One of the joys of regularly joining our Thursday Matters bible study group is the fact that the group of people gathered in the fellowship hall (Thursdays at 10am if you want to join) are a group of people who care for one another and also can explore some interesting tangents from time to time. It’s not uncommon for us to delve off into a random quirk of a text, which then leads to a discussion on history or crop development or social engineering or any of a number of random topics that might somehow connect to a single word or line in the text. Invariably, though, as we go on one of these little tangents, our tenuous connection to the text we were studying becomes untethered, and we’re now unsure how we got where we were, and how to loop things back to the topic matter at hand. But this usually doesn’t frustrate the group, because they know they will learn and grow from whatever random fork in the road they take.
At the same time, however, I think most of us do sometimes get frustrated when we find ourselves diverted from the intended path or plan that we’re attempting to follow on a day-to-day basis. After all, for many of us, there isn’t time for simple diversions that keep us from following where we were planning to go. And sometimes amidst the distractions and anxieties of life, it seems we become completely disoriented from where we were intending to be. Even worse, I think there are times where in our disorientation we can’t even pretend to know where the path we were attempting to follow went. We all go through times like that in life – when life throws one too many curveballs at us, and we can’t keep up, or when we hear a truth that shakes a long-standing belief. What do we do when we encounter these things? How do we respond to being so completely stripped of our sense of orientation that we find ourselves paralyzed with self-doubt, anxiety, or hurt?
The Lutheran church camp that I worked at while in college was home to a labyrinth. If you’re not sure what a labyrinth looks like, there’s a painted version of a labyrinth on the floor of the lower courtyard next to the preschool. Although we usually think of a labyrinth as something similar to a maze, there’s one significant difference; a maze has multiple paths and several dead ends. A labyrinth only has one path. Winding as it is, the labyrinth always takes you to your intended destination. Labyrinths are tools for contemplation and intentional connecting to God. I spent many hours at the labyrinth at camp pondering questions of calling and purpose that God had put before me. One of the interesting features of a labyrinth, however, is the fact that when you are in a labyrinth, the path usually takes you in toward the center first, before guiding you back toward the outside walls of the labyrinth. It isn’t until you’ve spent time on the outer portions of the labyrinth that your path suddenly shifts, and you are taken quickly in to the center of the labyrinth.
Our lives are much like this. There are times in our lives where we feel that we are close to God – close to the center of our faith. There are other times where we feel as if we are far from the center – far from the presence of God. And yet, much like the labyrinth, we are never truly far from God’s presence. We are never alone. Even when life is so disorienting that we feel as if we’re in a maze with no solution, in Christ we are reminded that there is one clear path – and God meets us wherever we are on that path. In the labyrinth of God’s creation, our center is always found in Christ.
So know, beloved, that as you journey through life’s disorienting seasons, you are never alone. Christ is with you. And when Christ is with you, you are never truly lost. Indeed, perhaps it is in these moments of disorientation where we are able to experience Christ most near to us, and know the goodness of the God who always meets us where we are on our journey of life.
Pastor Chris