark 1: 9-11 (from The Message): At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God’s Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”
12-13 At once, this same Spirit pushed Jesus out into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by Satan. Wild animals were his companions, and angels took care of him.
14-15 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.”
At this point in the traditional Lenten season, many persons are demonstrating their faith in Jesus by “suffering” through some sacrificial, outward and visible, action. They’ve given up a favorite food, are walking the stairs instead of using the elevator, or even- in some cultures- hurting themselves, with pebbles in their shoes or some other such nonsense.
I think the real point of the episode above is not the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus that his followers are trying to emulate; I think it’s the wilderness.
The wilderness of Jesus’ day was..where? I don’t know and neither does anyone else. We only know it was far enough outside of town for there to be wild animals nearby, which- given the time and place- didn’t have to be very far out of town at all. It was, we can also surmise, a place where Jesus was able to be alone. And that, for any human living in community, is wilderness.
We have a hard time being alone. Even someone who never leaves their apartment is dependent upon and, thus, actively involved with the water department, the electric company, and the digital community of television and the Internet, along with an army of farmers, ranchers, food processors, truckers, and merchants. It’s very hard to be alone.
But, I believe the story of Jesus Alone shows that it is vital. For almost a million years, humans were dependent on the wilderness for their needs- all of them. There were no back up plans possible when wild onions were scarce or when a protein-laden rabbit failed to be killed. And no one to say “Help!” to either.
It was during those million years that Jesus’ and our DNA, our genetics, and the shapes of our bodies were forming. As products of our ancestors and their environment, everything about us has evolved for a purpose, and it is necessary (however difficult) to become reacquainted with the realities of ourselves, our bodies, our being.
It is necessary to become aware (again or even for the first time), of our dependence on God (however that loaded word is defined by each of us).
None of us who are writing or reading these words on line is prepared to do that for 40 days. But every one of us can find a place, maybe this day, certainly this week, to be by ourselves for a time beyond our self-identified capacity to do so. No bench, no iPod, no phone, no water bottle, no munchies, and- preferably- no human noise or presence within our hearing or seeing: that’s the challenge. If you think you can do that for 15 minutes, make sure you do it for 30 minutes. If you think “A whole day- no problem!” then stay for two. The point is to blur the boundaries of ourselves with whatever the wilderness is that we are in.
The point is to begin to realize that we are not alone! Ever! A hundred thousand generations of others’ lives are pulsing within us, every nuance of our bodies is striving to keep us alive, and there is that voice on the wind, in the trees, across the grass, that seems to also be trying to tell us something.
Hear it?
Put pebbles in your shoes, if you wish. That’s the easy way. Or just be quiet, and listen. That’s the Jesus way, the wilderness way.
(More on this same passage each day this week.)
