For most of my 24 years as a priest I have lived in the
desert, at Bidyadanga and Balgo. The desert taught me a many things, and some
of them have been crucial to my survival.
The first is that you need to be aware. In the desert,
people who don’t know what is going on around them die: it’s
as simple as that. I have buried many people who did not believe this fact.
Second, little things make a difference. If a person
travelling or living in the desert is prepared, they check and double check
their fuel and water, they check when they come up to an unfamiliar crossing or
track. They will survive when something goes wrong.
If a person in the desert follows this, they will not only
survive but thrive. The desert will be a home of plenty that supports and
nurtures that person.
The most important decision times for Jesus were in the
desert. There he sat, thought, fasted and gained strength: He listened to God.
Lent is our desert time. During the next six weeks, take
time to listen (pray with your mind, see where you are and what is right and
wrong with our life); take time to go without something, to fast from food
(pray with your body, knowing that we are tempted and that we need to make
ourselves strong against temptation); take time to do good things for others
and helping people a long way away through Project Compassion (pray with your actions,
putting our faith into practice). The order is important, because it makes no
sense to fast without prayer (it is not about dieting), or to give to others if
we don’t acknowledge our connection as humans created by God (it is
not about making us feel good)
In all of this, smile, because you and I know something that
is wonderful, that Jesus is real and that people who believe in him can alter
that course of our world. Lent is a great time, a chance that you and I have to
make our lives and this world better for all people.
If you want to join this, come and be signed with ashes, but
remember, if you are signed with ashes you are saying that there is something
more to life than you can see around you, and that this lent you are going got
make a difference to your life and the lives of others.
This Lent don’t just survive, thrive!
