The Path of Most Resistance
Jesus in the Desert
Editor’s Note: This article is a summary of a homily that Fr. Ben Daghir preached at an evening prayer service during Lent. The Gospel reading is from Mark 1:12-15.
Notice the interesting line from this Gospel, “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.”
The Spirit didn’t lead Jesus into a paradise or a garden. Instead, the Spirit drove Jesus into a desert.
Where is the Spirit leading you?" This is a pivotal question during the Lenten season.
People often come to me and say, “Fr., I don’t know what the Lord wants me to do.” The person will then explain the situation and it almost always results in a situation of being torn between a few options.
I often respond and say, “And which of these options is the most difficult? That’s most likely the one God wants you to choose.”
These are challenging words that I share with people. It’s easy to extend the advice, but hard for me to follow through myself. I am a sinner. This means that I often choose the path of least resistance. Like water, I search for the easiest path and the one without bumps or difficulties.
If you are fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, you know exactly what I am talking about. The Shire is a place of least resistance. You may remember Bilbo’s response to Gandalf in the opening pages of The Hobbit. Gandalf gives Bilbo a chance for an adventure by saying, “I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone."
Bilbo depicts the soul accustomed to the path of least resistance and says, “We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! I can’t think what anybody sees in them.” The good news is that the story doesn’t end here. Bilbo eventually changes his mind. Something deep within him yearns for the path of most resistance, the path of adventure with Gandalf.
Both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are narratives about a hobbit’s transformation from choosing the path of least resistance to the path of most resistance. In my humble opinion, these two great narratives are all about the transformation of a weak soul (a sinner) into a great soul. We are hobbits. We prefer the path of least resistance but we know we are called to more difficult paths.
As Christians, we are not called to be like water or weak hobbits. Instead, we are called to become other Christs.
Christianity often demands the path of most resistance. Think of Jesus’s great words to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Of course, this is the path of most resistance.
Let’s now return to today’s Gospel reading, “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.”
What comes to mind when we think of a desert? Extreme heat during the day. Extreme cold at night. Extreme darkness at night. Extreme loneliness. Jesus also had no food and no drink around Him. He was hungry and thirsty. There were wild beasts around Him. The Gospel tells us that Satan was also tempting Jesus for 40 days.
A desert is challenging. It’s hard. It’s the path of most resistance.
Notice the path that the Spirit led Jesus to take - it wasn’t to a garden and it wasn’t to a paradise. Instead, the Spirit drove Jesus to the hardest and most difficult path, a desert.
Again, where is the Spirit leading you? Are you willing to enter a desert?
People sometimes say, “It’s been tough lately. I’ve slipped into sin.”
Notice that we never say, “I’ve slipped into grace or I’ve slipped into Heaven.” A person can slip into sin but one cannot slip into grace. Why is this?
Slipping into sin means following the path of least resistance. It’s a tempting, slippery slope of decisions and wants. It’s the path of pleasure first or power first or honor first or wealth first. It’s the path of serving the self. It’s the easy way. It’s slippery.
Jesus comments on this path of least resistance by a sinner. Jesus says it’s easy and a broad road. Listen to His voice, “For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many” (Matthew 7:13). This is the path of slipping into sin, the path of least resistance. It’s an easy path.
Jesus then shifts His attention to the path of most resistance. He says, “How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14). This is the desert. This is the path of following Jesus’s challenging words, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
If one can “slip into sin” why is it that one cannot “slip into Heaven?” Consider the image that we often associate with Heaven: it’s one of a soul climbing the staircase into Heaven. The climbing of stairs is one of resistance. It’s an uphill battle. It demands strength, courage, and adventure. The path to Heaven is a climb, it’s a path of most resistance.
Here is another thought to consider. What is the great image of Christianity? It’s the crucifix. It’s Jesus on the Cross. This is the great symbol, the great image of our faith.
What a peculiar and strange symbol! How interesting it is that for the past 2,000 years, it has been Jesus dead on the cross that is our defining image. How strange it is that billions of people throughout the world wear Christ crucified around their necks.
Why?
It’s the path of most resistance. It reminds us of God’s love for us. We see Jesus and know that He has denied Himself, picked up His cross, and followed the Father’s will. The crucifix reminds us that Jesus Christ has defeated sin and death. I think of St. Paul who wrote to the Corinthians, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?….thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). The crucifix reminds us that Jesus is victorious and He is the King.
When we look at the crucifix, that defining image of Christianity, we see the path that we are called to take. It’s the path of most resistance. It’s the desert for 40 days. It’s picking up one’s cross. It’s climbing Mount Calvary. It’s complete sacrifice. It’s total self-gift. It’s love.
It’s resistance. It’s resistance. It’s resistance. It’s the Spirit leading into the desert.
Where is the Spirit leading you? Don’t look for the garden. Don’t look for the comfort zone. Look for the desert.
Are you willing to let go of the path of least resistance and choose the difficult option?
Ask the Lord Jesus for the courage to follow in His footsteps, and venture into the desert - to start climbing the mountain toward Heaven.
Fr. Ben Daghir
Thanks for this Father. This is a great reminder to choose the hard thing and pray through the resistance.
Thanks