In these verses from Luke, we read about Jesus retreating to a solitary place in the desert for prayer. Christ was seeking solitude in the remote desert, by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, for a period of testing and recovery. The desert fathers and mothers sought to do the same.
For the early desert Christians, retreating to the desert and living a life in solitude was an invitation to reign in their passions and pursue a life of complete devotion to God. Henri Nouwen, in The Way of the Heart, calls this a “place of conversion, the place where the old self dies and the new self is born, the place where the emergence of the new man and the new woman occurs.”
Desert mother Amma Syncletica once said, "There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in the town; they are wasting their time. It is possible to be in solitary in one's mind while living in a crowd; and it is possible for those who are solitaries to live in the crowd of their own thoughts." You do not have to live in a solitary state or wall yourself off from the rest of society to experience the silence and simple approach to life.
Being in solitude does not mean that we escape from the rest of society in order to avoid contact with others and have “alone time.” You do not have to go to the actual desert to spend time in solitude. Solitude is a chance to confront our authentic selves in relation to God will and righteousness for our lives. This can happen at work, at home or anywhere we can pause and reflect on this.
QUESTIONS FOR THE FIELD
What does it mean to be in the desert with God?
FAMILY FIELD TALK
How can you engage in a desert pilgrimage like the desert fathers and mothers without leaving home? What could this look like?
PRAYER GUIDE
Lord help me to see clearly, as You see. Help me to strip away the noise of the world and the noise of my thoughts and hear only You. Lord create in me anew. Amen.
