We can call all of these different experiences “wilderness experiences.” And we all know that these experiences can often be scary, sometimes lonely, and even times when God can feel very distant from us. And it might definitely be a world-wide pandemic that is changing our everyday life in ways that we never could have imagined. It might be getting sick, or losing a loved one. It might be the loss of a job, or the end of a relationship. Whenever something happens to us that throws us off-balance, spiritually speaking, we end up in what might very well be called the wilderness, in a spiritual wilderness. I learned to look at the wilderness not just as a harsh, dry place half a world away, but also as a way to describe experiences that you and I have all the time. It was back when I was in seminary that I learned to view the wilderness not only literally, but also symbolically. But also, I think, to teach us about facing our own wilderness experiences.
He went into the wilderness, after he was baptized by John, to fast, and to be tested by Satan. But Jesus went there, and spent forty long days there.
It was definitely not somewhere that most people wanted to go. It was more like that I would describe as a desert, a barren place with very little water or vegetation. The wilderness that Jesus was driven into in today’s gospel reading was not a very pleasant place. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan and he was with the wild beasts and the angels waited on him. The Spirit immediately drove out into the wilderness.
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