Reflection for April 29

Gifts of the Desert
Author Sara Maitland writes about her annual sojourn into the Sinai Desert: [There] are particular experiences in the desert that act like a pressure cooker for the soul. Among these are: Vulnerability—the desert is perilous, life is stretched thin, you learn you are vulnerable and dependent both on other people and on grace. Scale—the brightness of light and the huge open spaces make you, as an individual, very tiny. Simplicity—stripped of so many things (cell phones, hot showers, refrigerators, mirrors), you realize these should be delights, not necessities.... And above all, silence itself—changing the way we see and judge others, stripping off the social protection of chatter, leaving us naked and surprisingly tender (“In pursuit of silence,” Christian Century, April 18, 2012).