"Wilderness" (Luke 4:1-13)

I’ve been on walks in the wilderness.

Sometimes the walk is an hour or two.

Sometimes it’s a whole day.

Occasionally, my walk in the wilderness lasts several days. I’ve even been on wilderness walks that lasted a week.

For me, these are essential parts of my spiritual journey.

Each of these walks in the wilderness was planned, with a starting time and and ending time. I could always count down the miles and the hours until I returned to civilization, returned home, returned to my family. And I always consulted a trail map, so I knew where I was going. I haven’t got lost yet.

Not all wilderness journeys are like that. Certainly, not all spiritual journeys are like that.

Moses led the people of Israel on a journey through the wilderness. Their destination was the Promised Land. But it took them forty years to get there.

I say that Moses led them; actually, it was the Spirit. In a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, the Spirit of God led the people on a 40-year journey through the wilderness.

A wilderness is a place to clear one’s mind, to sort things out.

I guess the people of Israel had a lot of junk in their minds that needed clearing out.

I always maintain control of my journey when I walk in the wilderness. I wonder what it’s like to not have that control. To not know where you are going. To not know how long it’s going to take. To not know what challenges you might face along the way. To feel lost, alone, abandoned…

Certainly, the wilderness journeys in the Bible are metaphors for those times in life when we need to sort things out, those times when we need to transition to a new beginning, let go of the old, embrace the new.

That “letting go” can take an awfully long time.

Those who experience this in their lives often feel alone. Afraid. Full of doubts and questions.

And, perhaps, abandoned by God.

There are a lot of people in the wilderness today. Maybe you are one of them.

Does it feel that you are on a journey of trying to make sense of the world, trying to make sense of God, trying to figure out your purpose in life…?

And in that journey, do you feel abandoned?

In your search for God, do you feel alone?

In my own wilderness wanderings, I am often fascinated by what I see. Last month, on my birthday, I woke up before dawn to catch a boat to Catalina where I went on a ten-mile hike.

On the boat ride over, before I even started the hike, I saw something that amazes me every time I see it: the earth’s shadow. As the sun rose in the east, I could look to the west and see the sun’s rays bringing light to the upper atmosphere, while lower to the earth’s surface, the shadow kept the sky a darker shade of blue. This, of course, confirmed everything I know about the earth, the solar system – all the discoveries of science and astronomy, the earth’s rotation and revolution around a star that, relative to the earth, is stationary in the universe.

And I understand that the scientific, astronomical explanation of the solar system is true, despite what the Bible says about a three-tiered universe with domes above a flat earth, and so on.

When my faith was less mature, I questioned how the scientific explanation of things can exist alongside the Biblical explanation. That questioning was a part of my wilderness journey, my journey of faith. It took many years of questioning, of reading, of conversing, of praying. And I’m not done yet.

But I know I can look to science for questions about how the world works, about how the universe works.

And I know I can look to the Bible for questions about how God works.

Science does not seek to answer questions of faith. The Bible does not seek to answer questions of science.

And yet, for me, each enriches the other.

The scientific explanation for what I witnessed – the earth’s shadow – did not reduce the awe I feel every time I see it. It is a sight that always increases my appreciation for God.

Unfortunately, many people are lost, out in the wilderness. They have questions about God and faith and science, and can’t find anyone to discuss those questions with.

Often, the churches to which they belong, the churches they are familiar with, don’t want to hear their questions. “Don’t question God,” the churches say. “Don’t doubt. Just believe.” People want to probe deep into the mysteries of faith, but the church only provides simple, easy answers, and says “take it or leave it.”  But the people can’t “take it” – they can’t just swallow it whole – but they also don’t want to “leave it.” So they leave the church, and try to find their own way. They truly are lost in the wilderness….

Today is Evolution Sunday.

Evolution Sunday (Evolution weekend, to be more precise) is when hundreds of churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship focus on the compatibility of science and faith. The date is chosen due to Charles Darwin’s birthday being February 12.

