RLPDV scripture story [1]

And immediately the Spirit cast him out into a desolate and lonely place. And he was in this wilderness forty days, being tempted by the Satan. And he was with the wild beasts. And the angels cared for him.
==================Mark 1:13 [2]

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.
==================Matthew 4:1-2 [3]

Part One

As a boy he watched them leaving Nazareth, wearing their white robes and going into the most desolate country they could find. They would be gone for days and then return, famished and sometimes wounded. But their faces shone with wisdom and secret knowledge.

He asked his father who these people were and what they did.

“They are the Essenes. They are a holy people, and they go to be alone and with God and to seek visions and dreams. It is not a thing for a married man, nor a father, nor anyone who is a part of the community.” He waved his hand around to indicate the town.

“It is good to be one of them, but it is also good to be a man and work and have children.”

“Will I be one of them someday?”

Joseph paused and tugged at his beard.

“I don’t know. The Spirit of God will either lead you there or keep you here. It is in the hands of the Lord.”

**********

The first day his hunger was a mild but constant reminder of what he faced in the coming days. The desert was a strange place to him. He wandered the barren hills wearing the clean, white robe of a pilgrim. He picked up rocks and wild plants, holding them thoughtfully and then tossing them aside. He found a shallow cave in one of the hills and said, “This is where I will sleep.” He took a red cloth from inside his robe, tied it to a rock, and placed it on top of a boulder where his friend could see it from the path below.

The second day seemed eternally long. He said every prayer he could remember, but he heard nothing in return. When his friend arrived to drop off water, he waved to indicate he was okay. His friend waved back and set a jug of water down about 50 yards from the cave. Later boredom set in. He fidgeted, paced, and began talking to himself. At night he heard the sounds of wild animals. Scratching and snuffling and digging noises came from the darkness. He was afraid and could not sleep.

On the fourth day he was surprised when the hunger pains left him. When he tried to stand, he became light-headed. He spent most of his time sitting in the shade, quoting from the Psalms and talking out loud. It was nice to hear a human voice, even if it was his own. By the end of the day he couldn’t tell the difference between talking to himself and talking to God.

After seven days, pain returned to him. He wept during the day. At night he rocked back and forth, saying, “I cannot do this. I cannot do this. I cannot do this.” Hunger slowly took over every part of his mind, mocking him and jabbing at him with sharp pangs. He could hardly concentrate on his prayers, because he kept daydreaming about food. He felt spiritually weak and his prayers turned confessional and apologetic.

On the 15th day he was calm. He hardly moved at all. He never saw his friend arrive and was surprised when he found a jug of water at his feet.

He lost track of days after that. His friend began leaving chips of wood with numbers written on them - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. His defecation had ceased many days before. Once or twice a day he would crawl to the ledge in front of his cave and lay on his side, urinating onto the rocks below.

On the 25th day he saw his first vision. His father wrestled with a gaunt and starving man who was wearing nothing but a loincloth. Though Joseph was much stronger and seemed to be winning the struggle, the gaunt man suddenly plunged his thumbs into his father’s eyes. Joseph cried out and fell to his knees, blood streaming from his eye sockets. The gaunt man opened his mouth and a cackling laughter came out. He fumbled at the front of his loincloth, feeling for something and not finding it. He ripped away his loincloth and there was blood. He howled in grief.

“I gave my body, and now even my manhood is gone. I have been unmade. I am fit for NOTHING.”

The sound of the last word echoed through the hills, and he realized that he had shouted it himself. He wept with his head nodding forward.

After that the visions came quickly, one after another. His dreams at night merged with dreams during the day. Every manner of good and evil appeared before him. Dancing women in scant clothing, priests and merchants, banquet tables filled with fruits, breads, and meat. Thick, purple robes and golden coins floated just outside his grasp. At the end of each day the gaunt man would come, wiggling his bloody thumbs and frightening away the people in the visions. Naked and howling, he turned over the tables of food, screaming with rage.

On the day the wood chip had 37 written upon it, a woman appeared to him. He no longer knew the difference between reality and vision. She bathed his forehead in cool water and whispered comforting words to him as though he was a child. His hands clutched at her robe and he lay his head in her lap, sobbing. She leaned down and whispered in his ear.

“The Lord God Most High has given two words to you.”

He turned his head and her face was only inches away. She was clean and beautiful and she smelled like frankincense. She smiled and said, “Set Apart.”

And then she was gone.

For 24 hours he said those two words over and over.

“Set apart.”

“Set apart.”

“Set apart.”

“Said a part.”

“Setup art.”

“Set apart.”

The words became one sound and he couldn’t remember what they meant. He could no longer hear them as two separate words.

“Setapart”

“Setapart”

“Setapart”

The new word was full of rich meaning that caused him to weep with joy. But he could find no words to describe it.

And then one morning there was a note under a rock. The note said:

39 days. Will bring food and water tomorrow evening. You will have to eat slowly. I will stay with you until you are ready to come home.

He awoke on the 40th day with the note clutched in his hands. His mind was empty and clean and smooth. He sat slumped against a wall of the cave all day and stared, relishing the quiet. No visions came to him.

As the shadows began to lengthen at the mouth of the cave, he heard the sound of footsteps. He exhaled deeply, letting go of his control. He began sobbing. His friend would care for him. It was finished.

A man approached and stood in the mouth of the cave. He lifted his head slowly, expecting to see his friend with a loaf of bread in his hands. Instead, he saw himself, except he was healthy and well-fed, as he had been when he first came to the wilderness. He dropped his gaze to the man’s feet and slowly looked upward. Those were his sandals. That was his white robe. Those were his hands. His chest. His oiled hair hanging in ringlets about his broad shoulders. His full and healthy face. It was like looking in a mirror.

The man stared at him quietly, then pulled his hands away from each other and brought them together in a sharp clap. The sound was so harsh and loud to him after living in silence that his whole body convulsed. The man clapped again. And again. And again. The time interval between claps grew less and less until it became applause. A huge smile broke out across the man’s face. It was the nicest, most sincere smile he had ever seen.

“Hello Jesus.”

Jesus’ mouth fell open in shock and surprise. His heart began to race. The man’s face grew solemn and he tilted his head a little to the right. His lips pouted with concern.

“I can tell by your face that you weren’t expecting me. I hope I’m not intruding on your little vision-quest or whatever it is you’re doing out here in this God-forsaken place.”

rlp

Part two coming soon...

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