At our last Gathered Community meeting, Prairie Sky Church focused on Scripture from Mark 1:12-15. In this Scripture, Mark introduces us to what I call the “Jesus Way” (see Acts 9:2) or the “Jesus Path.” It could even be called the “Jesus Quest”–an epic adventure driven by the Holy Spirit whose goal is the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ decision to give his life to this Quest brings him (and us, if we should choose to follow in this Way) into a confrontation between good and evil in which evil is overcome. It’s no wonder that great Christian writers like J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis invented and used the fantasy genre to tell their stories.

  • Together we talked about the work of the Spirit, which “drives” or “tosses out” Jesus into the wilderness. The Spirit reminds us of the work of the Spirit in creation (Genesis 1:2) to bring something truly new, vital, and beautiful into existence. The work of the Spirit at this point in the Gospel of Mark tells us that the Jesus Way brings about a “new creation” or a restoration of both the creation that was marred and the relationships between God and human beings that were broken when sin and evil entered the world.
  • We talked about the “wilderness” that the Spirit drives Jesus into as a place where life is stripped done to the essentials and where elemental, spiritual forces of good and evil are encountered. We spoke of our own wilderness experiences, including our experience of 21st century American culture as a kind of wilderness where we are constantly being bombarded with media messages that cause us fear and anxiety rather than inspire us to confidence and hope. Nova compared her experience of living in the wilderness of this media age to “having a bag over our heads filled with all these messages. How are we supposed to see past it?”
  • The fact that Jesus was driven into the wilderness also tells us that the Jesus Way is about learning that the world does not revolve around us. The wilderness is a place untamed by human beings. The wilderness is not set up to cater to our desires for comfort and convenience. It demands that we try to understand the world as God intended it and adjust our lives to live within God’s healthy, life-giving limits. This is true Christian maturity–letting go of our self-centeredness and learning to center our lives on serving God and serving God’s world.
  • The Gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus encounters Satan in the wilderness and is tempted by him. Once again, this reminds us of the story in Genesis 3 where Satan tempts Adam and Eve with the fruit of the forbidden tree. Where Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation and thereby allowed sin to enter the world and alienate all of creation from our Creator, Jesus in the wilderness resists temptation and overcomes Satan. By doing this, Jesus begins the process of reconciling the world to God which he will complete in his death and resurrection.
  • The Jesus Way has a goal. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus calls it “the kingdom of God.” The Kingdom of God is that promised future when the reconciliation between God and God’s world is finally fully realized. Revelation 21 articulates this vision beautifully: “See the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”

    • At Prairie Sky Church, we endeavor to walk the Jesus Way together. We invite you to walk this path, too. If we can support you, let us know.