I decided to blog this week about making Preparations for a Journey. In a Science Fiction story I started back in 1994 (and never got further than 6 chapters in the last 12 years) the first chapter of the story was called The Reginning. The idea that this alien culture believed was that one journey's end was always the beginning of another journey - thus we are always on a journey to somewhere during our entire life and that we never get back to the beginning, but we always start fresh before each new segment - we have a Reginning, not a beginning. I've been thinking about this lately because I have a lot of reginning's in my life either currently or coming soon.
In September, I will be traveling with my family to Walt Disney World for our quarter-annual trip (once every four years). As part and parcel of our preparations for this trip, I began the planning stage ten months ago. The first part of any trip planning, I always think, is dealing with the expectations.
I don't think you can fully appreciate any journey unless you establish first what sort of expectations you have. In the case of WDW, I like people to get over the idea that a week in the Florida sun is going to be a) A complete cure-all for everything that ails them, or b) An utter disaster. Somewhere in between lies the truth of the journey and the sooner you set your sights towards a more realistic expectation, the sooner you can make good, solid plans. In the case of WDW, this might mean not planning to eat at the fanciest restaurants every night, nor worrying that all you're going to eat for a week is hot dogs and hamburgers. There is a happy medium that can be established once your expecatations are in line with reality.
I think our expectations also need to be fully addressed before we regin our journey with Christ. I know plenty of people who will not begin this journey for fear of what it will mean to their lives. Many travelers' expectations of a walk with Christ can be downright scary - brainwashing, poverty, and six hour sermons where we will hear nothing but how we are going to HELL! Try as you might to explain to them the reality of the situation (the sermons are only four hours, for instance ;) they can not get past their expectations and therefore never begin the journey. But there are other travelers expectations that are just as worrying - those who expect to go to church, watch the festival, and go home once a week and never once participate or actively engage in a relationship with Christ. These travelers journeys are based on an erroneous assumption that attendance at Church is what matters the most, and as a result, they never truly begin their journey. They are like the person who boards the wrong train and never bothers to look out the window to see that the train has never left the station.
Yesterday, during the service, I heard the line that the journey of Christ ends with the Cross. I was thinking about how appropriate that line was and about how it really set my expectations in place. We can not make this journey with any other expectation - sooner or later, we will all arrive at the Cross. It may not be the same Cross for each of us, but it will still be there for us.
Now that we have our expectations settled, we can begin the true preparations for our journey. Tomorrow, Part Two - Planning.
9 comments:
I think it was Bonhoeffer who said, "Christ bids us come and die." Once we acclimate ourselves to the reality of dying, life begins to expand around us in all its brilliance.
Reginnings. I like that.
These travelers journeys are based on an erroneous assumption that attendance at Church is what matters the most, and as a result, they never truly begin their journey.
Hooo boy. You should have most of Lakeside read what you just wrote here...because that's certainly how I felt during my time there growing up.
But I do think that there are many, no matter what church they attend, who have that very mindset - that church is a place to go to, rather than realize that the Church is a living, breathing organism that is not a place, it is the Body of Christ, and when you choose Christ, you start on an adventure that leads to eternity.
If there were just some way for us to simply inject into the hearts of people that our faith does not begin with a set of rules, but begins with God's love for us and the personal relationship with us.
Well, actually, God does do that all the time, but those folks simply choose not to accept it, right?
Amazing when you think about it...our faith actually requires the least amount of work, when you think about it. All you need is to accept God's love, God's grace. And believe.
Yet it is so difficult for so many.
Well, Andy, that's actually a slippery slope of a comment as well. Sure, that's all Christ asks of us - to accept God's love, God's grace - and believe. Sure it is, Mr. Youth Sunday, Sunday School Teaching, Occasional Sermon giving, Christian. All God asked of you was to accept Him. Right...
We should all post a new thesis on each and every Cathedral door...
The Journey Begins Here.
Yeah it is a slippery slope, no doubt about it - and ultimately, we are called into some sort of service - and can choose to or not to do it.
Each of us has different talents to offer - and while my path has taken me in this route with that which you have listed, yours has taken you down a parallel path, neither of which is better nor more important than the other in service.
And yet for others, it might only be to greet someone at the door, or be an usher, or be a church receptionist. Or perhaps simply to be someone who accepts Christ and silently witnesses by being the Christ-loving soul that he/she is, but does have an active relationship with Christ.
Point being, each of us has a different role to fill in God's kingdom on earth.
Perhaps I should have clarified myself in my previous comment - the actual act of accepting God's love theoretically should be easy. We don't have to do good works to achieve it - rather, the opposite occurs, that once we have faith, the good works should flow from that.
Not that that's any easier, mind you, because we know that ultimate true belief costs something.
The glibbest comment in Christendom is to say, "Give it to God" or "Trust in God." Easier said than done, no doubt. When you rationalize it, it doesn't work.
You are right - we must expect to end with the cross, with God's eternal arms stretching infinitely to envelop us in His love.
I look forward to part two.
will and andy
i would like some more explanation and/or expansion on what you guys mean by "it ends at the cross".
will: i think the word for once oevery four years is quadrennial.
Peter - thanks for quadrennial.
I think the interpretation in my mind of what I mean by saying it ends at the Cross is that the path is not supposed to be easy - that somewhere down the line we are going to be asked to make a difficult decision in our walk of faith. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. For instance, Andy's current cross has been to help lead his church for the past couple of weeks. It hasn't been an untoward burden on him, but it hasn't been easy either. His expectations are right in line with what the actual journey is turning out to be.
I don't know. Fuddled my mindeth be. I need to think this through a while.
Will,
Here is my interpretation of “Our journey with Christ ends at the Cross”.
As we live our lives in our walk with Christ, we are flesh and spirit in the physical world. Our journey will not end until we are one with the Father that created us. We can return to Him only though the death of the body and through our spiritual reincarnation with Jesus. We cannot go to the Father except through Jesus. Therefore, the cross is necessary because it was through the sacrifice of Jesus that allowed us once again be one with the Father, the ultimate quest of the journey
Bingo! I think Sue got it.
Yes, Sue - that is the ultimate gist of what I was trying to say. Thanks for clarifying it.
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