What We See in the Desert

On the third Sunday of Advent, the Gospel invites us into the desert — a place of waiting, questioning, and preparation. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, John the Baptist seems uncertain about who Jesus is. Yet Jesus affirms his mission through miraculous works, and praises John while revealing the Kingdom’s greatness. See the full daily reading of the Third Sunday of Advent.

I’ve always wanted to see a real desert.

I know all about frigid, snowy winters and warm, wet summers. I grew up on rich soil that yields lush vegetation and bountiful harvests. But I’ve never experienced a desert, not in my own country or abroad, and I’m curious.

I know there must be something magical about the desert for it to feature so heavily in Scripture, for it to provide a backdrop to so many crucial moments of salvation history. The Israelites following the cloud, the temptation of Christ, the voice crying out: “Prepare the way for the Lord.”

Why do these moments have to happen in a desert? Why do they make so much less sense in a tropical rainforest or a verdant forest?

I think it’s because the desert doesn’t have anything to offer us, at first glance. No one longs for the physical sensation of a dry heat and a beating sun. But the vast emptiness and the almost mystical harshness — even if we don’t desire and delight in it, this is a setting that we understand, somehow, intrinsically. We know it deep within our soul. God is there.

We go to Mass. We go to Confession. We pray. We read Scripture. In doing all these things, again and again, we go out to the desert.

Why? What are we expecting to see?

If we expect to be entertained, we will be disappointed. If we expect reassurance, we will be disappointed. If we expect to feel pleasant and safe and sheltered, we will be disappointed.

The desert is there to challenge us. The desert is there to show us who we are, and who we can be.

So go.

©LPi