The Blessing of the Desert; What to expect after baptism

 

I apologize for writing infrequently;  life has demanded it.  I also needed  to FINISH one thing before investing fully in another.  We just completed a  translation of the Procession of the Holy Spirit by St Gregory Palamas.  I need ed to finish it tonight (2 SEP). As I leave 3 SEP,  in 8 hours for the desert.

I will be training with my soldiers for a month. I will have my true Lent. Thanks you for your prayers.

As we read the Gospel account:

“Immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the Wilderness.”  Mark 1,12.  Notice The Spirit drives Jesus.  Literally,  the Spirit cast  Him out from where He was (ekballei, same word for exorcism).  

The Lord does the same to us.  We are baptized and then eutheos,  immediately the SPirit drives us, compels us, into a desert.

This corrects the  notion that becoming a Christian is a bed of roses. Nope. We are baptized into His life, which is a death to self.  We are then  anointed.  This anointing  is for the stadium before us.  We are stripped down and rubbed up for the wrestling match.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principlalities and powers” Ephesians 6,12.

I will not sugar coat this.  When you are baptized into the Faith you are anointed, “you have an unction from the Holy One and know all things” 1 John 2,20. And this anointing this chrismation  runs over and enables you  to fight in this desert.

Do we find ourselves alone  in a barren place in life?  This is God’s perfect design.  How long will it last? Who knows.  The testing for Jesus was only 40 days.  But He is God .  Paul  was thrown into the desert.  He was baptized by Ananias and then  for THREE years he was in the desert.

His desert was more revelatory than  a trial.  God taught him truth he needed to pass on to others.  Much like God taught Moses  in the back side of the desert.  Moses was a slow learner, though. It took him 40 years to learn what he needed then  he did not want to do the mission God called him to because he felt to sinful and unworthy.

So let’s not despise the planning of God to drive us into the wilderness.  After all He makes the desert to bloom.  See you  in 30 days (closer to 40)