Matthew 3:1-3, 11

Don and I recently spent a few days hiking in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. I’ve never visited the wilderness of Judea, but I suspect the Wichitas are a good approximation—rocky, rugged, wild, and beautiful, with a tracery of crooked paths laid down by elk, deer, and bison.  The first afternoon, hiking down from Elk Mountain, we stopped for a water break in a wooded area. For ten minutes we sat with closed eyes listening to the stillness. No birds spoke. Only with deep attention could we hear the small voices of crickets above us. As we rested in silence, the hillside breathed a sigh, and to our left leaves shuffled on their trees. The sigh slipped behind us, leaves shifted, lightly brushing each other. The breath crept below us, circled back, stole around our shoulders, an unimaginably hushed movement drawing sound from the attendant leaves. Then, as softly as it began, the hillside inhaled the wind back into stillness and silence. The wood is breathing, I thought, and God has wrapped a shawl of peace around us.

There are many ways to encounter God:  through prayer, contemplation, worship, music, service, in dreams, in vision quests, in community, and in solitude. Both John and Jesus prepare for their ministries by seeking contemplative, prayerful quiet in the wilderness. John knows that for a deep encounter with divinity, repentance comes first. He’s passionate about his ministry—willing and able to die for his calling—but he also knows who he is, that he is not the long-awaited Messiah. In fact, he considers himself unworthy to carry the sandals of his cousin, God incarnate. John is part of the vanguard preparing the way for Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus will bring.

I know of no better way to prepare ourselves to encounter the Holy Spirit than to do as Jesus did, to remove ourselves from distraction, and quiet our hearts and minds in silence and in prayer. If wilderness is available to you and you like it, go there. 

Lord Jesus,
we thank you for showing us a way forward,
for leading by example,
for giving “to all the faithful
your own self for heavenly food.
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Lord Most High.”

Quote from Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Contributed by Jane Steinkraus