Pastor's Message

Greetings,

We tend to think of the Christian life as a journey.  We are invited to “walk in the light,” to let the good shepherd’s “rod and staff” guide us.  Our labyrinth is one way of thinking about the journey of faith; we put one foot in front of the other and follow a clear but winding path.  We speak of the journey of faith more like a hike than a cruise or a flight or a road trip.  We speak of ups and downs, of twists and turns, of switchbacks and setbacks.

Thinking of the journey of faith as a hike requires hard work on our part, determination and trust.  Although we are on the hike with others and can encourage one another, it is still a solitary walk, a personal pilgrimage, and a time to pray and listen for the Spirit’s direction.   Throughout the centuries, pilgrims have walked, on foot to Jerusalem and back, to Santiago de Compestela in Spain, or on some leg of that journey.  I once had the challenge of walking around Iona on an all day pilgrimage.

In our fast-paced, motor-driven lives, in a world where distance is shortened by cars, buses, trains and planes, perhaps we might think of the journey of faith in a more up to date way.

In Southern California we speak of traffic as either “good” or “bad.”  (I happen to think that “good traffic” is an oxymoron, a nonsensical statement).  If I am driving any distance on the freeways, I try to use it as a time to pray, a time to take my mind off of things I can’t control — like the traffic — and let the journey itself speak to me.  I admit that driving through the green hills around Diamond Bar is a bit more edifying than going up I-5, but on a recent trip, I had an epiphany.

I left my home in plenty of time (I thought), and before I got to Anaheim I was at a dead standstill.  I couldn’t move, couldn’t get off the freeway and go another way, couldn’t see beyond the truck in front of me, couldn’t even Google “sigalert” on my Blackberry.  I was stuck.  I called the person I was going to meet and let her know I might be a bit late.  And I sat.  It occurred to me that there are times in our lives, in the journey of faith, when we know we’re on the right track, but we are powerless to move forward or to change our circumstances.  In such times, it seems right to let go and simply pray — for the unknown stranger who might have been hurt in an accident; for family, friends, church members; for those further afield whose lives are in danger, who don’t have cars or homes or friends to visit.  The traffic jam gave me a chance to pray.

Perhaps it’s a bit too romantic to think of our faith as a hike in the mountains.  Maybe we ought to think of our spiritual journey as a rush hour commute, one where we step out and into our cars and see getting there as an opportunity to reflect on our lives and our faith.  Of course, being a preacher, I see sermons everywhere I look!  But if the Spirit could speak to me in a traffic jam, then perhaps we ought to be open to the presence of God wherever we find ourselves, especially in those times when we feel powerless to change things.

Stand firm!  Keep following faithfully, my friends!  The Spirit is above, beside and within us!

Blessings, 

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