Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By The Rev. Lynn M. Finnegan
Associate Rector
The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith
In the documentary series, Alone, ten individuals are taken to a remote wilderness and challenged to survive as long as possible using a limited amount of survival equipment.
With the exception of medical check-ins, the participants are isolated from each other and all other humans. The audience follows their wilderness outing via self-produced videos the survivalists are required to provide. The person remaining in the wilderness the longest is the winner.
The audience watches as the contestants endure – or don’t endure – a wide range of physical, mental, and spiritual challenges navigating the harshness of their wilderness isolation. Despite the one-million-dollar cash prize for the winner, most of us would rather watch than participate in such a wilderness experience.
We are in the season of Lent. In my liturgical tradition, we begin Lent by reading about Jesus in the wilderness, where, for forty days he fasted and prayed. In the wilderness, he was tested by the forces of evil: Why don’t you serve yourself, Jesus? Why don’t you flaunt your power? Why don’t you avoid the pain and suffering of the cross? Jesus, in his full humanity, is hungry and tired, vulnerable, and isolated. Yet, with the help of the Spirit of God, he endures. Jesus is NOT Alone.
And neither are we. Lent is sometimes referred to as a “wilderness experience”. I like to refer to it as a “wilderness opportunity”. Why an opportunity? Why would we want to voluntarily subject ourselves to a period of (as our Book of Common Prayer states) “self-examination and repentance, prayer, fasting, and self-denial”? Aren’t those just old medieval practices? I would much rather sit on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, watching another episode of Alone (or series/movie/YouTube/video game of your choice).
The wilderness IS an opportunity, though. It is an opportunity, through the removal of distractions or adding of spiritual practices, that can provide the open, silent space for seeking direction and purpose. Secondly, the Holy Spirit accompanies us every moment of the way. This is not an isolated survivalist exercise with a monetary prize. We are never alone in the wilderness, and our communities of faith provide companionship along the way. Lent is a time to enter the wilderness eagerly, albeit with a healthy dose of trepidation. It is a time for taking forty days to step back, narrow our focus, and shed the unnecessary noise that stands between us and honest conversation with God. As writer and professor of Religious History Kate Bowler said, “Lent is here: the season of admitting we don’t have it all together. (And maybe we never did).”
Editor’s note: ‘All Shall Be Well’ is a column written by local women clergy including The Rev. Mary Ann Hill, Rector, Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church (momaryannhill@gmail.com); The Rev. Lynn Finnegan, Associate Rector, The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe (rev.lynn@holyfaithchurchsf.org); Deacon Amy Schmuck, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church (deaconamy@bethluth.com); and ELCA Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, M.Div., retired (czoebidd@gmail.com).