Jesus -- The Way
Photos: Susan Lukey
Susan: I’m fascinated by paths, in the woods or a cow-path along a fence. Just like life, these paths don’t have a clear destination, leaving much to the imagination about where they are going. They are not level or straight paths. Perhaps that is why I like the image of Jesus as the Way. Like the first followers of Jesus, I gravitate to calling myself a follower of The Way rather than Christian because I think that was the intent of Jesus. He modelled and taught a radical, challenging Way. Love your enemies. Welcome the stranger. Embrace the outcast. Do not judge. He committed to walking the Way with us. Jesus is God-with-Us on the path of life, just what I need!
David: I grew up following cow paths through the fields. They always led somewhere: to green pastures, a grove of shade trees or the shelter of the barn. They were fun to follow—I never really knew where I might end up. Following a path is comforting. Yet, when I can’t find the path, it is disturbing and frightening. Once I lost the path in a thick blanket of fog while hiking in the mountains. Without a path to guide me, I was… lost. To follow Jesus is following a path that provides direction. To follow the path that Jesus walks is to walk in the way of wisdom, compassion and love. We may not know exactly where it leads, but with Jesus we find rest, shade, shelter and “home.” Such is the “way” of Jesus.
Rev. Susan Lukey & Rev. David Robertson, High River United Church, High River, Alta.