First Steps of the Journey
A reading for Thursday, October 8, 2015: Exodus 11:1-12:13, 31-42.
The Christian life is described sometimes as a journey. In the first century, people who followed Jesus were called "people of the way." Such an image goes back much farther.
In fact, the birth of our faith was the first step of the journey. The Hebrew people were enslaved in Egypt and God did their bidding. God heard their cry and delivered them. The night of Passover was to be the night of deliverance following a meal prescribed by God through Moses. "This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly." The journey with God for all God's people began that night and it continues even now. It is a journey to freedom. It is a journey away from slavery and oppression into a life of peace. It is still our journey today...
The good news is that we are accompanied on the journey. It is God who sends us and God who goes along. It is God's wonders that go ahead of us and behind us, on our left and on our right. Our journey is a blessing, not because we go but because God sends us. No matter who we are, whether we have a home or are without, and whether we know we are slavery or oppression or don't, the Christian life is a journey to peace. From the first steps to the last.
The Northumbria Community completes the morning prayer with this blessing:
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.
Amen.
The Christian life is described sometimes as a journey. In the first century, people who followed Jesus were called "people of the way." Such an image goes back much farther.
In fact, the birth of our faith was the first step of the journey. The Hebrew people were enslaved in Egypt and God did their bidding. God heard their cry and delivered them. The night of Passover was to be the night of deliverance following a meal prescribed by God through Moses. "This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly." The journey with God for all God's people began that night and it continues even now. It is a journey to freedom. It is a journey away from slavery and oppression into a life of peace. It is still our journey today...
The good news is that we are accompanied on the journey. It is God who sends us and God who goes along. It is God's wonders that go ahead of us and behind us, on our left and on our right. Our journey is a blessing, not because we go but because God sends us. No matter who we are, whether we have a home or are without, and whether we know we are slavery or oppression or don't, the Christian life is a journey to peace. From the first steps to the last.
The Northumbria Community completes the morning prayer with this blessing:
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.
Amen.
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