Recently my wife and I boarded a chartered bus headed for New York City. From there we were going to jump on a cruise ship for a church cruise to Halifax, Nova Scotia and then four other ports. The chartered bus took us to within six miles of where I grew up. Bouncing along Rt. 78, the bus rolled down the highway cutting through the central Jersey countryside, splitting the hills, slicing through the familiar knolls of autumn leaves like a knife through butter. With each passing exit, old memories came rushing back to me.
Bouncing up one hill, I smiled, thinking of all the different times spent at the home of my aunt and uncle. Rolling down a hill, we passed the exit leading to the church I grew up in. Driving past the next exit brought me within a few miles of where I grew up: the house I lived in, the high school I attended, the garage I worked in, the home of my grandparents, where Sunday evening dinners with mounds of spaghetti and meatballs and loud conversations took place. Riding in the bus that day drove me back to another place in time.
That night in New York City we took in the Broadway play, ‘Jersey Boys’. Sitting in the theater, listening to the familiar music of the Four Seasons, transported me to another time of trips to the shore, of hanging out with old friends, of cruising up and down familiar roads. The musical led me on a journey back in time. Sometimes journeys take us back in time. Sometimes they are physical journeys, like going on a cruise. Sometimes they are spiritual journeys. Our entire life is a journey.
If you open the Bible to the Gospel according to Mark, you will see story after story of journeys. Sometimes the story takes place on a boat in the middle of a great lake. Sometimes the story takes place in a quiet solitary place or in a large and crowded city or on a quiet road. Throughout the Gospel of Mark we continually see the phrase, “on the road” or “on the way”. These words appear almost ten different times. One time, on a quiet road leading around the village of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus addressed His disciples. “On the way Jesus asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’” Mark 8:27. Not only are these people traveling down an ancient road to a new location, but they are traveling to a new place in their faith as Jesus asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’. With this question comes another just two verses away when Jesus asks Peter, as well as each of us, ‘Who do you say I am?’ On the way to a new place we are propelled to a new level in our faith with one simple question, ‘Who do you say I am?’.
‘On the way’ to a new location the disciples also arrived at a new place in their faith. Repeatedly these phrases, “on the way” occur throughout the Gospel of Mark. They are there, not only to tell us that Jesus and the disciples are on the way to someplace new, but that they are also on a spiritual journey. Jesus is showing us that a physical journey can be a spiritual one as well. And perhaps in the same way we too are reminded that our life is a journey of faith.
Like the Disciples traveling with Jesus, sometimes our journey is easy and familiar, like walking down the streets of New York City or across the moist grass of Central Park. Sometimes it is new and exciting like going on a cruise for the first time and traveling with friends from the church to places I’ve never been before. However, too often, our journey in life is hard, like when we lose our job from down-sizing, when lay-offs occur from reduced finances, when a sudden illness strikes.
Looking back over my life, I know all of my life is a journey. My physical journey took me from New Jersey to The Navajo Indian Reservation to Pittsburgh to Martins Ferry. I know this has been a spiritual journey as well, which has led to a deeper faith and a greater understanding. Through the years, I have discovered that our life is truly a journey of faith intertwined with the places we go and the people we meet. Our faith journey reminds us that it does not matter where we are in our journey of faith, but how far we have come. Our faith journey continually reminds us all that we are not there yet. Today, where are you in your journey of faith? How is your journey to a greater faith progressing, a journey that will carry you through both the difficult moments and those joyful times in your life?
We all need help in our journey of life and in our journey of faith. GOD has promised to journey with us, guiding, leading, directing and comforting. When we seek to answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?”, we learn that Jesus is that constant source of life, encouragement, power, strength and hope. When we walk with others in our faith family our journey becomes easier as we share our burdens with one another and celebrate our joys.
Let the journey begin!
Bouncing up one hill, I smiled, thinking of all the different times spent at the home of my aunt and uncle. Rolling down a hill, we passed the exit leading to the church I grew up in. Driving past the next exit brought me within a few miles of where I grew up: the house I lived in, the high school I attended, the garage I worked in, the home of my grandparents, where Sunday evening dinners with mounds of spaghetti and meatballs and loud conversations took place. Riding in the bus that day drove me back to another place in time.
That night in New York City we took in the Broadway play, ‘Jersey Boys’. Sitting in the theater, listening to the familiar music of the Four Seasons, transported me to another time of trips to the shore, of hanging out with old friends, of cruising up and down familiar roads. The musical led me on a journey back in time. Sometimes journeys take us back in time. Sometimes they are physical journeys, like going on a cruise. Sometimes they are spiritual journeys. Our entire life is a journey.
If you open the Bible to the Gospel according to Mark, you will see story after story of journeys. Sometimes the story takes place on a boat in the middle of a great lake. Sometimes the story takes place in a quiet solitary place or in a large and crowded city or on a quiet road. Throughout the Gospel of Mark we continually see the phrase, “on the road” or “on the way”. These words appear almost ten different times. One time, on a quiet road leading around the village of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus addressed His disciples. “On the way Jesus asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’” Mark 8:27. Not only are these people traveling down an ancient road to a new location, but they are traveling to a new place in their faith as Jesus asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’. With this question comes another just two verses away when Jesus asks Peter, as well as each of us, ‘Who do you say I am?’ On the way to a new place we are propelled to a new level in our faith with one simple question, ‘Who do you say I am?’.
‘On the way’ to a new location the disciples also arrived at a new place in their faith. Repeatedly these phrases, “on the way” occur throughout the Gospel of Mark. They are there, not only to tell us that Jesus and the disciples are on the way to someplace new, but that they are also on a spiritual journey. Jesus is showing us that a physical journey can be a spiritual one as well. And perhaps in the same way we too are reminded that our life is a journey of faith.
Like the Disciples traveling with Jesus, sometimes our journey is easy and familiar, like walking down the streets of New York City or across the moist grass of Central Park. Sometimes it is new and exciting like going on a cruise for the first time and traveling with friends from the church to places I’ve never been before. However, too often, our journey in life is hard, like when we lose our job from down-sizing, when lay-offs occur from reduced finances, when a sudden illness strikes.
Looking back over my life, I know all of my life is a journey. My physical journey took me from New Jersey to The Navajo Indian Reservation to Pittsburgh to Martins Ferry. I know this has been a spiritual journey as well, which has led to a deeper faith and a greater understanding. Through the years, I have discovered that our life is truly a journey of faith intertwined with the places we go and the people we meet. Our faith journey reminds us that it does not matter where we are in our journey of faith, but how far we have come. Our faith journey continually reminds us all that we are not there yet. Today, where are you in your journey of faith? How is your journey to a greater faith progressing, a journey that will carry you through both the difficult moments and those joyful times in your life?
We all need help in our journey of life and in our journey of faith. GOD has promised to journey with us, guiding, leading, directing and comforting. When we seek to answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?”, we learn that Jesus is that constant source of life, encouragement, power, strength and hope. When we walk with others in our faith family our journey becomes easier as we share our burdens with one another and celebrate our joys.
Let the journey begin!
