Today’s passage is Mark 1:12-20. The Spirit sends Jesus into the desert for 40 days, tempted by the devil, living with wild animals, and ministered by angels. He then preaches repentance and the good news. He calls Peter, Simon, James and John to follow him, which they do.
What desert are you in?
What are your wild animals?
In the parts of Canada that I lived in, there were always wild animals around.
They were mostly small and harmless like raccoons, skunks, foxes, beaver, muskrats, mink, porcupines, squirrels, rabbits, and deer.
Sometimes I’d see jackals or a wolf, sometimes a bear or a moose.
Lots of different birds--blue jays, chickadees, Orioles, swallows, robins, owls, partridge.
I never went into the woods without seeing wild animals.
It was normal.
I saw a lynx once, One time I was peed on by a porcupine in a tree--very smelly!
I was never threatened or harmed by wild animals. They were just part of my environment growing up. It was nice.
When I read today’s passage I wondered if the wild animals kept Jesus company and made him feel less lonely in the desert.
The real wild animals are in me, especially impatience, anger and judging, that unholy trinity of self-righteousness.
I had a pretty good day at school but then lost it on the way home on the bus.
Across the aisle from me were what I came to see as a mother and adolescent son.
The son was curled up against his mother like a child, his head on her shoulder.
He spoke continually in a way that irritated me.
I wanted to smack him to make him shut up and leave me in peace.
He and his mother had been on the bus before me, but I arrogantly assumed pride of place and didn’t want them on the bus with me.
As I listened to the boy’s voice piercing my head, I slowly realized he was mentally handicapped.
How would I handle a child of mine who was like that?
Would I imagine strangers like me being irritated by him?
Would I be embarrassed by my loving, dependent child, always clinging to me, never free of him?
Suddenly, I was heartily ashamed of myself, and I repented.
Application:try to be gentle with others in thought and in action.
Lord, let me not be such an arrogant hypocrite, but take the desert out of me.
