Last week, the Rev. Geoffrey Hoare told us to sharpen our focus if we are to be transformed - that the glory of God is not realized by staying on the mountain, or taking refuge in past security, but, instead, means leaving the past behind and following Jesus down off the mountain and into the wilderness - the first stop on the way to the cross and the kingdom of God. What awaits us in the wilderness?
This week, in "Enemies," Hoare challenges us to confront that, within and without us, which keeps us from becoming who we are called to be - beloved children of God - to confront the enemies which compromise our freedom and impair or impede us from being in a right relationship with God and our neighbor. How does being in the wilderness help us to do that?
The Rev. Dr. Lou Bouman in "Back to the Wilderness," tells us "To walk in that wilderness, to be alone with my thoughts and with God is one of the things that feeds my soul. But it is not safe. It is never safe. For each encounter with myself and with God changes me forever. Just as it changed Moses when he encountered God in the burning bush, so each encounter changes us. For in the wilderness I cannot escape from who I am, nor can I escape from the one who calls me to be so much more than just who I am. In the wilderness I am laid bare and open to all the things that God calls me to be." In the wilderness when everything else is taken away, we learn the value of things. What is most valuable to us? What is the value of testing? What can we learn in the wilderness?
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