“Where the Good Way Lies”
Stephen P. West
“Thus
says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask
for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest
for your souls. But they said, ‘we will not walk in it’. Also I raised up
sentinels for you: ‘Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We
will not give heed’.” - Jeremiah 6:16
Sometimes you choose an image,
and sometimes it chooses you. A couple of weeks ago, I was pondering what in
the world I was going to do for this class when I stumbled upon the Sewanee
Natural Bridge (when I say I stumbled upon it, I mean that both literally and
figuratively).
I had missed a turn and there it
was, a massive bridge made of rock, as solid as ... a rock. It stood on the
edge of the woods, a high stone path protruding from the ground. It’s stunning
beauty resembled the ancient aqueducts of Greece. This path was not designed by
utilitarian humans to go from one place to the next. It was crafted by our
Creator to stand tall. It was indeed a “high” way, an enduring way.
Jesus said “I am the way.”[i] It’s interesting that that
the Greek for way, hodos, in the New Testament almost always means
something more tangible than what we think. It’s not just a method, process,
procedure, or technique. It is a street or path, a roadside or route. The magi
“returned to their county by another route (hodos).”[ii] We hear “a voice
of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord (hodos).”[iii] “Take no bag for the
journey” (hodos).[iv]
After standing in awe of
the natural bridge for a few moments, I began to explore this high, stone
path through the woods. I could easily walk under it and eventually climbed to
the top to walk across it. It was immeasurable and immovable.
As a United Methodist, I
thought of my denomination’s “Commission on a Way Forward.” I know
we’re going somewhere, and I know not where, but this natural bridge is
reminding me how we are going to get there.
Christ is the way.
It’s funny how people add
the word “only” in front of that statement, as if Jesus didn’t clarify his
exclusivity enough. There’s not even a “the” in the Greek. Jesus said, “I am
WAY.” He is the personification of the path, the embodiment of the expedition,
the incarnation of the excursion! Christ is a road trip indeed.
Sometimes the way of God
is a “high road,” and sometimes the way is a “low road” (a hidden road, that
is).
God as the “high road” is
easy to imagine. Highway imagery is everywhere in the Bible. In Old Testament
times, “highway” meant exactly that ... it was a road built up, raised from its
surroundings so ruts and depressions did not become places where water collects
and holes form into “watercourses.”[v] The technology we use now,
including shaping a paved road so that the center is slightly higher than the
edges to help with water runoff, has been around a long time.
In Biblical times, local
roads were just beaten paths, so a highway was pretty special and took a lot of
effort. “Build up the highway, clear it of stones,” Isaiah says in chapter 62.[vi] “Build up, build up,
prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way” says Isaiah 57.[vii]
I live near Birmingham,
Alabama where two major interstates, I-59 and I-20, come together at what is
not-so-affectionately called “spaghetti junction.” Not long ago an eighteen
wheeler fell off the top ramp onto the highway below and exploded, making a
huge mess.[viii] (8) Finally, last year,
they started reconstructing it.[ix] I’ve always wanted them
to fix it ... until now. It’s taking forever, and I miss a turn
every other time I drive through there. Sudden darts of the car are required to
manage the latest temporary turn lane.
I have no idea how road
construction works, and trust me, I’ve been trying to figure out what they are
doing at spaghetti junction. I’ve concluded that it’s way above my head (again,
I’m speaking both literally and figuratively).
But what I have learned
about road construction is this. It requires a whole lot of planning, design,
and earthwork before you even start paving.[x]
First, the
building of a highway requires exhaustive plans by a relentless planner. Next
the contractor builds embankments using cuts and fills. Then a grader or
bulldozer comes and pushes dirt. Leveling the bumps and filling in dips creates
a surface that will last. After that, the screened dirt is sprayed with water
and compacted. During this stage, they install drains and sewers. As we have
said, the center of the road is made higher than the edges so water will run
off. Drainage is critical for life expectancy of the pavement.
All this work must
then pass strict inspections. Then the contractor places gravel in twelve–inch
layers on the road bed. Workers moisten and compact each layer. Over and over,
layers are added and compacted until the road bed reaches the height required.
