Rewilding the Soul 

God on Monday
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 ‘In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan’
(Mark 1.9).

Reflection

‘Rewilding’ is a contemporary buzzword. It is used as shorthand for efforts to restore gardens, fields, and ponds to what is perceived to be their natural state - the way they were intended to be.

I recently watched an accelerated time-lapse video showing a baby apple growing into a mature fruit. A heart-shaped plastic container was placed over the young fruit to constrain and shape its growth. The result? An apple that was intriguingly heart-shaped. But it appeared unnatural. It reminded me that society and culture can radically shape and misform our worldviews, perceptions, and beliefs.

The writer and social activist Bob Gass (1944-2019) captured this idea when he wrote: ‘What we see and hear is what we think about. What we think about is what we feel. What we feel influences our reactions. Reactions become habits and it is our habits that determine our destiny.‘

How can we, then, cast off the apple constrainer that is so radically shaping us and determining our destiny? How can we ‘rewild‘ what we believe?

The great rewilder John the Baptist may be able to help us. Although he hailed from an urban environment, he rewilded his habitat by going to live in the desert; and his diet by feasting on locusts and wild honey; and his clothing by wearing a garment of camel hair.   

He also preached a rewilding message, urging his listeners to live closer to how God intended them to be. They were to repent of how their environment had constrained them and to prepare for the coming of someone 'greater than I', who would baptize them not with water (which they could control) but with the Holy Spirit (whom they could not control).

The rewilding work of the Holy Spirit becomes most apparent on a day to which John’s message pointed: Pentecost. The fruit is that many new believers are made. This suggests that we not only need to consider the responsible rewilding of some over-cultivated aspects of our environment but also the rewilding of our souls, over-cultivated as they so often are with constraining social and cultural norms.  

Response

Have I allowed my everyday environment to ‘tame’ me? Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you anew, so you can cast off unhealthy constraints.  

Prayer

Lord God, rewild my faith, so that I may be free to be the person you have made me to be, in every area of my life. May all I do help to return things to your original design. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This Week's Author

God on Monday is produced in partnership with the Church of England. The reflections are based on the scriptural readings designated for the next Sunday in the Church's lectionary. You can sign up to Faith in Business here to receive each God on Monday instalment.  

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