
Listen to:
Love and the Outcome: "The God I Know"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px_aCjR5ZFA
It’s back to school time.
Classes have resumed for my course in Spiritual Direction. Only the class is at a new location, at a slightly further distance. Here on Long Island, a typical 45 minute drive can easily turn into 1 ½ even 2 hours, if you hit the traffic at its worst. I discovered, in examining driving routes, there were several different ways to get to my class. All of them seemed to involve complicated twists and turns that only a super-maneuverable motorist can accomplish.
A confession: I am both directionally-challenged and gadget/app challenged. I can’t get “Siri” (the name of the virtual assistant on most cell phones) to navigate me out of my house let alone get me to my desk 40 miles away. So what is there to do? I need to get to my class. So I do what I can: I take the old-fashioned directions that are longer but I know them. Maybe someday I’ll figure out a short cut. For now the important thing is to keep moving. To get where I need to go.
In my spiritual life I see Jesus like that --- the road to follow -- for he said “I am the way.” So I have come to see that his actions and teachings will guide where I need to go, even when other roads seem to be popping up all over the place. It is not surprising that the early followers of Jesus called themselves “the Way,” in imitation of Jesus. In a world as confusing as ours, it is comforting to know there are tried and true spiritual paths to follow. We are surrounded by so many paths; materialism, consumerism, nationalism, capitalism, among so many others, it’s hard to figure out the path to go. When we are confused, it helps to remember that the Bible, prayer, and other spiritual practices are like a “Saintly Siri,” there to give us directions to get to God.
So for now I’ll take my old-fashioned way to get to school. It works after all. In the meantime, I’ll continue to use the my other “Siri,” the Bible and prayers to talk to God. Try it, and see if it doesn’t get you connected.
God of the Way: Be with us whenever we feel lost or confused. Show us the path we need to be on and keep us close to you.