PENTECOST VIII
July 26, 2020
“How Do I Get There From Here?” “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.” Psalm 25:4, 5
A standing joke among Midwesterners is that we have two seasons: winter and construction. As we enjoy the freedom from ice and snow, shoveling and scraping, we instead face the dreaded forest of orange cones and barrels, concrete dividers, and the ominous “Road Closed” barriers. If we’re in town, we end up driving through neighborhoods we’ve never been to, and hoping to at least spot a familiar landmark. Highway construction brings new adventures, very few of which we are able to appreciate. The creativity of some detours often defies logic, such as the one where we drove over ten miles east so that we could turn around and go west! There’s not much choice but to deal with it as best we can, and once the project is complete and the street is smooth and quiet, we decide the end result was worth all the noise and inconvenience.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus was asked over and over by his followers and listeners how to be sure they were on the right road. They asked how to inherit eternal life, how they would know the way, who they should follow, and what they should say and do. They were anxious for a map, or at least specific directions spelling out the details. The gospel Jesus was preaching was so different from the cut and dried laws of the priests and the Pharisees of their time, and his teachings of a new and different relationship with God generated many questions. Jesus’ parables and sermons often used the imagery of traveling a path, being on the way, or following in the way that is right. To discern the right way meant people would be making choices for which they were responsible, and Jesus was teaching them what they needed to know when faced with choices and decisions.
“Jesus said . . . ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. . . . If you know me, you will know my Father also.’” (John 14:7, 7a)
When our Lord spoke these words to his disciples, they needed explanations and assurances, but the foundational truth is clear. Christ himself is the way by which we are brought into relationship with our Father in Heaven, and as we follow, trust, and live by his teachings, we will be able to witness to those who are wandering about, lost and directionless.
We may not feel adequate to this task, but we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the support of one another in our faith communities. We may not hear the patient voice of the GPS guide, or take part in an interesting discussion of where the guy at the gas station directed us, but we’re definitely on our way!
On the road again,
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers