December 3 - Judean Wilderness

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Matthew 3:1-6

For we moderns, the wilderness holds some kind of romance; it’s the place we escape to, the place where we can let go of all the frenzy of full lives and find a little peace and quiet.

Not so for the ancients. The wilderness was a place of danger. No telling what fierce animal or ruthless bandit was waiting around the next corner.

Yet, against all reason, the wilderness was a place where God got God’s work done. The Children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, the school where God created and formed a people. John the Baptist called Judeans into the wilderness to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. Jesus began his ministry in the wilderness, going down into the baptismal waters of the Jordan, then confronting Evil in his 40-day wilderness testing. Finally, he would end his life in the wilderness of Golgotha, dying a cruel death, abandoned by his friends, giving his life so that we might know the Eden of God’s love and grace.

As you enter this holy season of Advent, in whatever wilderness you find yourself wandering, know that God is with you as God has always been with God’s people in the wilderness. And trust that in this time of getting ready for God’s coming as a baby, God is not only with you; God is also forming you, shaping you, and calling you.

Pastor Jim Honig
Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran (ELCA) - Ellison Bay



 

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