Message from Pastor Carol: March 2018
What did you go into the wilderness to see?
John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who has come – the Messiah?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”
Jesus turned to the gathered, bewildered crowd following him and asked, ” What did you go out into the wilderness to see?…If you came to see fineries and comfort, you are looking in the wrong place.” (Matthew 11:2-11)
The wilderness was the home to the prophet John who wore strange clothing and ate very little. John proclaimed “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is more powerful than I is coming after me…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John led a mysterious life and this was a mysterious message. Jesus was coming to speak a new language and provide a new vision enlivened by the Holy Spirit. The wilderness was not to provide comfort and escape but rather awakening and readiness.
What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
During our time of lent, the wilderness is the venue for honesty, exposure, humility and letting go. The wilderness is the venue for hearing and seeing who and what God is – the manifestation of healing and vindication of the suffering. The wilderness is the venue for seeking our messiahship and identity.
What do you go out into the wilderness to see? Be prepared to be bewildered and awakened.
Blessings,
Pastor Carol