Loading...One of the most basic of movements is walking.
Granted, the involuntary actions like the heart beat and breathing are even more basic.
But of the things that we have a choice about,
walking is foundational.
Babies crawl, or roll.
And when they take their first walking steps
everyone, including the proud child, is excited.
No matter where you live or what technology you have, you can walk.
Even if there’s been an accident or a fall,
the therapists and physicians want you up and walking ASAP.
In fact, those who cannot -- or will not -- walk
have even more health problems and a fragile skeletal system.
Walking is a part of who we are as individuals and as a community:
In one of the creation stories,
God is walking through the garden and
realizes that a companion is needed to share;
Adam and Eve walk around that same idyllic garden;
Noah and his family
probably did laps around the promenade deck
on the cruise ship that they called “the ark”;
Abraham & Sarah
walked from their homeland to a new homeland;
the Hebrews walked through the Red Sea
and in the wilderness
to get back home to the promised land;
the Israelites walked into Exile in Babylon
and several generations later -- in God’s saving grace --
they walked back home again.
Jesus walked all over Jerusalem,
Galilee and the surrounding region;
Mary walked, then ran;
Simon and the other disciples ran;
Paul walked everywhere else in present day Turkey, in Greece, and even in present day Italy,
to find people interested in and curious about this Jesus, the X.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We talk about our spiritual journey as a “walk of faith”,
and we have great admiration for people who don’t just
talk the talk,
but who walk the walk.
Paul, in his letter to the Roman followers and walkers,
reminds us that we are walking in the way of Christ –
the newness of life.
And this life, Paul goes on to elaborate, is centered on and in God.
Our old selves were crucified and we are dead to sin.
Of course, one may ask what all that really means;
I mean in the every day, practical way.
If you take away Paul’s circular logic and fancy words,
what is he really talking about is the “way of Christ”
which is new life.
When Jesus was walking and talking with his disciples,
the Gospel writer tells us that Jesus invites
his followers onto the Way.
And for many years, including when Paul was active and
when each of the gospels was actually written down,
the followers of Jesus weren’t known as “Christians”,
they were known as People of the Way.
And what is a Way than a path to walk,
or a pattern of living.
This Way that Jesus invites all of his followers onto
is described through his stories,
his teachings and, indeed, his own life:
a Way of grace and forgiveness;
a Way of healing and wholeness;
a Way of speaking out and of speaking up for;
a Way of sharing and engaging with the world around.
The Way onto which we are invited to walk
is a way of everyday living with the people around us.
This Way is the Way into which Deb and Josie have been baptized,
and the Way which all of us remembered in our baptisms tonight.
The Way in which we are invited to go
is a way of connecting with creation.
The Way we are called to
is not a way of being when we are in this building or
with these people;
it is a way of Life. At all times.
But, not to worry if you feel like you are stumbling, falling
or even stuck in the baby-crawling stage
of this walk in Christ with God.
We are not alone as we are on the Way.
There is the community around us;
there are the people of God around
(even if they aren’t a part of a faith community!);
there is creation in all of its wonder and mystery;
Christ is here
in water, Word, wine and bread;
God is here
the Spirit is here.
The promise of the resurrection
is the continued unfolding of the promise that God
has made throughout the story—
to walk with us along the Way
in the wilderness, in towns, alone, in community.
Walk with us.
Walk in the Way;
it is the way of life and hope!
Amen
