Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Last month I returned from a pilgrimage where my husband and I joined 32 other pilgrims and walked part of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. It was an incredible experience walking over 125 miles to reach our destination- the Cathedral of Santiago where the body of St. James is buried. As I reflect back on this journey, there are many spiritual lessons that I have learned. One of the most important ideas is the concept that the journey itself is more important than the destination. In today’s gospel reading I believe Jesus calls us to follow Him in the here and now. He reminds us that we need to travel light and leave both past and future in His Hands. Although heaven ( eternity spent in unity with God) is our final destination, as true disciples of Jesus we need to focus on the present moment recognizing that Christ is already with us as we walk on the way.
In the gospel reading, Jesus is surrounded by a crowd and then gives orders to go the other shore. This at first glance seems odd, since Jesus has a captive audience. Why would He want to move away when He has further opportunity to teach? Could it be that Jesus wants to identify those who are His true disciples? As He heads away, two different followers approach Jesus and speak of their desire to follow Him. Jesus cautions them by explaining that He has no permanent home, and there is nothing that should stand in the way- not even burying the dead. Jesus attempts to teach His followers that discipleship starts now! He warns them to not be concerned about the material things (homes, possessions, places of rest), but to be ready and willing to get in the boat and cross to the other shore. This seems to be an enormous task for any person, and yet if they do get into the boat, these disciples realize that they will not be alone, but they will be with Jesus as they continue on their journey.
So much of my Camino experience affirms this call of Jesus. Each day as we walked on the path it was vital to be in the present moment, or you would miss the beautiful scenery and the many opportunities to share life with other pilgrims. Through nature and other pilgrims on my daily walks, I experienced communion with God. If I had spent all my thoughts and energy worrying about where we were headed, I would have missed out on the grace of God’s presence in the actual walking. When we arrived in Santiago, there was much beauty and celebration, but it was still nothing in comparison to the experience of finding God along the way.
This gospel reading and my Camino experiences remind me to stop focusing on the future and to begin living my life and my faith right now! The challenge for living this lifestyle is to not allow the particulars- my fear of the future, my material possessions, my disappointment in the past, or my desire to be in control- to get in the way of saying “Yes” to Jesus right now.
Jesus desires for us to be with Him always, but our journey walking with Him starts at this moment. Although heaven is the destination that we desire, St. Catherine of Siena has great insight when she said, “All the way to Heaven is Heaven, because Christ is the Way.” If we choose to cross to the other side to follow Jesus, we are demonstrating that we are going beyond just listening to His words, and we are choosing to live our lives with Him as our companion. If we spent less time focusing on getting to heaven, and more time living in heaven through our lives of faith, I believe that there would be so much greater peace, joy and love in our lives. If Christ is with us on our journey, there could be no better moment than now.
'Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus who calls us to follow Him to be with You. By the power of Your Spirit, fill us with the wisdom and courage to hear Jesus call to us, so we can follow Him. May we find communion with You as we walk on our journey and may our lives bring You glory and praise. We pray this through Christ, our LORD. Amen.'
Marylynn Herchline