The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Genesis 37:24b
Module Three: The Barrenness of Wilderness
In preparation for this week's material, please read Chapter 3 of Braving the Wilderness.
After you have completed the above, choose one of the the following:
Song: “Long Time Traveller” by the Wailin’ Jennys
By James Miller
Video: “Our revels now are ended” from The Tempest by William Shakespeare
'Our revels now are ended'
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
William Shakespeare
From The Tempest, Act 4 Scene 1
“Loneliness tells us that we need social connection—something as critical to our well-being as food and water.”
Solitude is not a synonym for loneliness. One has saved me, and the other has broken me. If you haven’t been reading the Braving the Wilderness chapters, I strongly recommend that you read this chapter. It feels important. Lent is a time of intentional periods of solitude. It is a cave in the year within which you can retreat. Solitude can give you the courage to step forward again. Wandering in the wilderness gave Moses the courage to refuse a lonely paradise. God had delivered the Israelites to the edge of the wilderness, but was so tired of their whining that God was going to drop them off and leave. Moses, standing on a solitary mountain in the wilderness, refused. Because even the promised land is a curse without the love, companionship, and grace found in the Community of God.