When Joseph met his brothers in Egypt years after they’d
sold him to the slave traders, he eventually revealed to them who he was. As
they cowered in fear at the probable retribution he would dish out to them, he
spoke words of reassurance instead. What you intended for harm, he said, God used
for good. He turned the situation around, using Joseph to prepare a way of salvation
for the Jewish nation during a severe famine.
Right after Jesus was baptised by John, the Holy Spirit led
him into the wilderness. In the wilderness, there was risk: risk of wild
animals, risk of heatstroke, risk of loneliness. In the wilderness, there are
no familiar crutches on which to lean. There is nobody on whom to call. Except
God.
In the wilderness, Jesus not only drew near to his Father,
he also gained a new perspective on the situation in the church of his day, the
Temple with all its rules and rituals. He emerged from the wilderness forty
days later, prepared to challenge some of the assumptions he may previously not
have questioned.
Zoom church is, for me, a spectator event. I feel disengaged
and distant. It has been, and continues to be, a wilderness experience. But as
churches begin to re-open, I am thinking that what the pandemic took away, God has
redeemed. Unfulfilled by the church experience, I found myself in a wilderness
with only God on whom to lean. I have found my perspective changing.
He has, and still is, calling me to re-wild my faith. To
truly base my faith and actions on my relationship with him, rather than any
expectations or regulations from human institutions. What does this look like?
What will it look like eventually?
I don’t know. But I feel like I, and maybe many others, are
limping out of a wilderness, with faith still intact, even stronger than ever,
but maybe appearing a little unkempt. There was not only risk in the
wilderness; there was opportunity for creative thinking, for questions and
growth.
The journey continues.
