Meeting 1. - Going out into the desert ************************************** .. tags:: content|maturity|Maturity, content|old-testament|Old Testament, content|freedom|Freedom, content|desires|Desires, method|text-work|Text work, method|discussion|Discussion, type|biblical|Biblical Goal ==== Initial definition of the desert as something dangerous, threatening to man. Prayer ======== Adapted to the group's capabilities. Introduction ============ Today's meeting is the first substantive point of the retreat. It is therefore an introduction to the topics discussed during subsequent points. During this meeting we will want to primarily define the desert we will be dealing with. We will consider what the desert is associated with, what associations we have with it. We do not develop all threads. We do not want to know the answers to all questions during this meeting, especially from the point "Why"! We want to open only the door through which we will pass during subsequent points of the retreat. If the meeting ends before time, there will be nothing wrong with that. The most important thing is that the participants get to know the subject of considerations. At the beginning, let's ask participants what 5 items they would take to the desert. You can also invent your own examples. .. hlist:: :columns: 3 * Tolkien's Trilogy * Wireless Internet * Down sleeping bag * Booklet for Lenten Lamentations * Candle * 5 liters of water * abacus * shovel * camel * hourglass * ice * bread * teaspoon * toothpaste and toothbrush * GPS * mini DVD player * mp3 player * tent * favorite painting * swimming trunks Exodus of Israelites ==================== At the beginning of our considerations about the desert, let's look at the situation of Israelites leaving Egypt: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.” The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. -- Ex 14:15-31 At the beginning of the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land, we see them full of joy, praising God for the great works he did for them. You can also read the next fragment with the song. If the group is not oriented in the topic (it may be so) it is worth briefly telling the story of the Israelites' stay in Egypt. Then let's read the next fragment from the Book of Exodus. Of course, the animator does not do a sermon now explaining the meaning of this fragment, but we try to discuss it together with the group! The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from the Wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” -- Ex 17:1-7 After a short period of time, the Israelites change their view on crossing the sea. The event that was a reason to praise God, joy etc. became the beginning of misfortunes, a reason for dissatisfaction and complaining. They want to return to Egypt, they prefer to stay there – in the house of slavery – than to die free in the desert. Life in the desert ================== Let's try now to look at the place that the Israelites disliked so much and describe it. Maybe someone had the opportunity to be in a real desert. Since we live in such and not another climatic zone, probably few of us could stay in the desert. We will therefore have to refer strongly to our imagination. Below I quote the memories of people who had the opportunity to be in the desert. The Egyptian desert is not only a place on the map; it is a sensation and it must be admitted that it slightly deviates from our everyday life; the sun, ubiquitous sand (one would like to say ubiquitous dust), heat, dryness in the throat cause desire not only for craving a cup of water, deepen the inner desire for infinity. Interesting that sweat does not manage to dampen clothes – it evaporates so quickly. Nothing is wasted here - literally nothing; every smallest waste containing any organic mineral compounds is immediately processed into a structural piece of the food chain by its participants: scarab beetles, celadon lizards and desert foxes called strangely sounding fennec foxes. -- Anonymous First appeared as if a light mist, which definitely worsened visibility. A wind broke out, which struggled literally from minute to minute. It raised an increasing dust storm. But it didn't look particularly dangerous yet, especially from behind the jeep window. Only when I asked the driver to stop because I wanted to photograph wild camels crossing the road – I found out that it was no joke. I still managed to open the jeep door, get out too, but I already had trouble taking a step. The wind was so strong that I couldn't stand facing its direction, and even when I stood with my back, with its force it bent me to the ground. I found myself in a sea of swirling sand. I didn't suppose that such small grains could attack so unpleasantly – I felt their blows on bare legs like pinpricks. With difficulty, swaying on my legs, I hid in the car. I was all covered with a thick layer of reddish dust. I had it everywhere, also in my eyes and mouth. -- Anonymous The desert is hard, ruthless. You can die of thirst on it. But you also risk drowning death if by chance it starts raining. [...] You can wait for years for a drop of rain and when a deluge suddenly comes, "wadi" (dry riverbeds) change everything in a frightening way. -- Anonymous Let's try here together with the participants to describe the conditions prevailing in the desert, how to prepare for a journey through the desert. A few examples: * lack of food and drink; * problems with moving; * large temperature difference between day and night; * sand; * vastness; * reminding of death etc. .. note:: This part of the meeting can be expanded in younger groups Why ======== In the next part of the meeting let's try to think about the question: * Why does God, after showing his greatness towards the Egyptians, lead the Israelites a longer, more dangerous way to the Promised Land? * Why couldn't the Israelites continue their journey joyfully, without major problems etc.? * Why, since it was so good, since God showed his power, did the experience of the desert have to come? A similar motif can also be found in the life of prophets and Jesus. After baptism, when God reveals that Jesus is His Beloved Son, Jesus gets thrown out – as it can be rendered in the literal translation of the fragment from the Gospel according to St. Mark – by the same Spirit who previously descended on Him. In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. -- Mk 1:9-13 Let's not analyze this fragment deeply. It is more about emphasizing the paradox that great works of God are adjacent to events that terrify us, dangerous and threatening. Summary ============ At the end let's collect once again all things that were said during this meeting. We want the participants to think about the desert as something dangerous, threatening to us at the end.