The Holy Way |
Isaiah 35 |
There are few feelings in the world that are more upsetting and frustrating than the feeling of being lost. How many of you have ever been lost? If so, then you’ll be able to sympathize with the story that I’m about to tell you. A couple of years ago, my son Nicholas and I had tickets to go see a musician named Todd Rundgren in concert in Peekskill, New York. Now, up until that point, I had never even heard of Peekskill, let alone did I know where it was. And so when the day of the concert rolled around I got on the computer, went to mapquest.com and looked up the directions to the theater where the concert was to take place. When it came time to leave, it was a beautiful summer day and Nick and I had a great little two hour ride over to Peekskill which sits nestled not so far from Sleepy Hollow in the Hudson River Valley. We got there early, went a diner and had dinner. We met the band before the concert, and loved the show. All in all, it was a great night. And then it was time to go home. I pulled out my neatly printed mapquest directions and away we went. Nick the navigator started calling out the directions, head east on Brown St toward Bank St 285 ft, Turn right at Elizabeth St 361 ft, Turn left at Crompond Rd 8.0 mi, Turn left at RT-118/RT-35/US-202, and continue on to follow to Route 35. But that was a problem, because Route 35 was nowhere in sight. At 11:30 or 12 O’clock at night there were no gas stations or restaurants open where we could stop to ask directions, and so we kept driving. I knew the general direction that we needed to go and so I just kept trying to “head that way.” The hour got later, we got more lost, Nick got more tired, and I got, shall we say less patient. A couple of times along the way, we could see the elusive route 35 appear a couple of hundred yards to our left. There it was, 4 lanes of smooth flowing traffic zipping along, mocking us as they headed on toward their destination. But the problem was there was no way for us to get from HERE to THERE. So on and on we went until FINALLY, through a combination of persistence, and dumb luck we finally found an entrance to the highway, and headed home 45 minutes later, and much wearier for the wear. Just as Nick and I were trying to get home that summer night, so are we all, as followers of Christ trying to find our way home as well. As Christians we all have what author Frederick Buechner describes as a king of “homesickness,” a longing for the place where we belong. And the place where we belong is the Kingdom of God. That world that we talked about last week where the lion lays down with the lamb, and peace rules the earth. In the 35th chapter of Isaiah which we read together just a few moments ago, there is a further description of our destination, where in beautiful, vivid imagery, Isaiah describes it as a place where water runs in the desert, weak hands are made strong, the eyes of the blind are made to see, and the lame are made to leap like a deer. It is a place where everlasting joy reigns forever and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. And it sounds pretty good, doesn’t it, this wonderful place where everyone obtains joy and gladness? Sort of makes one wish that one could just pull out a map and drive right straight there. But there are a couple of problems with that plan. First of all, we have to realize that one problem with printing a map to the Kingdom of God is that it is not so much a physical place as it is a state of being. As we said last week, the kingdom of God is here and now all around us. However, it is only brought to life when our belief and our behavior reflect the life and teaching of Christ. The Kingdom of God is not a place, it is a life long journey that requires hard work and long miles of life to obtain. But the other problem with printing a map to God’s Kingdom is that even as we journey along on the road of life toward God’s Holy destination with map in hand, we can still get lost along the way. The truth is that far too often, and frequently when we least expect it, life can begin to seem like Nick and I driving home from Peekskill. We know where we want to go, and sometimes we can even see the road just over there, across the way, but it’s still out of reach. For all of us there are times and places in life when we are surrounded by choices, challenges, trials and temptations that overwhelm, confuse, and confound us to the point that we lose sight of the direction home. Before we know it, we’re off the map, in the dark, and at the very best just continuing to head that way in the basic direction that know we should be going. This was a feeling that was known all too well by God’s children of Judah in the 6th century BC. They were exiles banished to the foreign and hostile land of Babylon. Hundreds of miles of hot desert, and dozens of years apart had separated them from their home. And for them, there seemed to be no way to get back. For most of them, home, Jerusalem was but a faint memory passed down from the previous generation. It was to these lost and directionless people that the prophet Isaiah wrote the words that we read this morning, words that described this kingdom of God where water ran in the desert and the people shall obtain joy and gladness. But that wasn’t even the best part. The best part was that they didn’t need to find the way home, because God was going to make a way for them. In verse 8 of the 35th chapter, Isaiah wrote, “and a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way.” And this Holy Way is the same path that God calls you and I to walk in this Advent season and beyond. As we said earlier, it is a way that is marked by belief in Christ, and behavior that shows his presence in our lives. But more importantly, the Holy Way is a journey, a process, a series of steps that one must take over the course of one’s life. And that’s the way that it’s been from the beginning of time. God called Moses out of Egypt to be a shepherd who then called God’s people to follow him into the wilderness and toward the promised land. God’s angels came to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds telling them not to fear, but to trust in God’s goodness and to follow the path of obedience that was placed before them….a path that led to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus Christ our savoir. And Jesus said to his 12 apostles, “Follow me” and they did, and it’s been the same way from that time to today. God may not always provide a detailed map. But what God will always do is show us the next step of the journey, the next step of the Holy Way that leads us home to life lived in joy and peace in the abiding presence of God. So in this Advent season, don’t worry about what lies ahead. So frequently Jesus said to his followers, “the Kingdom is at hand.” This was an admonition for them to take their eyes off of the horizon and focus them on the ground beneath their feet. Here and now, that’s all that we are guaranteed in this life. You see, in this Holy Season, we don’t need to worry about how we will get to our destination, we have the promise that God will make a way for us. All we need to do, is what that famous old hymn encourages us to do, and that is trust and obey. Trust that God’s promise of the possibility a life lived in the spirit of hope, peace, joy and love are true. And obey God’s will as it is presented to you. Follow the example of Christ himself who was born into humble surroundings and lived a life marked by love and service to God and others. For this is the Holy Way, and if you are willing and able to walk in it then you will most certainly find your way home to the heart of God. |