March 1, 2009 ~ Lent 1
Psalm 25:1-10
O Lord, Teach Me Your Paths
Rev. Allen V. Harris
 

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The Psalmist speaks eternal truths for all of us when uttering those immortal words, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” All human beings, if we live only a moment on this earth or a hundred years or more, follow a path. We call it many things: a journey, our way in life, the road of life, a voyage, an expedition, a ride, a trip, a crossing, an excursion, a quest, the passage… you name it, we are all travelers along the way.

And we do travel whether or not we cross the seven seas or simply head across town, our path is less about geography, odometers, and frequent flyer miles and almost entirely about experiences and the wisdom we gain through living those experiences.

But wisdom is rarely acquired without struggle and paths always go through perilous bends and turns. We know the way is not easy, for the Psalmist exclaims, “do not let my enemies exult over me… let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.” Neither is the way always ours to determine, for the Psalmist exclaims, “O my God, in you I trust…” “Make me to know your ways, O Lord…” “Lead me in your truth, and teach me,…”

There is work for us to do in order to help insure this journey will be successful. Part of it is God’s work in us, and part of it is our work in response to God. The Psalmist pleads on our behalf, “Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,” and “do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love, remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!” which is another way of reminding us to turn from, learn from, the times we have sinned and transgressed. But if we do, the Psalmist reminds us, “God leads the humble in what is right, and teach teaches the humble his way.”

And the way, our path through life, has its ultimate reward if lived in humility and faithfulness to God. “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep God’s covenant and decrees.”

Paths are powerful images, and clearly journeys echo deep and long within the human soul. Our Hebrew forbearers treasured the journey Abraham and Sarah took from their home in Ur to where God would lead, and the exodus from Egypt of Moses and the Israelites, through the wilderness to the promised land. From Gilgamesh, Homer’s The Odyssey, Apollonius' Argonautica, and the Quest for the Holy Grail, to Magellan and Lewis and Clarke, “Around the World in Eighty Days,” Jack Kerouac, and Apollo 11 to the moon, our thirst to walk the path of life with purpose and vision is unrelenting.

So I offer, for your meditation, two of my favorite poems about paths from one of America’s greatest poets, Robert Frost.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. (1)
 

The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. (2)

Those of us who are of the Christian faith know of one who took the road less traveled, and whose choice has made all the difference. We know of the one who is above all things, within all things, creator of all things who has chosen to walk the way before us. God-become-flesh-and-bone lived and breathed, taught and prayed, laughed and cried, but most importantly navigated the path of human existence before us and with us. From birth, to school, to baptism, to wilderness, to teaching, to preaching, to welcoming, to defending, to turning, to breaking, to blessing, to giving, to dying, and to waiting… Jesus walked this lonesome valley…

But he doesn’t have to walk it by himself… During the month of March and the first two weeks of April we have the opportunity to journey alongside God-in-Christ. We can honor the truth that God knows our journey and we can know God’s journey. So on this, the first Sunday of Lent, I invite us to join the trek that has happened year in and year out for almost 2,000 years. Let us walk the way of Christ as he approaches the destination of his ultimate quest: the cross and the empty tomb.

Pilgrims have sought to follow the very path Jesus took – was taken on – in that last week of his life, his Passion, as he approached upper room, the Garden of Gesthemane, the courts of Pilot and Herod, and ultimately Calvary and the tomb of Joseph of Aramathea. Thinking that by walking the very way of Christ, somehow they could share his pain, learn from his passion, and deepen our collective spiritual lives.

It is called the Via Dolorosa (Latin for "Way of Grief" or "Way of Suffering") and is now a street in the Old City of Jerusalem. Traditionally, it is held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion. It is marked by nine of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The last five stations are inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is a focus of pilgrimages and yearly reenactments.

The traditional route starts just inside the Lions' Gate (St. Stephen's Gate), at the Umariya Elementary School, near the location of the former Antonia Fortress, and makes its way westward through the Old City to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This route is based on a devotional walk organized by the Franciscans in the 14th century.

Whereas the names of many roads in Jerusalem are translated into English, Hebrew, and Arabic for their signs, the name Via Dolorosa is used in all three languages. (3)

I know it best from the song by Sandi Patti:

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King,
But He chose to walk that road out of
His love for you and me.
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

Por la Via Dolorosa, que es la via del dolor
Como oveja vino Cristo, Rey, Senor
Y fue El quien quiso ir por su amor por ti y por mi
Por la Via Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir (4 - please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn4SHMPCLPc to hear Sandi Patti sing it herself.)

Let us take this journey together this Lenten season. Let us walk the paths of our own lives more intentionally, seeing each step of the way as a chance to walk with Jesus down those stone streets and dusty paths of his last week on earth. We can certainly afford the wisdom that comes from how our Christ and Savior managed such heartache and pain. And I believe Jesus, even today, lo these many years hence, will find strength and solace in our presence with him on the road to Calvary.

Amen.

(1) Robert Frost, 1874-1963, "Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening" Mountain Interval. 1920.  Found online at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20519
 

(2) Robert Frost,  "The Road Not Taken" To read and hear Robert Frost read his poem, go to:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15717

(3) From Wikipedia, the free, online, encyclopedia, found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Dolorosa

(4) Via Dolorosa, By Billy Sprague and Niles Borop, sung by Sandi Patti in Songs From The Heart, (c)1983 Meadowgreen Music and Word Music/ASCAP. Found at:
http://ccmlyrics.tripod.com/ViaDolorosa.htm .  To hear Sandi Patti sing this beautiful song, go on YouTube to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn4SHMPCLPc )


Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2009 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096