Vaya Con Dios

Hebrews 12:1-3 and Philippians 3:7-14

 

The life of faith is often called a journey.  Throughout the Bible we see the people of God taking this journey:

 

• Abram and Sarai journey from Ur of the Chaldees, a prosperous city, to the land which God has promised them.

 

• The Israelites’ journey with Moses was out of slavery in Egypt, through the Red Sea and into the desert for an entire generation.

 

• Ruth’s journey with Naomi was away from her ancestral home to the land where “your people shall be my people and your God shall be my God.”

 

• The Israelites’ journey into exile, to Assyria (northern kingdom) and Babylon (southern kingdom), was to a place where they lamented, “How can we sing the songs of the Lord in a foreign land?”

 

• Jesus and his disciples traveled around Israel for three years, primarily in the northern county of Galilee, before taking the ultimate journey, the journey to the cross.

 

• On the road to Emmaus, a village outside of Jerusalem, Cleopas and another, unnamed disciple took a journey of a lifetime, a journey where their hearts burned within them, a journey with a stranger who showed them the Scriptures as they had never seen them before.

 

The notion of journey in Scripture is linked with letting go of who we are to become the person God is calling us to be.  Each journey described above was a journey of faith precisely because it was a journey of letting go: letting go of old habits, old knowledge, old comfort zones.

 

We may think that God exempts us from having to journey somewhere because, after all, we travel all the time only to return to Pueblo, but such thinking is incorrect from a biblical perspective.  The biblical journey to which God calls us is much more than a change of zip code; it is a journey of faith.

 

We may think that God is presumptuous to ask us to let go of who we are to become the person he is calling us to be.  After all, we like who we are; we don’t want to become someone else.  Once again such thinking is incorrect from a biblical perspective.  The biblical journey of faith is not to become someone else or someone we are not but to become more fully, more truly the person we are.

 

• Abram and Sarai’s journey not only led them to the Promised Land, but they were given new names, which in the ancient cultures signified new character.  They became Abraham and Sarah, the father and mother of a great nation.

 

• The Israelites’ journey with Moses was the beginning of their long struggle to understand that true freedom is not about having one’s land but about being faithful to one’s God and the covenant God had established with them.

 

• Ruth’s journey with Naomi was to discover her true destiny: to be ancestor to the Messiah, the Christ, Lord of the Universe, and so to be – though she personally had no knowledge of her role in salvation history – an instrument of God’s reconciling all things to himself.

 

• The Israelites’ journey into exile was the prod they needed to commit themselves anew to the Lord, to begin to take seriously the commandments and covenant of their God.

 

• Jesus’ journey to the cross was, ultimately, the necessary pathway to resurrection.

 

• On the road to Emmaus, Cleopas and his unnamed friend saw the risen Lord Jesus, and the world has not been the same since.

 

Letting go of who we are to become the person God is calling us to be is the journey of a lifetime; it is the journey of our lifetimes.  It is a journey of faith precisely because it is a journey of letting go: letting go of old habits, old knowledge, old comfort zones. We may think that God is presumptuous to ask us to let go of who we are to become the person he is calling us to be, but we must remember that the journey of faith is not to become someone else or someone we are not but to become more fully, more truly the person we are.

 

*****

 

As I thought about this notion of the journey of faith, I reflected back upon my own journey.  After all, if I am going to suggest to you that you embark upon the journey of faith, perhaps I ought to be on one too, don’t you think?  So, the question I asked of myself is what I was like 20 to 25 years ago?  Scary.

 

When I thought of myself, my immediate thought was, “175, 275 and swim like a fish.”  That is, I weighed 175 pounds, could bench press 275 and was captain of a water polo team that won a college national championship.  But I was also someone who was nervous to speak in front of others and had no clue how to care for others.  When I entered the pulpit each week at my internship church to lead the prayer of confession, I had to write down every word, including, “Let us pray,” “Amen,” and “Please be seated.”  My first time to enter a hospital was as a pastor  to talk to a man dying of liver cancer.  I had no clue what to say. What was I supposed to say to someone 40 years older than I was?  What could I say that would help this man?

 

Now, I am 50 pounds heavier and can bench press 150 pounds less.  I haven’t been in a pool to compete in a decade and a half, although I am learning how to play tennis.  I don’t generally get nervous speaking in front of others and rarely have need of notes. Now when I enter a hospital room, I know enough to know that my job is not so much to say anything but to listen.

 

When I reflect upon my journey, I recognize a couple of themes.  First, my identity was based on what I could do, especially in the athletic arena. In that sense, my identity, my self-concept, was based on works, on merit, on success. I did not define myself by grace! If I was not successful, I was not worthy.  Second, there was a lot of fear in who I was and how I experienced things.  This fear, of course, was a response to the sense of works merit; I was anxious about that which I was not very good.

 

I have changed over the last 20 to 25 years.  I am defined more by my relationships than my abilities, better able to accept my faults and limitations, more confident that my true identity is grounded in God’s gracious love.  It has taken me a while to get to this place, but God has been patient and perseverant even when I have been otherwise.  I know, also, that my journey is not over.  As I listen to my heart, I hear God’s Spirit whisper an invitation to become more generous of spirit with my time and energy. I hear God’s Spirit whisper an invitation to ever deeper levels of trust and assurance that in life and in death and in life beyond death I belong not to myself but to my faithful Savior, who at the cost of his own life gave himself for me.

 

*****

 

This morning each of us is invited to see ourselves as being on a journey with God.  You are on a journey with God, whether you recognize it or not.  The question is: will you be intentional in recognizing your unique, particular and specific journey of faith?  I have shared with you a couple of broad stroke sketches of my journey; what is your story?  This sermon will be proved incomplete if you do not take some time today to reflect upon your life:

 

·        What were you like, ten, twenty or forty years ago?

·        How has your sense of God and experience with God changed?

·        What have you learned along the way?

·        What invitation is God’s Spirit whispering to you even now?

 

Jesus said, “You must lose yourself to find yourself” (Luke 22:27).  Are you ready to lose an old habit like selfishness to find generosity?  Are you willing to lose old knowledge that keeps you mired in crisis to find contentment?  Are you able to lose an old comfort zone like keeping everything close to the vest to find the ability to trust others in safe, appropriate ways? Are you ready, willing and able to take a journey of faith?

 

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