“And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” – Mark 1:12-13 (NRSVA)

This year I invite us all to give more time and attention to what makes us faithful Christian disciples. Our challenge is to enter into a wilderness time with Jesus, to give Jesus our companionship throughout the weeks leading to Easter. Day-by-day, step-by-step we journey into wilderness – a place that is unfamiliar, dangerous, challenging, unknown, and filled with temptations. This is an invitation to make a conscious and intentional decision to go places that might be uncomfortable, threatening, frightening, or overwhelming for some, but we all enter in knowing that “angels wait on us,” and protect us.

This wilderness region stands between us, where we are now, and true and foundational beloved community, where God is calling us. Our current reality is that we tend to stay where we are most comfortable, where things are familiar, seem safe, secure, and normal. But one of the “beasts” we will encounter in our wilderness journey is normativity – the deceptive perspective that what is normal, comfortable, and beneficial for us is also normal for everyone else. In the glorious and divine creation of God, where the global community is one of widely diverse cultures, rituals, practices, values, moralities, preferences and tastes, there is simply no one-size-fits-all normal for everyone.

There are many significant challenges to such an audacious and ambitious goal, and we will encounter many of them in this Lenten season together. For many of us, we may feel threatened and discomforted by such phrases and concepts as racism, white privilege, white supremacy, colonialism, oppression, and racially based injustice. We may feel our defenses rise, we may even be offended and alarmed. This is what happens in the wilderness. Wilderness is never a safe place, but we must enter and cross the wilderness if we ever want to arrive at the Promised Land of Beloved Community.

It is true that humanity is seriously suffering from environmental and ecological problems and is suffering greatly. Of course, it is not easy for us, who live in a consumer culture, to talk about the preservation of the ecosystem and justice for all creatures. Our prayer for a green theology and our confession of faith that everyone is called to preserve God’s creation is a reality that demands urgent practice. It is precious that we pray for and care about justice for all creatures, along with the invitation to walk the actual path of the wilderness during this Lenten season. As vibrant church communities across Ohio stand as earth stewards for the preservation of creation, praying and learning together, this is one of the ways God wants us to preserve justice.

I am deeply moved to see our church open pantries for the homeless and the poor, regularly prepare and provide food, and extend God’s love to those who are left behind in the gaps of social injustice. The impactful mission of providing food, neatly organizing clothes, and providing free shelter for the poor neighbors is a proud practice of discipleship. I am grateful for this participation and prayer, and I am strengthened by meeting volunteers who are unconditionally committed and serving.

Our journey will be uncomfortable, offensive to some, and challenging to all. We openly and honestly admit this up front. But this is an important journey – an essential and inescapable journey – for The United Methodist Church to be faithful to its bedrock commitment to social justice through the unconditional love of God for all God’s people. Keep in mind that we make this journey with the angels, the emissaries of God who will keep us grounded in God’s Word and Will throughout our days.

“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” – Revelations 22:12-13 (NRSVA)

This Lenten season will be a prayerful time, a discerning time, a time for individual introspection as well as shared conversation. It is my prayer and desire that in this journey we will all feel God’s guiding hand and empowering Spirit, and that we will arrive together at a greater, deeper, and wider understanding of what it means to be a citizen in the Beloved Community of our Lord.