In The Wilderness Again, And Hallelujah!

Here we are again.
Turned upside down.
Turned inside out.
Sheep in the wilderness again.
But that’s alright.
That can, in fact, be a good thing.
The wilderness doesn’t have to be dangerous.
The wilderness doesn’t have to be scary.
The wilderness can be liberating.
The wilderness can be deepening.
The wilderness is beautiful.
Filled with wonder.
The wilderness is where things happen.
The wilderness is where we can most deeply encounter the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was all about the wilderness.
The wilderness was where he embraced his ministry after overcoming the temptation to do something else.
The wilderness is where we embrace our own ministry, overcoming the temptation to regard ourselves as lost or left behind.
We are nothing of the kind.
It may seem that we are in a lonely place.
But that’s alright.
That can, in fact, be a good thing.
Jesus was always going off to a lonely place to pray, contemplate, and commune with God.
Lonely places are where things happen.
Lonely places are where we can most deeply encounter the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was all about lonely places.
And funny thing about the word lonely.
Take off the first L and the word becomes “one-ly.”
A one-ly place.
A place where we become one with Jesus.
A place where we become one with God.
A place where we become one with the Holy Spirit.
A place where we gather and become one with each other.