Editor's Note: The following is the remainder of the meditation offered by Janet Chisholm on March 3, 2001, during the worship service on nuclear disarmament. The first section, which includes the call & response prayer, preceded her personal reflection, and the second section, which includes the excerpt from John Dear's book, followed her reflection piece.

Welcome! The title of the meditation this morning is "Walking with Jesus into the Desert." We will begin with a short ritual. Then I will share some reflections about desert journeys. Afterwards, there will be time to meditate, walk, journal, or do whatever seems right for us to prepare for our witness for nuclear disarmament.

On the table in the center of our circle is a small altar table where I have placed some desert objects. There are sprigs of sagebrush and a twisted, dry branch that looks like driftwood, screw beans from a mesquite tree, a pinecone from a scrub pine, and a large sandstone rock. All of these came from the land near my family's Las Vegas home. There is also a glass of clear water, symbolizing the oases - those places in the desert where, rising above the desert floor, we can see green ribbons of tall trees and bushes that are fed by small streams. And there is a burning candle to symbolize the exceedingly hot, desert sun. At the base of the altar table is a pair of shoes - they represent our spiritual journeys into the desert to be tested and transformed.

I gathered some small sandstones from the desert. Each of us can take one of these and say a prayer for peace, silently or aloud - then pass the bowl of prayer stones to the next person.

Thank you for all your prayers. Now, to raise our energy level, let's do a call and response together. After I say one line, please repeat it in a similar voice:

This Desert is Holy Ground.

This Desert is Holy Ground.

Holy Ground.

Holy Ground.

Holy Ground.

Holy Ground.

A place of solitude.

A place of solitude.

Solitude.

Solitude.

Solitude.

Solitude.

To encounter God.

To encounter God.

A place of testing.

A place of testing.

Testing

Testing

Testing

Testing

Testing

Testing

This Desert is Holy Ground.

This Desert is Holy Ground.

Holy Ground.

Holy Ground.

Holy Ground.

Holy Ground

In Desert Spirituality, the desert is considered a place of solitude, silence, simplicity and peace, a place of blessing. It is where the focus is on God - where we meet God, and God meets us.

The Bible invites us to follow Jesus into the desert on a Journey of Nonviolence - to listen to God, to confront our own inner violence and the temptations of our time, and to receive an inner peace. The desert is a place where God disarms our hearts. It is a place that promises transformation, strengthening and preparation for the struggle for peace and justice. It is a testing ground - for nuclear violence - and for a commitment to principled nonviolence. And it requires us to make choices.

In his book, "Jesus the Rebel," nuclear activist John Dear interprets the Devil's three temptations of Jesus in the desert. He calls them the demons of violence: Despair, Domination and Doubt.

The Devil: If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.

Jesus: It is written, one does not live by bread alone.

This is the temptation to DESPAIR: Jesus, are you really the type of person you claim to be? Prove it! Show some tangible results, be effective here and now. Aren't you really in this alone? Renounce your patient trust in God and simply act on your own. Just do it yourself! *** We can imagine Jesus contemplating quietly and listening for the voice of God. He responds that we are called to be people of HOPE - not to be successful, but to be faithful.

The Devil: To you I will give the glory of all the kingdoms and all authority if you will worship me.

Jesus: It is written, worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.

This is the temptation to DOMINATION: Jesus, you can become a ruler, owner, and controller of others. Wouldn't you like to be in charge of life? to be like God? *** This is the seduction of patriotism, militarism, nuclear weapons, and domination over the world's people and resources. It is a way to try to gain the world - but lose one's soul! Jesus responds with a call to SERVICE - to love of enemies, compassion and mercy - and to worship of God alone.

The Devil: If you are the Son of God, throw yourself from the cliff. God will protect you.

Jesus: Do not put the Lord your God to the Test.

This is the temptation to DOUBT: Don't you know, Jesus, that God can't be trusted? If you test God, you will learn that God isn't loving; why, everyone around you know that He doesn't even exist. It's obvious, isn't it? Look at the world; there is no moral order, no sanity. *** Jesus stands firm. He rejects testing God and the violence of self-destructive behavior. He claims we can TRUST God's love for us and be at peace with ourselves.

Jesus rejects these temptations of the desert and any drive for power, prestige or possessions. Then, renewed in strength and with an inner sense of peace, He goes out to minister, to proclaim nonviolence and God's love for all.

The story of Jesus' struggle in the desert sums up the inner spiritual testing which is at the root of nonviolence. We all are called to reject Violence and its fallout of Despair, Domination and Doubt. We are asked to choose sides! If we choose well, we will be strengthened and prepared for public, nonviolent resistance to Violence. Of course, there will be opposition; the Empire Fights Back! Nevertheless, like Jesus we can walk out of the desert, having been tested, and enter our communities filled with faith, hope, and love - ready to minister and to take action!

I would like to close with a words from a prayer written for a Nagasaki Day vigil at the Pentagon last summer:

"Prayer of Hope"

Beloved God, we give you thanks for the life and message of Jesus who remains a guide and inspiration on our Journey through the Desert and beyond, a promise of Hope in our time.

In Jesus, we meet you, our beloved God. We see your true face. We know that you are not a god of imperial power but of suffering; not a god of domination but of loving service; not a god of oppression but of liberation; not a god who blesses injustice but the God of justice; not a god of war but of peace; not a god of violence but of nonviolence.

We can walk forward into the future, supporting each other, building community, making peace, practicing nonviolence, resisting war and seeking reconciliation with our enemies. We have met Jesus the Rebel who goes before us and summons us to carry on the mission of nonviolence. We have been changed forever. Beloved God, you have begun the revolution within us. We continue our journey. Our hearts burn with the fire of Hope.

Now there is quiet time set aside to allow each of us meditate, pray, and journal as we like.