Dear friends in the Lord,

          I met Dennis the first time when he came to the church asking for money.  His left arm was useless, the result of a job injury.  We gave him a meal and a King Sooper's food certificate and he often returned.  He sometimes promised to do work for us the next day, and occasionally did.  But usually when he had something to eat or spend, he disappeared for a few weeks.  He kept his few belongings in a cardboard box behind Bemis Library where he slept.

          Dennis often came at the most awkward times.  Once it was during church on a Sunday morning.  He sat waiting for me in the back row during the service, and I noticed there weren't many people sitting near him.  Once he came during Bible School and his condition frightened some of the staff.  I told him if he'd come back in the afternoon, I'd have some things for him.  When he returned I gave him some Chinese food, his favorite, a change of underclothes, a bar of soap, and an old sleeping bag.  His eyes really lit up that day.  I told him about the Lord, but he hadn't come for that.

          Dennis died during a severe cold spell.  His life was much the same as other homeless men.  Once when I sat and talked with him he said no one ever listened to him, just gave him stuff and sent him away.  It was then I learned where he lived and how he'd injured his arm.  He was fairly sober that time.  Last week I drove past Bemis Library and thought of Dennis and wondered what it was like to sleep in a cardboard box.

          This past week I've felt a little homeless.  With no building to call a church and most everything we use for worship in cardboard boxes, I felt like a preacher without a home.  Perhaps this is how Abram felt when he led his people away from his homeland to a new place God promised.  Maybe this is how the Israelites felt when they left Egypt and went into the wilderness searching for their promised land.

          But the Israelites in the Wilderness aren't the same as us because they were glad to leave Egyptian slavery.  We Epiphanites didn't want to leave our Egypt with its comfort and beauty and convenience.  It was bittersweet last Sunday as we packed everything up and left Drinkwine Chapel.  And now we're on the road to change.

          Yet we're not in a wilderness here, unless that's your opinion of housing developments.  Now that "The old has gone and the new has come," (2 Cor. 5:17), it would have been best to go directly to our new worship site at Meadow View Elementary.  But today we worship at a place between the old and the new, in a sort of modular cardboard box.  And I think we need to get accustomed for awhile to the uncertainty of travelling between the old and the new, the restless feeling of not quite being home.  It's going to be some time until we get to our own home church, and in the meantime, like the Lord's disciples, we'll be on the move, "Going God's Way."

          Jesus and His disciples moved from place to place, sleeping outdoors, enduring the elements, getting their meals from strangers.  They had no motels and Jesus had no itinerary.  Following Him meant not knowing where He was going next.  In Mark's Gospel we read of them crisscrossing Galilee, getting soaked in storms and being scared by demons.  We've seen Jesus walk the hills, walk among angry people and walk on water.  Often His plans in the morning changed by the afternoon.  The disciples were going God's way, and it was not an easy road.  And neither is ours.  Going God's way never is simple.  It's not a hike in the mountains where you know you'll be sleeping in your own bed that night.  It means being on the move, guided by the Lord as we go.

          Going God's way takes its toll on people.  Some can't handle all the changes.  Others want stability at all costs.  Still others doubt the way is right.  John records a turning point with the disciples.  They'd seen miracles, but they'd also heard disturbing words, so much so that John wrote, "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.  'Do you want to leave too?' Jesus asked the Twelve.  Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God'." (John 6:66-69)

          Going God's way is never simple or easy.  Being part of a church can be costly and going God's way can involve some risk.  It means we won't always know what lies ahead, and thus we must trust Him for everything.  It can even mean being a church without a building for awhile.  Going God's way means following Him when we don't want to.  It's not our nature to follow orders.  We want to give orders.  We want to be in command, and going God's way means following His orders, trusting that His way is the best.

          A lot of people did follow Jesus during His ministry, often for selfish reasons.  They wanted healing or help, or they wanted to hear good news.  They had enough bad news and wanted what Jesus had, and it wore Him out.  Our text says one day, "Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'  So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place."

          We all have to do that now and then.  We all need a vacation, a respite from the busyness of life.  We need a time that refreshes, a time alone with God or at least with our loved ones.  But I'm not sure we Americans know how to take a vacation.  We cram a long trip into a few short days and end up more tired than when we started.  We drive for weeks and spend more money than we have.  Instead of going with God, we tend to go away from Him, thinking we'll maybe have some fun on new and forbidden roads.  Our vacations can become more problems than solutions.

          But Jesus had it right.  Get away to a quiet place for some rest, and it wouldn't take six weeks.  A solitary place is better than a theme park.  Rest, reading and relaxation is better than endless sightseeing.  A few days away from phones and people is worth more than diamonds and rubies.

          Cell phones and E-mail are great, but if we keep them with us all the time, we can never really get away.  We've become so used to our pagers and voice mail that being out of touch seems reckless or wrong.  But why not be out of touch for awhile?  Will life crumble if we miss that call?  Will we be failures if someone gets sick while we're gone?  Are we fearful of missing something, or is it that we fear no one will miss us if we don't tell them where we are?

          Sometimes, despite our best attempts to get away, people find us anyway.  The Bible says when Jesus left the area, He wasn't alone long.  "But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  So he began teaching them many things."

          Jesus couldn't always get away, and neither can we.  Important things press upon us.  There is land to buy, committees to form, and applications to complete.  There are master plans to make and engineers to consult.  There's work to do, especially when the road of life has unexpected bends and turns.  Meadow View Principal Steve Herzog is working hard hiring teachers and getting his school ready to open.  He said their janitor just found out he needs open heart surgery and it will change some plans with our Sunday setups.  They have Open House today at 3:00, "God willing," he said.

          The Bible says Jesus had compassion on the people and so He taught them.  Why teach them?  Why not feed them, give them money or clothing, or offer counselling?  That's what people need.  We're harassed by life, not hunger.  We needed hope, not counselling.  We aren't helpless; we need someone to show us how to go God's Way.  And the One who showed them -- and us - was Himself the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.  We need hope, and we have it in Jesus Christ.  He is "our God, our help, in ages past, our hope for years to come." (hymn verse)  He is our hope!

          One cold Sunday morning the members of a fine city church were surprised when a raggedy stranger came into their church.  They gave him plenty of room as he walked around slightly dazed, staring blankly, a tattered woolen scarf pulled over his mouth.  Someone asked if he needed help, but he only sat down and stared at them.  The organist started the prelude so everyone took their seats, only to be shocked when the raggedy stranger hobbled down the aisle to the very front pew.  When the prelude was over, the old man stood up as several murmured about calling the police.  But then a most marvelous thing happened.  The raggedy stranger took off the tattered wool scarf and the people saw it was their own pastor.  He stepped up to the microphone and said, "I think you know what my message will be about today!"

          Going God's way will have its surprises, its challenges and unexpected events.  We will have much asked of us.  Our biggest surprise will come when our trip is over and we're ushered into God's presence.  We'll be amazed when we stand before God in His glory!

          We just need to keep focused on what's important.  Last week I was driving along, stewing about something when behind me came a crash.  A semi had smashed into another truck, and steam and metal parts went flying.  The sirens brought me out of my self-pity.  There's nothing like the imminent threat of death and destruction to bring life back into focus!  These light and momentary afflictions we face will not last, but "Going God's Way" will.  In Christ, you and I needn't be harassed or helpless.  We have a Good Shepherd to guide us.  He's given His life for us and has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)  So let's put away our fears and worries.  Let's pick up our boxes and follow Him to our next destination.  And let's praise God as we go, for He is with us always, showing us a better way.  Amen!

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.