This Desert Season

By Rev. Ethan Brown

Pastor and Minister of Care & Discipleship

You may have noticed our beautiful worship-scape on the altar this past Sunday. The sandy rocks and dry grasses invited us into the season of Lent in which we acknowledge the dry and sometimes barren moments of our own lives. For many years now, Lent has been a desert season to me. A season whose liturgy and scripture and practice of fasting renew my thirst for God’s ever faithful presence. I am reminded, too, of the mothers and fathers of our faith who lived and practiced their faith in the actual deserts—removing distractions from their lives to orient their lives around God.

I read a story of one of the desert fathers this week, translated into Yushi Nomura’s wonderful book, Desert Wisdom. It says,

“A brother said to an old man: There are two brothers. One of them stays in his cell quietly, fasting for six days at a time, and imposing on himself a good deal of discipline, and the other serves the sick. Which one of them is more acceptable to God? The old man replied: Even if the brother who fasts six days were to hang himself by the nose, he could not equal the one who serves the sick.”

Here is a reminder that I need this Lenten season and perhaps you do as well. No matter the restrictions we place on our lives, the distractions we remove, the time we spend in prayer, and the fasts we take up in Lent, the call to love and serve those around us is more true to our Christian faith than any other. As it says in 1 John 3:17, “Dear children, let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth.” If you are fasting this season, I commend you, but perhaps for all of us, this Lent can be a renewed call to put the love of God into practice. Who can you serve in a special way in this desert season?