"Where your feet take you, that is who you are”

 

Reflection 21^st February 2021

 

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. And traditionally our minds may turn to the story of Jesus in the wilderness, residing there for 40 days and nights and being tempted. That is how the story is laid out in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. But with Mark it is a bit different. Mark seems to do everything quickly in his Gospel and in his relating of Jesus’ story, Mark has no time for the detail of the debates between Jesus and the Devil.

¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted^[a] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. Mark 1: 12 – 13 NIV

Similarly, the account in Mark of Jesus’ baptism, carried out by his cousin John the Baptist, is very brief. And there is no reference to John being in the wilderness himself. There is no reference to John being the one:

“spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.”’^[a]  Matthew 3:2 NIV

 

We all understand what a wilderness is. Even if it’s the bit at the bottom of the garden we never quite manage to tame. Chambers dictionary defines a wilderness as “a region, uncultivated and uninhabited; a pathless, unfrequented or unexplored region”

Reading that definition when preparing this Reflection, I was struck by the second part of it “a pathless, unfrequented or unexplored region”

For Jesus, the time in the wilderness was a time of physically being in a pathless, unfrequented, or unexplored region. But I’d suggest it was spiritually a wilderness too. The Gospel writers are silent on whether Jesus had any idea of how he would be tempted in those 40 days. Perhaps his time in the wilderness would be unexplored territory for his own faith? Perhaps he had no idea where he would be led?

One of the other readings suggested for today is Psalm 25. The language of the Psalm recalls the time that the Hebrews spent in the wilderness after their escape from slavery in Egypt. The Psalmist begs God for leadership in the paths of righteousness (see verses 4 and 9), which recalls the stories of Yahweh leading the people by pillars of cloud and fire. But it also recalls how during the 40-year period, the Hebrews were formed as a people, including how they were taught the paths of righteousness, before they were admitted to the promised land.

The Psalm is a useful reminder of how, during our own faith journeys, it is possible that we will enter times of wilderness ourselves. Times when we may feel alone. Times when feel distant from God. And of course times when we feel tempted in all manner of ways and by all manner of things.

We may well be in the wilderness. But the Psalmist reminds us that that the time in the wilderness can be important for us

⁴ Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me, Psalm 25: 4 – 5 NIV

In the wilderness we will learn, or learn again, the paths of the Lord. In the wilderness times we can refocus on God. In the wilderness times we choose to follow Christ. But it is our choice. If we look, we will find the paths and God will lead us down the right paths. But it is for each of to make that choice. The season of Lent makes it clear that no one else can make the decision of faith for us.

Verses 4 and 5 of the Psalm are a reminder to chose God’s way despite the many easier paths available. For those easier paths may not be the right path. In Matthew 7 Jesus said:

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7: 13 – 14 NIV

With God’s help we can discern the right paths to take us from the wilderness. But it is for us to decide once we have been shown.

Frederick Buechner in his 1970 book The Alphabet of Grace wrote:

“If you want to know who you are, watch your feet. Because where your feet take you, that is who you are”

Lent is a time to choose who we will be and whose we will be. Our identity is not defined by what we claim to believe, but by the road we take. We might prefer to bypass the cross and Calvary in our journey of faith and arrive at Easter. But Easter will not make any sense unless we are able to stay the course and go via Golgotha.

The call for patient trust, for keeping to the true path reminds us that our journey of faith does not promise quick fixes and results. Faith is more than mountaintop moments; faith also encompasses times of solitude and struggle. The right road will not always look like the right road.

“God’s goodness will be shown to the sinners and humble, and it will be shown with a road – a way through - a path that leads to love and faithfulness, for those who are willing to walk it.” Brian Erickson