For many a desert is a dry, lifeless place – perhaps a metaphor for a painful, unrewarding time in life. But for people who live in arid ecosystems, a desert is a place where trees grow deep roots and plants succulent stems. A desert holds hidden springs and sheltering valleys.
In the desert the people of Israel drank from springs in the rock, ate migrating quail, and found daily sustenance on the bushes. The desert deepened Israel’s experience of God’s sustaining love. In the desert Jesus deepened his response to the Spirit.
Read the rest of this issue, then order the entire Lenten series
