My father’s work in industrial refrigeration took him away
from home. In the summers when I was
growing up, our family would often spend time living wherever my father was
working. Sometimes it was the whole summer,
sometimes just a few weeks. We lived in
places like Mason City, IA, Albert Lea,
MN, Storm Lake, IA and Fremont, NE.
Every summer was a new and glorious adventure.
When I was in college and seminary, my summer job once again
took me on the road. I was a sales rep
for Northrup King Garden Seed Company and spent my summers travelling the upper
Midwest. I visited little shops, garden
centers, hardware stores and chain groceries in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South
Dakota and my home state of Wisconsin.
I have often said I should write a book about all the adventures (and many
mis-adventures) I had during those summers!
Today, I still love being on the road. It’s not just the hours spent behind the
wheel, which are great times for thinking, reflecting, praying and looking at
the wonders of God’s creation passing by.
But, even more it’s the unique places and people I encounter along the
way. Each person I meet helps me
appreciate in new ways the wonderful diversity of humanity, our stories, interests
and varied perspectives. God regularly meets
me along the road, teaching me, challenging me, and forcing me to think more
broadly about life, the world and everything.
Being on the road can open us up to God in ways that staying
at home never can. How often have I
seen those on a mission trip come home looking at themselves and the world in
completely different ways! But, one can
have the same experience just crossing the street to meet a neighbor who is different
than we are in some way. Meeting someone
of a different race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation or political
perspective with a spirit of wonder and curiosity can open us up to seeing God
and God’s world with fresh eyes. That
can happen whenever we risk doing something different, changing our routine and
letting ourselves be knocked off balance a bit. The resulting adventures (and
mis-adventures) can be instructive.
In this week’s Gospel, two disciples are walking along the
road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a seven mile hike. They are so weighed down by sadness, grief,
fear and disappointment at Jesus’ death, that they are completely unable to
notice Jesus when he joins them along the way. As they walk along, he prepares
them to see him in what was familiar: the
breaking of the bread. Because of their
encounter, this common activity took on a whole new meaning for them. Encounters on the road can do that to you.
As we dare to walk along the roads of our lives, who
knows? We may find ourselves walking
along with Jesus! After all, Jesus himself promises that he will meet us
in the face of the other.
Peace,
Bishop Mike
Previous “On The Way” musings can be found at bishopmike.blogspot.com.
The Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod Assembly is
next week, followed by a week of vacation.
The next “On The Way” will be in three weeks. God walk with you until then! Thanks for reading!
