There are many reasons why we might find ourselves in the wilderness. When my mother died, I spent a year in a wilderness of grief. In a way I was lucky, because I could point to some loss, some reason for me being there. Sometimes, we find ourselves in the wilderness without a reason that … Continue reading Luke 4:1-13 The Wilderness
When Elizabeth gives birth to John, her neighbors and relatives gather around in joy. This is the second gang of people we’ve seen in Luke’s Gospel, the first being the crowd at the temple who gathered around Zechariah after he emerged from his encounter with an angel. I think it’s fair to say that they … Continue reading Luke 1:57-80 Joy, Community, and Wilderness
Mark's story of Jesus's baptism is like a storm front. The brightness of the baptism and the descent of the dove is met, almost immediately, by the darkness of the temptation in the wilderness, and the whole story seems to exist in that liminal space where warm air meets cold air and a storm begins … Continue reading Blessed Voyagers
KPB Stevens 