Walking with Jesus

Looking back on all the journeys I’ve had to make in my life, I can say with confidence that by far the best way to travel is by passenger liner. When I was a boy growing up in Pakistan, this was the easiest (and cheapest) way to get there from Scotland.

I remember how our Journey would pass through four distinct stages. We would disembark at Liverpool and sail out into the Irish Sea. I remember how that first stage was full of excitement. You had a whole ship to explore and you soon got to know where you could go and where was off limits. More importantly, you got to know the other boys and girls who would be travelling with you.  

After a day in the Bay of Biscay, however, all the excitement soon wore off. That was when you rediscovered the misery of sea sickness, and you began to wonder if travelling by boat was such a good idea after all!

But then came the Mediterranean Sea, with its sights and sounds. By now you had found your sea legs, and were well into a routine, with swimming and games up on deck, and ice cream every afternoon.

Then it was out through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea into the Indian Ocean. By now you knew it wouldn’t be long before you reached Karachi, and so a new sense of excitement was growing as you prepared to disembark and for adventures to come.

While Jesus and his disciples didn’t travel by passenger liner, their three year journey together seems to have gone through four similar stages. Their first stage, at the very beginning of their time together, was one of excitement and adventure. They were travelling with Jesus, wonderful things were happening, and everything was new and exhilarating.

But then, after a while they began to have second thoughts, (their equivalent of the Bay of Biscay). More was now expected of them, and it wasn’t as easy as they had first imagined. Also, Jesus’ general popularity seemed to be waning, and the cost of following him began to reveal itself.

But then came the third stage, (their equivalent of the Mediterranean). Their numbers had now been reduced to those who were really committed, and we see a real community developing and growing in confidence and loyalty – to each other and to their leader.

Their final stage, (their Indian Ocean), was their time together after the resurrection, when Jesus is preparing them for taking up reigns after his departure. It’s a stage of final instructions, and promise of the great adventures which lie ahead of them all.

Over the next calendar year, (2014), we plan to trace these different stages in the disciples’ journey during Sunday morning worship. Our theme for the year will be ‘Walking with Jesus’, and it will be marked by a set of four signposts. The first of these will be, “the Characteristics of discipleship”, when we will be exploring all that Jesus’ coming has to offer. The next stage, beginning with Holy Week and Easter, will look at “the Cost of discipleship”. During July and August, we will spend some time in the third stage, exploring “the Challenge of discipleship”, and finally, in the lead up to Advent, we will come to “the Commission of discipleship”, looking at the mission which we, as disciples, are being called into. 

One of the things you soon discover when you go on a journey with others is that, while you may start off as a group of individuals, you finish as part of a community. That was the case on board ship and that was the case with the followers of Jesus. And so, the invitation is there for you all. This coming year we will be going on a journey together. I’m not sure where it will lead us, but I can promise we will be making good friends along the way.

Much love,

John