It is said that in medieval times, men, on the eve before their knighthood, would keep vigil. Kneeling in a dark, cold chapel before God’s candlelit Presence, they would ask for grace and courage, strength and fortitude. In the face of their struggles and trials and journey.
Today, we are leaving on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, forty
of us from our Parish Family at St. Barbara Church at Old Mission Santa Barbara
in California. At noon, we will
celebrate Eucharist, asking for grace, courage, strength, and fortitude as well. Then, we'll load our bags and baggage onto a chartered bus for
LAX, Los Angeles County International Airport.
Boarding Flight 010, Turkish
Airlines, bound for Istanbul.
Transferring to Tel Aviv, arriving at our first night’s lodging at the
Hotel Metropolitan, at the close of Shabbat. A full day later on earth; fifteen hours in the air.
So, here we are, in a metaphorical sense if not a literal
one, at the vigil, on the cusp of our spiritual journey. I have checked the Gospel for the day. It is from John, chapter 14 (“Do not let your
hearts be troubled”). It is one of the
most popular Gospel readings chosen for--- funerals! But today, we can look at in a totally
different , more celebratory light.
Thomas goes on to complain to Jesus that “where You are going, we do not
know the way.” To which Jesus responds,
“I am the Way. And the Truth. And the Life….”
Jesus the Way. Jesus,
our Destination. . . . And our Transportation!
I had to stop and reflect for a moment. Someone once told me that the oldest and most
enduring artifacts of human construction are not buildings but—roads! It stands to reason, doesn’t it. Can we consider the top of the Great Wall of
China to be in itself a road? What about
the Appian Way in Rome, or the Via Maria from Damascus to Cairo on ancient
times? Or, closer to home, Highway 101
in California, the El Camino Real, or the King’s Highway, built on the pathway
connecting each of the 21 Franciscan Missions erected in the 18-19th
centuries under the Spanish Empire? The horse-, chariot- and footprint of these
great avenues are with us today, having survived every manner of man and
mayhem.
At their very best, roads connect. Relate.
Expedite communication. The
movement of goods and people; materiel for wars and intellectual property. And Faith. Paths, roads, freeways (and now, even the Internet “highway”) enable us to break
free of our isolation and can liberate us from the burdens of inertia and
hopelessness.
Christ is our Destination.
And our Transportation. The Way
to the Father in the Spirit. The Path of
our salvation. He makes of Himself, for
us, the means to reach Him, guiding us, holding us, moving us along, from love
to Love on our journey homeward.
So, we travel. As
pilgrims toward our hope-filled Destination, which is Christ. And Christ Himself is the means of our spiritual
movement and design.
A prayer attributed to St. Patrick comes to mind:
Christ with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me.
Christ on my right
Christ on my left.
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise.
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me.
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me.
Christ in the eye that sees me
Christ in the ear that hears me.
Salvation is of the Lord, the Christ.
May your Salvation, Lord, be ever with us.
(As we travel).
Amen.//
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