All of this is
before anything is paved. Wow.
I also learned
that road construction companies boast of what they call “Context
Sensitive Solutions”[xi] Context sensitive? God is
that personal with you and with me.
The psalmist
sings, “lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness ... make your way straight
before me.”[xii] God who is our path is
also our path maker. God will diligently work to lay a road before you,
perhaps especially for you. God is the chief strategist with a hard had,
discerning and planning and analyzing all the way.
Like any smart road
planner, God considers crash statistics[xiii] when making a plan. And
oh, do I ever have crash statistics on the road of my life. Yet with the
diligence of grace, God makes a way.
Sometimes the way of God
is a high road. But sometimes it’s a low road (a hidden path).
I have been fascinated by
a Vermont government guide entitled “How to Find Ancient Roads.” Written for
aspiring road historians, it gives guidance on how to find and map historic
road locations that might just lie beneath your town.
I imagined using this
guide to search for God, and the advice in the publication made perfect sense.
It noted we should expect setbacks but “go back to it and find the rhythm in
it.”[xiv] It mentions that the
project goes better if you have help from others in mapping it. It emphasizes
keeping a journal and thoroughly, systematic searching.
And listen to this. It
notes that “it is not a job for the weak of heart. This task will take
organization, commitment, a few tools, and a good deal of time, more than you
think.”[xv] The printed guide
describes the basic tools (spiritual disciplines, if you will) of road records,
maps and how to find them, metes and bounds, local history, deeds, and
topography. I reflected on the emphasis on topography. Perhaps my topography is
the compilation of life experience that tells you where a “natural place” for a
road would be.
As if to encourage the
saints, the guide concludes “Do not be surprised to discover you can’t find all
the answers from your hard work ... The reward is small victories, the long,
hard-earned discovery ... You could be breaking a genetic code or opening a
long-lost pharoah’s tomb, for the exhilaration you will feel when you make that
wondrous discovery.”[xvi]
God indeed gives joy to
those who search until they find the path already laid out before them in the
mystery of grace.
Whether you experience God
as a protruding path or a hidden way, a high road or low road, God is an
ancient path. We can walk on it and find rest for our souls. I know that sounds
like an oxymoron since you don’t rest much when you are walking.
But that’s just it ... we
never arrive. I’ll never get “there” but Jesus, who said “come follow me,”
wasn’t talking about a destination. He was talking about a path, and it’s the
path of Peter and Paul, Martha and Mary. It’s the ancient path so many have
walked on before. Just being on the path brings rest for the weary soul.
Maybe someday I’ll get to
hike the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. In the
meantime, it’s my fourth year here on the mountain. I’ve almost finished hiking
or biking all 26 miles of the Perimeter Trail. Almost. Last week, I did one of the
hardest parts between the Memorial Cross and Morgan’s Steep.
With our class in mind, I
pondered the strange concept of walking on God. If God is the way, the path,
the trail, who am I to walk on it?
Then my mind wandered to
the Irish blessing, “may the road rise to meet you.” God does that. That’s
grace.
[v] Mark Morgan “Roads in Old Testament Times,” Bible Tales, September 17, 2018, found
at https://www.bibletales.online/roads-in-oldtestament-times/?doing_wp_cron=1529773596.3647229671478271484375
[viii]
Kayla Gladney,
“18-wheeler goes up in flames on I-20/5 9 North in Fairfield,” found at http://www.cbs42.com/news/local/18-wheeler-goes-up-in-flames-on-i-2059-north-in-fairfield/906134781
[ix] Alabama Department of Transportation,
“I-59/I-20 Bridge Replacement”, found at https://rp.dot.state.al.us/I59_20/
[x] Michigan Department of Transportation, “MDOT”
website, found at https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9615-129011--,00.html
[xi]
Ibid
[xiv] Paul Gillies, “How to Find Ancient
Roads,” The Vermont Institute for Government Research Guide(February
2006), found at https://www.uvm.edu/crs/resources/citizens/ancientroads.pdf
[xv]
Ibid
[xvi]
Ibid