Wilderness time
During the Season of Lent we travel with Jesus on a journey.We start in the wilderness – away from the things that normally
comfort and sustain us – and continue in the steps of
Jesus’ ministry and through to the last days of his life. At
this – like maybe no other – time of year, we are invited to
examine our spiritual lives and identify those parts of ourselves
that need improvement. Where are we falling short?
What relationships need attention? How do we dig deeper
into our relationship with God? What parts of our lives have
become too much about us and not enough about God?
Trappist monk Thomas Merton said, “The whole
Christian life is a life in which…the more we progress, the
poorer we get so that the man who has progressed most, is
totally poor – he has to depend directly on God. He’s got
nothing left in himself.”
When was the last time you heard someone say they
wanted to be “totally poor”? The human tendency is to
accomplish, acquire, and ascend – always looking to gain, not
to become poor. Merton’s “totally poor” is a life that’s progressed
the most, a life that’s getting closer to God and further
away from worries about money, possessions, and power.
As we begin Lent, we find ourselves at the edge
of “wilderness time,” at the edge of total and complete
dependence on God for everything we need. Scary? Yes.
Completely and totally fulfilling in the spiritual sense?
Absolutely.
Entering and participating in a Lent that empties you
of selfish desires and temptations and puts your complete
faith and trust in God isn’t easy. As we will read in the
Bible stories of the Lenten season, Jesus’ explanation of the
Reign of God and the movement of the Spirit in our lives
weren’t always understood by those who heard it – even
the disciples who were closest to Jesus.
So, in the wilderness, we needn’t despair when we don’t
get everything right. But we are called to put an intense
focus on our relationship with God and how we show God
to others in our lives. Our progress on this journey won’t be
measured in success, but by how empty we become, how
much room we are able to make for God in our lives.
Reflection Questions:
■■What scares you the most about depending completely
on God to provide in your life?
■■What parts of your life do you try to control – instead of
letting God control them?
■■What one spiritual practice will you take on this Lent that
makes more room for God in your life and less room for
your personal desires?
Seasons of the Spirit™ SeasonsFUSION Lent • Easter 2014 Copyright © Wood Lake Publishing Inc. 2013, p.12
