These are strange times we live in! In a way we were not clear about last year at this time, we realize that our world really is one family – and what happens oceans away affects us – directly!
Now we are in the midst of Lent. The theme for the March Wholeness Service was “Desert.” Deserts and wildernesses are special to many faiths as places of formation. They are where one goes to deepen ones understanding of their relationship to God and to learn to know themselves. Jesus is “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness for forty days following his baptism – and at the end is confident to stand before the temptations offered him – and at another ending, to accept the cross.
Deserts do this by removing distractions. They are places where human relationships are minimized (but often deeper.) All the many “things to see or do or hear” are hidden away. We are left alone – with ourselves, and God.
Lent is a time we try to create a bit of desert in our routines – whether by fasting, special worship or other means. Perhaps the many closings imposed by the pandemic will create a bit more “desert” for us this year – and we, too, will learn who we really are – and our relationship to Christ will grow stronger.
Rev. John Clifford
