Into The Desert
“He was among the wild beasts, and angels ministered to Him.” (Mark 1:13)
The Judean wilderness stretches far and wide, a vast canvas of rock and dust. It is beautiful, in a harsh sort of way. One can almost hear the echoes of the prophets in the crevassed boulders and jagged peaks, promising a day when this desert would bloom.
Atop one height sits a solitary figure. His head is bowed, His hair tossed by the fitful gusts of wind. His dusty clothes, sunburnt face, and gaunt frame suggest that He has been here for some time. His eyes are closed and His brow furrowed as His mouth silently forms the words of David: O God, You are my God, for You my soul is thirsting … like a dry, weary land without water.
Suddenly, His eyes open and He looks quickly to His right. There is a scrawny brown jackal, which shies away at the abrupt movement. A smile breaks over the Man’s face, and He gently beckons the creature nearer. Though its only human contacts up to now have been accompanied by sticks and shouting, somehow it seems to know that this Man is to be trusted.
A strong, calloused hand reaches out and strokes the jackal’s rough mane. The Man, still smiling, closes His eyes again and begins to mouth another prayer. All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the LORD; praise and exalt Him above all forever.
As the fierce sun begins to wane, the Man is still sitting there, with the beast sitting beside Him. They gaze together at the burst of color that heralds the dying day. As the first stars begin to shine, the Man looks to His left, where a light of unearthly brightness has appeared. He smiles once again, beckoning the angel nearer.
So there they sit, beneath the stars - the angel, the Man, and the beast. Not since Eden has such a harmony been seen. Has Eden, then, been renewed in the midst of this forbidding desert? No, something greater than Eden is here — for the Man seated on the rocky bluff is not only Son of Adam, but Son of God, come to search out His straying brethren.
For now, though, He remains apart. The time will come when He will be surrounded by a sea of humanity, day and night — but for these forty sacred days, He will be seen only in the company of the higher and the lower creation, the angels and the beasts. Will man receive Him as readily as they?