On the Road With Jesus
By the time the calendar flips over to May most minds are turning towards summer and all the activities and trips it holds. For me the start of summer stirs nostalgia for summer road trips. Road trips are part of the American mythology—packing up the family car (whether the wood-paneled station wagon of my childhood or the minivan with Thule rocket-top and hitch-mounted bike rack of my middle-age) and hitting the open road. They’re a reliable trope in American media like in Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley or National Lampoon’s Vacation. Road trips come in a million shapes and sizes, including the recently ascendant form of #vanlife (abetted as it has been by Covid-times and social media influencers). The summer road trip taps into something fundamental to our humanity: how we want to be in motion, how we love to explore, how we desire the adventure of the open road.
This summer, our worship together at City Church will follow the itinerary of a sermon series called On the Road with Jesus, exploring chapters 10-14 of Luke’s gospel. These chapters narrate Jesus’s road trip to Jerusalem where the events of his Passion Week take place. And these chapters also narrate the path of discipleship for all who would follow Jesus. In chapters 10-14 Luke shows us what it looks like to be on the road with Jesus, following his footsteps, joining his mission. Life on the road with Jesus shares characteristics with all great road trips.
Every great road trip is enlivened by the stories of the people you meet along the way. Sarah and I, for instance, will never forget the Bed and Breakfast host we met in Doolin, Ireland, whose hand-written note taped to the door of his house gave us directions to the town pub where we could find him. Similarly, after a summer on the road with Jesus we won’t soon forget Martha and Mary or the woman suffering with a disabling spirit for 18 years; not to mention characters from Jesus’s parables like the Good Samaritan or the man hosting a great banquet.
Every great road trip also has unanticipated twists and turns that end up teaching lessons we couldn’t learn any other way. Like the flat tire on my Dodge conversion van suffered in the middle of a snowstorm while driving back from a concert in Providence, Rhode Island. Or our family's detour through rural Southern towns in search of the best roadside Eastern Carolina style barbecue. Those on the road with Jesus likewise learn in the midst of everyday life—at meals on the Sabbath or during disputes over who gets what in their father’s will.
And, of course, every great road trip has a destination. Even the most meandering and desultory paths lead somewhere. Even the road trip without a strict itinerary finds its way to a relative’s house or a ballpark or that restaurant you’ve just got to try. Jesus’s destination was Jerusalem—and specifically a cross that he carried to a hill outside the city gates. He was always heading to a cosmic showdown with sin. He was focused on satisfying God’s wrath against evil. He was aimed at the the final defeat of Satan’s Kingdom. Our journey with Jesus today follows the same path—it always leads to the cross, an end point which ever reminds us of Jesus’s deep, deep love for us.
This summer, in looking at what it meant for the disciples to follow Jesus on his road to Jerusalem 2000 years ago, we’ll also be learning what it means for us to follow Jesus today in Richmond. From their fumbling and fickle faithfulness we’ll discover what it means for us to proclaim and embody the kingdom right now. But, most importantly, as we take this road trip together, we’ll come to see who is with us on our journey. We’re on the road with Jesus, after all. And that makes all the difference. When the path is steep, when the directions aren’t clear, when the next turn is obscured by heavy fog, Jesus is with us. We’re on the road with Him. And his presence is all we need.
Stay Well and Do Good,
Erik