Lectio
“Follow Me. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Without the Way, there is no going. Without the Truth, there is no knowing. Without the Life, there is no living.”
— Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
Meditatio
Christ calls to us, saying, “Follow me,” but it is not for us to know where he will take us, for he is taking us somewhere only he has been. Knowing is not for us. Knowing is for God. It is for us to trust. To have faith. To walk where Christ leads. To be still and let God be God. We do not know where Christ takes us. But we know with and to Whom.
And yet our faith tells us that Christ leads by love. And he leads to love. He leads us into relationship — into the very life of God. And the path runs through the cross. And this is where many of us stop, because this is where things get difficult.
Christ does not lead us to his cross. He leads us to our own. And this means, on our journey of faith, we will eventually face the hopes, desires, and fears that have kept us enslaved, the enemies we would rather destroy or run away from, and, most of all, we will have to face ourselves and all of the aspects of ourselves that are not-God. And we will have to face these with love — but not the easy, convenient, or comfortable love.
We have to bear our cross with a love that gives itself for others without repayment, that receives suffering without retaliation, and that forgives without condition. Through betrayal by friends, condemnation by the righteous, and the silence of heaven, we must remain in love by remaining in Christ. And though our heads may bleed, our cries may be unheard, and our sides may be pierced, we must trust and trudge and love and love and love and love. And when we simply can love no more, we must pray for the strength to carry on in love, and to do the will of the Father who draws us into Love.
And to trust that the One who calls us forward knows the way, even when we do not, because he has been there and he came back to lead us home. But the way home will take us through the darkness, often with nothing but the lamp of his word lighting the path at our feet. All the while following his voice ahead, saying, “Be not afraid.”
Oratio
Heavenly current of love
drawing me downstream
may I not resist
your pull
though I may travel
through dark waters
I do not travel alone
nor without aid
from Source to Source
your intention is true
never have you
led me astray
Contemplatio
Can you rest, even for a moment, in not knowing where — trusting only in with and to Whom you travel?
Related Scripture
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.” — Psalm 23:4 (NRSVCE)
For Further Reading
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like More Than We Can Handle: On Grace, the Cross, and the God Who Never Turns Away, which explores what it means to be called to a cross we cannot bear alone — and how Christ’s own faithful yes in Gethsemane becomes the pattern and the power for our own.
Robert Van Valkenburgh
Grappling With Divinity.
Wrestling With God.
Returning To Love.
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