January 15, 2009

On the Journey

                            Paths along the journey of faith . . . .

              L. D. Johnson was a Baptist pastor, professor, and university chaplain. For many years, he was a member of the faculty and chaplain at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. While at Furman, he also wrote a column for the Greenville newspaper. Through this column, he offered timely words of wisdom and encouragement to the folks of the Piedmont region of South Carolina. Many folks who knew Dr. Johnson personally attest that he knew what really mattered.

              After Dr. Johnson died in December 1981, I attended a memorial service at Furman University. In the program for that evening, they reprinted several of his writings. To this day, I remember reading with great interest his description of the spiritual life as a garden.

              In the article, he described the work of a man tending his garden. The soil is tested for the nutrients needed to sustain the flowers, the vegetables, and the fruit trees envisioned for the garden. With great exertion, the gardener turns over the earth and prepares the soil to receive the seeds and the plantings. The garden requires attention each day. As plants grow, some need to be watered, some staked to strengthen the stalk, and others transplanted to a better place in the garden. Daily the gardener watches for weeds, and he pulls them up quickly less they begin to overtake the garden. If the gardener neglects the garden plot even for a short time, the flowers and vegetables may become lost among the weeds. Without sufficient water, the plants wither and die. Yet, despite all the work of the gardener, he is ultimately dependent upon the graciousness of the earth, the sun, and the rain for a bountiful harvest.

              As people of faith, we must be intentional about nurturing our spiritual life or our life in Jesus Christ. Through Bible reading, prayer, and contemplation, we prepare our soul for the spiritual life. The spiritual life has to be tended each day, for, if we ignore the spiritual disciplines, temptations become strong, and we soon go our own way. We have to be vigilant in the spiritual life, identifying the desires and temptation that would lead us away from Christ as soon as they appear. Yet, despite all our intentionality to grow in faith, we are dependent upon the love of Christ to transform us into new people.

              As powerful as the image of the garden is for me, this morning in my prayer time, I stumbled upon a new description of the spiritual life. I was reading from the The Philokia. This is a collection of writings addressing the spiritual life by the desert fathers. Many of these writings appeared as early as the third century after Christ.

              The image I encountered this morning was of a ship at sea. The ship is caught in a fierce storm. Waves are washing over the deck. In hopes of riding out the storm and surviving, the sailors are throwing all the ship’s contents over the side. There is an urgency about their task. It is a matter of life and death.

              These two images remind me that there are different paths to take on the journey of faith. Sometimes our journey is more like a man or woman taking care of a garden plot. Along the journey, we nurture our spiritual lives. We are devoted to our times of prayer. The Bible provides us with nourishment that sustains us through all the seasons of life. We understand the importance of community, for to love God we must love our neighbor. Despite our vigilance, temptations come. We sin and recognize the pain of our sin. Through confession, we experience forgiveness and begin anew. Along this path, our love for Jesus grows, and we become more and more acquainted with the depth of his love for us.

              There is also a path that is more like a ship on a storm-tossed sea. We have neglected our spiritual life. The Bible is something we have reached for only in desperation. We have used our freedom to sin, and now we are captives in prisons of our own creation. Our prayers are simply a cry for help. When we are alone, there is no doubt in our minds that we are dying. Yet, the light of Christ shines. In the midst of our fear, hope rises in our hearts. Because we are afraid of being lost or of dying, we begin to clear our lives of all that keeps us from Christ. The rumor of his love empowers us. Frantically we work to rid our lives of everything that threatens our souls.

              I suspect, in any church as large as Immanuel, there are folks who know both  paths well. I know we encounter many people in our daily lives. Some are merely seekers exploring the faith. Others are desperate to find life that liberates them from the fear of spiritual death. Both are waiting to hear a word of hope, wisdom, encouragement, and guidance from those who have traveled the path they are on.

              In the next few weeks, you are going to hear about Jubilee ’09: an invitation to begin again. As we invite folks to begin anew, we must prepare ourselves to share with others the paths we have traveled on the journey of faith. The path we have traveled is not as important as the lessons we learned of God’s love and mercy. Let’s prepare to share our stories.jamie