Landscapes

I remember a very rainy, So Cal winter a few years back. There was enough rain, in fact, for the desert to bloom. A desert that blooms was a new concept to me and so I drove out to Joshua Tree in the high desert and Anza Borrego further south and saw with my very own eyes how stunning the desert it is when it flowers. The landscape I had once experienced as barren and dry was bursting with life!

In So Cal, we know what it is like to experience drought, heat, and fires. Likewise, we know how life-giving a good rain is in our desert landscape. In the fourth lesson from Advent Lessons and Carols, the prophet Isaiah uses images of the desert in bloom and streams flowing through the parched desert lands as metaphors for God's salvation. Through Isaiah's proclamation, God promises that our hearts will be refreshed and life brought to the thirsty landscapes of our souls.