This week the Gospel passage moves to John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness. John was sent as a messenger, as one who would prepare the people for the coming Messiah. From a mystical point of view, I'd like to focus on this preparation happening in the wilderness, and move from there onto why the distinction between baptism with water and baptism with the Holy Spirit.
But first off the wilderness: We actually have two separate descriptions in our texts, depending on where you put the punctuation. In Isaiah 40 we read one crying out, "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord." Whereas in Mark 1, referencing this passage it tells of one crying out in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord ..." In either case the result is the same, John the Baptist was out in the wilderness preaching about repentance and forgiveness of sins.
The wilderness was often the place where intense revelations took place. God revealed the Torah to the Jewish nation at Mount Sinai, in the Wilderness (Exodus 20). After Israel refused to conquer the promised land, they were forced to spend forty years in the wilderness until the present generation died out, and a new generation rose up (Numbers 14). The prophet Elijah fled to the wilderness after his duel with the prophets of Ba'al (1 Kings 19). Perhaps one of the reasons why the wilderness is so special is because of its nature. Only in the wilderness, out in nature do we see a perfect balance of receiving and giving. Here the physical reveals the spiritual.
A line of thought in Kabbalah, developed first by Rabbi Isaac Luria and refined by Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (The Ba'al HaSulam) posits that God is the ultimate giver, it's what he does. God created us in order to receive what God has to offer. God's nature is to give, ours is to receive. However, human beings, because we are created in the image of God, desire to give as well. In comes a struggle, since we cannot give to God since God is perfect, needs nothing, and has no desire to receive. As we progress through this struggle, the only solution is to receive for the intent purpose of pleasing our Creator, since He only wants to give. In effect, we receive with the intention of giving (Laitman, pp 49 - 55). The Wilderness, by its very nature, exemplifies this way of receiving. The Wilderness left alone will form a stable ecosystem that receives from the Creator. Our Gospel story takes place in the Wilderness because a very special revelation is taking place here.
Water: John was baptizing with water, claiming that one more powerful than he would come and baptize with the Holy Spirit. One curious Biblical fact about water is that according to the creation story in Genesis 1, God never actually created water. Water existed at the beginning, and at first was completely chaotic. God brought order out of chaos, and created all that we experience by separating water from water. Water is clearly a very powerful substance. When controlled it can quench our thirsts, clean our bodies, cool us when we're hot, even warm us up when its cold when we take a hot shower. But chaotically water can be destructive - floods, tidal surges, rip tides, being lost in the ocean, etc. Again in the wilderness, there tends to be a decent balance - enough water for plants to grow and animals to live, yet not so much as to flood and drown things.
John was in the Wilderness baptizing people. Again referring to creation, this time in Genesis 2 we read about how the first human being was created from the dust of the earth. Even his name in Hebrew, ADAM, sounds like the earth he was created from, ADAMAH. So what happens to dirt when it gets wet? If there's nowhere for the water to go it turns to mud, however if there are plants and seeds in the dirt they sprout and grow and are a source of life. Spiritually you can think of yourself as dirt, and God's Spirit and Grace as water.
The message of this passage is that you can receive the gifts and blessings of God to the extent that you are able to pass them on and share them with others. The Wilderness is the place where God's major revelations and gifts took place. When the people received these benefits, not only did their lives improve, but they were equipped to share this gift with others. When the first promise was made to Abraham, he was told that through him all nations would be blessed (Genesis 22). When John the Baptist said that one more powerful than he was coming - a person who would baptize with the Holy Spirit, he was creating a spiritual connection to what was happening right then and there. What might our world look like if we transitioned from receiving for the sake of ourselves alone, to receiving with the intention of sharing.
But first off the wilderness: We actually have two separate descriptions in our texts, depending on where you put the punctuation. In Isaiah 40 we read one crying out, "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord." Whereas in Mark 1, referencing this passage it tells of one crying out in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord ..." In either case the result is the same, John the Baptist was out in the wilderness preaching about repentance and forgiveness of sins.
The wilderness was often the place where intense revelations took place. God revealed the Torah to the Jewish nation at Mount Sinai, in the Wilderness (Exodus 20). After Israel refused to conquer the promised land, they were forced to spend forty years in the wilderness until the present generation died out, and a new generation rose up (Numbers 14). The prophet Elijah fled to the wilderness after his duel with the prophets of Ba'al (1 Kings 19). Perhaps one of the reasons why the wilderness is so special is because of its nature. Only in the wilderness, out in nature do we see a perfect balance of receiving and giving. Here the physical reveals the spiritual.
A line of thought in Kabbalah, developed first by Rabbi Isaac Luria and refined by Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (The Ba'al HaSulam) posits that God is the ultimate giver, it's what he does. God created us in order to receive what God has to offer. God's nature is to give, ours is to receive. However, human beings, because we are created in the image of God, desire to give as well. In comes a struggle, since we cannot give to God since God is perfect, needs nothing, and has no desire to receive. As we progress through this struggle, the only solution is to receive for the intent purpose of pleasing our Creator, since He only wants to give. In effect, we receive with the intention of giving (Laitman, pp 49 - 55). The Wilderness, by its very nature, exemplifies this way of receiving. The Wilderness left alone will form a stable ecosystem that receives from the Creator. Our Gospel story takes place in the Wilderness because a very special revelation is taking place here.
Water: John was baptizing with water, claiming that one more powerful than he would come and baptize with the Holy Spirit. One curious Biblical fact about water is that according to the creation story in Genesis 1, God never actually created water. Water existed at the beginning, and at first was completely chaotic. God brought order out of chaos, and created all that we experience by separating water from water. Water is clearly a very powerful substance. When controlled it can quench our thirsts, clean our bodies, cool us when we're hot, even warm us up when its cold when we take a hot shower. But chaotically water can be destructive - floods, tidal surges, rip tides, being lost in the ocean, etc. Again in the wilderness, there tends to be a decent balance - enough water for plants to grow and animals to live, yet not so much as to flood and drown things.
John was in the Wilderness baptizing people. Again referring to creation, this time in Genesis 2 we read about how the first human being was created from the dust of the earth. Even his name in Hebrew, ADAM, sounds like the earth he was created from, ADAMAH. So what happens to dirt when it gets wet? If there's nowhere for the water to go it turns to mud, however if there are plants and seeds in the dirt they sprout and grow and are a source of life. Spiritually you can think of yourself as dirt, and God's Spirit and Grace as water.
The message of this passage is that you can receive the gifts and blessings of God to the extent that you are able to pass them on and share them with others. The Wilderness is the place where God's major revelations and gifts took place. When the people received these benefits, not only did their lives improve, but they were equipped to share this gift with others. When the first promise was made to Abraham, he was told that through him all nations would be blessed (Genesis 22). When John the Baptist said that one more powerful than he was coming - a person who would baptize with the Holy Spirit, he was creating a spiritual connection to what was happening right then and there. What might our world look like if we transitioned from receiving for the sake of ourselves alone, to receiving with the intention of sharing.
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