Several years ago, I had the pleasure of traveling with some friends in Arizona. We stayed in an area close to a desert park. Each morning, we took the opportunity to hike the trails there. I had never been in a desert before and was struck by how different and wonderful it was. It seemed to have minimal signs of life, some cactuses and scattered grasses, the occasional small mammal and a few, mostly unseen snakes. That being said, the desert was beautiful, a place for being alone in quiet, for spending time in reflection.
Our scriptures take us to deserts frequently. In the Old Testament, the story of Moses and the exodus of Israel from slavery in Egypt to liberation in the promised land is a flight through the desert. It is a journey plagued by hunger and thirst, a sense of being lost and of losing confidence. But it is also a journey in which Israel as a people discovered who they were in their relationship with God. They were a covenant people, a people brought together by the love with which God held them.
In our New Testament, the desert is where, Jesus found himself after his baptism by John in the Jordan. As the Gospel of Mark relates it, his baptism brought him the Spirit and an awareness as God’s beloved. That same Spirit led Jesus out into the desert and the temptations. With the desert experience, Jesus discovered his mission and the message that he was to share: The time has come and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent [Have a change of heart], and believe the Good News (Mark 1:15).
Moved by the Spirit, Jesus began gather disciples around him with the message and the mission to which he was called. The Good News they received was not just for them, it was to be shared widely and Jesus sent them forth to take the message to others and to reveal the active kingdom of God by their own reaching out to others. Periodically, Jesus called these same disciples to a desert, to restore and refresh the message and reenergize their mission (Mark 6:30-34).
This was more than a time of rest. It was a time for renewal and refocusing the message for the mission. Mark points this out by indicating that as they went away, they encountered new people seeking the message. Jesus did not avoid them, but reached out with compassion. The mission with its message of Good News had to continue with new energy. Such calls to deserts are what we sometimes refer to as retreats, opportunities to refresh and restore by stepping back from our regular routines.
Recently, I was invited to help two communities in retreats, one in PEI and another in Newfoundland. Looking back now, I realize that while I was called to facilitate these retreats, in the process of being with these communities, they were in fact renewing and nurturing my own faith. Coming to know them better and seeing their willingness to take on the disciple’s mission through their service to others, the real, living compassion they expressed, brought new life and commitment to me. For them I am most thankful.
All of us are disciples. By our baptism, we share the same call to the same message of God’s love and compassion. United in the same community of faith we have the support and encouragement of one another. This is what is expressed in the Synod on Synodality that our global Church is currently experiencing. (The first session took place in Rome in October of 2023, the second will occur this year in October. In between, we are invite to discover how we can best live as Church in and for our times.)
We are many peoples, cultures and languages. We have many ways of expressing our faith and yet we serve the same God and are called express the same message of love and compassion. It is not about uniformity, but rather unity as one People of God. In some measure, with the Synod, our global Church is on a kind of retreat, aimed at restoring and renewing our fundamental call.
In his address on October 9, 2021, calling for a Synod of our Global church, Pope Francis challenged us all to see our Church in a new light and to be open to the Spirit in our community of faith. He concluded his address with a prayer to the Holy Spirit: Come, Holy Spirit! You inspire new tongues and place words of life on our lips: keep us from becoming a ‘museum Church’, beautiful but mute, with much past and little future…. Come, Spirit of love, open our hearts to hear your voice! Come, Holy Spirit of holiness, renew the holy and faithful People of God! Come, Creator Spirit, renew the face of the earth!
As God’s People in this age, in the middle of a Synod of our Church, are we able to welcome the Spirit, and live up to the dreams of a Synodal Church? Can our own faith be renewed for the impact and influence our global, multi-cultural Church? Can we recognize in the midst of our synodal experience this year, that we have the capacity to create a Church open to all, marked by compassion, service and joy-filled hope?
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