Pioneering: Meditations for Our Transformation
Number
13 December 9, 2012
Looking
Both Ways to Sunday
They [the Israelites] said to Moses, “Was it because there were no
graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to
us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t
we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would
have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid.
Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The
Egyptians you see today you will never see again.” Exodus 14:11-14
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden
is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Somewhere
in my wayward past, I heard a story about someone stranded in a little village
on the Texas plains. When asked to
describe his situation he said it was so flat that he could stand in the street
and look both ways to Sunday. Somehow,
it became one of those sayings I’ll never get out of my admittedly weird
memory.
The
passage from Exodus is only one of the many times Moses faced the former slaves
who would rather turn back to Egypt and slavery, than trust God and face
forward into the unknown. We sometimes
feel like they did, just wanting to turn around and go back.
Matthew
records how Jesus pleads with us to find rest by taking up an implement of hard
labor, because Jesus can make it better.
Jesus is asking us to come to Him and not turn away.
While
flying regularly across the Pacific Ocean, I learned to calculate the ETP, or
equal time point. It was the coordinates
on our flight plan where it would take the same amount of time to continue
forward to our destination, or to return to our starting point. If we had an aircraft malfunction before the
ETP we would return to our starting point; if we were beyond, we had no choice
but to press on. However, if something
happened at the ETP, we had a choice: to turn back or to press on.
All
other things being equal, I would probably choose to continue forward, because
if we turned back, we’d just have to start out again toward our required
destination after we were repaired. But
land travel has one big advantage over air travel: you can pull over at that
midway point, get off the wagon and stretch.
Looking
at the calendar, our three-church wagon train is getting to something like that
equal time point, where going forward is about equal to going back to the start. But again, like the aircraft business, if we
went back to the start, we would still have to saddle up and get back on the
trail.
By
some Divine gift we’re coming to the midway point during Advent, a time
perfectly made for waiting. For us it is
a delicious time of waiting. It’s not
like waiting for the results of an important medical test, or a final exam in a
subject we’re failing. This is the
advent of our Savior, of Immanuel, of God with us.
Up
ahead is a little village where we can pick up a few things, where we can get
some stuff fixed or exchanged, and where we can lay our burdens down awhile. It has a few houses, and a stable with a
manger. I’ve heard there’s a kid there
who was born in that stable, laid in that manger, and who can fix absolutely
anything you’re willing to give over to him.
We
can spend an evening or two around the campfire, taking stock of our
progress. We can share our thoughts
about the distance we’ve covered, the ruts and narrow paths, the bad things
that did NOT happen, and the good things that have happened, especially the
good things that did happen to us personally.
Let’s take stock of our souls, our relationships, and the new
friendships we’ve made. We can visit
around, share some joy, help with the burdens and repacking, fix the wheel
that’s about to come off the wagon, repair the brakes, and look to the harnesses.
And
there’s also the name of this new baby church to talk about.
Think
about this: what was once daunting is now doable; there is more behind us than there
is before us.
After
we pass the Peace and celebrate our halfway point, let’s get ready for the
mountains, because we’ll all have to cross Big Emotional Mountain, the most
daunting on our journey. This mountain is
the Great Divide that really separates us from our past. Crossing it leads to our destination. But if we try to climb it looking backwards with
a wagonload of regrets, we’ll have a really tough time getting over it. And on the other side, those regrets won’t do
us any good.
If we
are committed to that day in July 2013 when we arrive at our new church, we can
make it. Once we cross this mountain, the
misery and hardships we’ve shared will begin to fade away. Time and the sweetness of fellowship will take
away the tears. And we can all go
forward together.
We’ll
soon be cresting Big Emotional Mountain, the equal time point, looking both
ways to Sunday. Then we’ll shout
“Westward Ho!” because we’ll be heading forward once again.
But
for now, play some music, sing together, toss your worries into the campfire. And let’s think about what special Christmas
gift we can give each other. I think
that guy who can fix everything has some ideas.
Common Prayer. O God of journeys and destinations, continue
to work in us and refresh us. Introduce
us to Your Beloved Son, the one who can fix all our troubles and set us
right. Travel with us to our new home. And let us find joy in one another AMEN.
To think about: How far have I come on this
wilderness journey? What is on my
Christmas wish list to continue to the journey’s end?
Transformation
Team emphasis for the next two weeks:
Our
Charge Conference and the Plan of Union; celebrating our church’s new name; our
pastoral care responsibilities; the focus groups starting up; and thanks for
the focus groups that are winding up their tasks.
Please address your feedback and
comments to Charles L. Reynolds at papoo99@comcast.net. I’d really like to hear from you!
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