I don’t know if any of you have had the opportunity to live in a desert. When I was 25, I went to live in the friars’ Navajo mission along the New Mexico and Arizona border for two consecutive summers. The Chuska Mountains were right in our backyard. Lukachukai is located on the southern fringe of the Colorado Plateau at more than 6,500 ft (1,980 meters) above sea level. The mountains in the backyard rise abruptly to over 10,000 ft (3,048 meters) above sea level. My first week there I decided to go out for a jog as I had been doing in the seminary in Washington, DC. When I returned to the friary, I had to throw myself in bed from exhaustion. Jogging at high altitude. Jogging in the desert! What can I say, I was young and foolish! Later that week the Navajo teenagers took me out for a walk in the desert. They told me about the tarantulas, scorpions, and snakes. We actually saw some tarantulas and scorpions. Thank God no snakes. They showed me the prairie dog colonies where bubonic plague is rampant. I was told to avoid that area! Then they introduced me to the sage bush. They explained if I ever had any trouble or dizziness out in the desert, I could crush the leaves of the sage bush in my hand and breathe in the fragrance. Best done in the shade of some of the few pine trees in the area. The fragrance acts like a smelling salt stimulate. It jars your awake. Life alone in the desert can be tough and dangerous – especially for a foolish, young man from the Eastern Sea coast. But I learned to live with the protective power of the sage bush and the shade of the great ponderosa pines – and of course the smart native teenagers.
Mary of Nazareth lived in the desert that covers most of the Holy Land. Mary had her own plan set up for her own life. She was going to marry Joseph and live a peaceful life in Nazareth. She was going to be the wife of the town’s carpenter. When the archangel Gabriel went to her to explain God’s plan of salvation and her part in that plan, Mary suddenly had several unexpected challenges. She did not understand how all that could happen to her. Her own personal plans went out the window right there.
She shares with the archangel her all thoughts, troubles, and fears. Gabriel knew that Mary was accustomed to living in the protection of shade in the middle of the desert. He invites her to live on in the shadow and the power of God and the Holy Spirit. Mary decides to do that and turns over her life to God’s plan.
As Christians we are all called to follow Mary’s example and live confidently in the protective shadow of God love. This means giving up our own plans and living within God’s plan. When I was in the desert, I foolishly carried out my own plan according to my own thinking. I did not consult with anyone else. I could have been bitten by a snake, a tarantula, or a scorpion. I could have picked up black plague from the prairie dogs. Thank God I only ended up exhausted. Without realizing it, the whole time I was surrounded by God’s shade and support through the sage bush and all the good things in nature, Navajo traditions, and all those smart Navajo teenagers. Mary knew she was surrounded by God’s love and support. She trusted, hoped, and acted – she organized her life based on God’s will.
The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.
Image: https://theadventusproject.wordpress.com/resources/advent-art/annunciation-art/