THE SYMBOLISM OF THE DESERT "In Biblical symbolism, the desert is a stage on the way toward God. All who are called on the path of faith must go through this stage. Abraham went through it when he left Haran, in the Chaldeans, to search for the Promised Land. The history of Moses begins in the desert, when God appears to him in the burning bush and in the quiet of the desert, calls him to the special mission of freeing the chosen people. God, when speaking through the prophet Hosea, talks about Israel, whom He leads into the desert with love: "So I will allure her ; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart." HOSEA 2:16 The desert can be "imposed" by God onto a person or a community when He Himself leads someone into it, but it can also be a desert out of choice. One thing is certain: if you enter it, you will change. It is certain that at some point, you must enter it. The desert is a place of trial. The situation of a desert reveals that which is deeply hidden in a person. A person here stands face to face with the terrifying truth of who he really is without the visible power of God. The barrenness of the desert uncovers the wretchedness of a person and reveals his nakedness because his illusions dissipate, and there is nowhere to hide. The gift of the desert lets you overcome lukewarm-ness, because the desert forces you to make choices. As long as you are a lukewarm Christian for whom everything goes well and for whom there are no problems, your situation as seen in the light of faith is tragic. It is so bad because you manage your life yourself, and you no longer need God." exerpts from THE GIFT OF FAITH by Father Tadeusz Dajczer
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 10:11:21 +0000
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