The fact that, this year, Evolution Sunday is also the first Sunday of Lent reinforces the fact that, for so many, when it comes to reconciling the truths of science and the truths of religion, they are still lost in the wilderness.

Each year, the organizers of Evolution Sunday pick a theme. This year, the theme is exploring the questions.

So instead of presenting too many answers today, I’m going to encourage you to explore the questions. If you feel lost in the wilderness, odds are you have more questions than answers. I certainly do. Which is why I need a church that encourages the asking of questions.

The church should not be the place where you are made to leave your unanswered questions behind. God doesn’t want you to leave your unanswered questions behind. I certainly don’t leave my questions behind. I carry them with me. Sometimes, it’s not long before I do have an answer. Sometimes, it’s a very long time before the answer comes.

And some of the questions, I don’t ever expect an answer to. But the questions themselves are valuable. Precious.

And in the wilderness, I am able to give them the attention they deserve…

When you feel lost in the wilderness, it may be helpful to remember that there was a time when Jesus also found himself in the wilderness, where he met… the devil.

Some of the questions I carry around with me concern the devil. WHO or WHAT is the devil?

The Bible doesn’t present very many answers to that question, and the answers it DOES present vary so greatly from one another that I doubt the DEVIL from Luke’s gospel would even recognize the DEVIL from, say, the book of Job.

What is the devil?

I read recently that Joel Osteen never ever uses the word “devil” in his preaching. He simply talks about “the enemy,” and let’s people decide for themselves what that means.

Perhaps the devil is a metaphor for our own inner wrestling, the inner voices that pull us or speak to us one way…

Perhaps, even, the devil is the questioner, what we would call “the devil’s advocate.” And, in debates, the devil’s advocate is often helpful, is it not? It helps us see different points of view, it helps us clarify our own thinking.

OK. Perhaps I should stop saying “perhaps” so much. I’ve been told by other preachers that people don’t want to hear a preacher share his doubts and questions, because people have enough doubts and questions of their own. They want answers. They want certainty.

Well, I’m certain it’s ok to have questions. I know that questions are an important part of faith. I have no doubt that God is present in our questions and doubts.

In all our questioning, in all our doubts, in all our times out in the wilderness, where we think we are alone and abandoned, God’s spirit is present.

The Spirit’s presence is something I’ve been noticing a lot in our scripture readings these past few weeks. The Spirit is mentioned so often that it seems downright redundant. Have you noticed?

Less than a month ago, we had the story of Jesus’s baptism: “When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon him…”

Then we had Jesus in the synagogue: “Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, went into the synagogue, and read from the prophet Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.’”

Now, today, we have: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit in the wilderness…”

According to the church calendar, the focus on the Spirit isn’t supposed to happen until Pentecost. But the Spirit is EVERYWHERE.

Even in the wilderness, where there are no roads, where the questions abound, where science mixes with faith, where the destination is unclear, the path uncertain, when you feel alone and abandoned…

The Spirit is there.

In the questions.

In the uncertainty….

Here’s what I want you to do this Lent.

Go for a walk. Or, if you prefer, just sit; that works too, as long as you don’t have the TV on or the radio on, as long as you aren’t near a phone or a computer screen…

And just listen.

Listen for the questions.

Listen for the Spirit.

Mother Theresa was once asked about her prayer life. We know, from her writings, that she had many doubts and questions, that she often felt alone in the spiritual wilderness.

The interviewer asked Mother Teresa, “When you pray, what do you say to God?”

Mother Teresa replied, “I don’t talk, I simply listen.”

Believing he understood what she meant, the interviewer said, “Ah, then what is it that God says to you when you pray?”

Mother Teresa replied, “He also doesn’t talk. He also simply listens.”

After a moment of confused silence, she added, “I’m sorry if you don’t understand, but I can’t explain it any better.”

Mystery is always a core part of a life of faith. Science is fascinating. Science searches for answers, and there is much truth in those answers.

But faith embraces mystery. And there is much truth in that as well.