Matthew 2:12 “They left for their own country by another road.”
Beyond the familiar routes of separation to God’s new paths
Reading:
You show me the path of life.
Psalms 16:11
Reflection:
We do not know what the wise men thought – they who were experts in astronomy and navigation – when they were warned to return by another road. They may well have been very confused, but the same light that illumined their journey showed them that there was another road, another possibility. They were called to change direction.
We often find ourselves bound by our familiar ways of doing things and of seeing the world. When these ways or “roads” are closed, we wonder how to proceed and continue the journey. God’s divine providence is always there to show us that there is another way prepared for us. God is there to renew his covenant and lift us up from the frustration we experience when we meet an obstacle. We must trust that the everlasting One who gave us the light, can always find a way forward when our ways and paths are blocked. A fresh start is always possible when we are willing and open to the work of the Spirit.
As Christians in the Sword of the Spirit we share God´s call to walk together as pilgrim companions. We look to the future with discernment, humility, and courage in search of new ways so that we can continue to shine the light of the Gospel with renewed fervor and welcome each other as Christ welcomed us for the glory of God.
Prayer:
Gracious God, when we only know one way and we think we must return to it, and when we think that all roads are blocked, and we fall into despair, we always find you there. You are the God of renewed promises. We find you creating a new path before us, one that we did not expect. We thank you because you exceed our expectations. We thank you for your wisdom that surpasses our understanding. We thank you because your creative paths open unforeseen possibilities. If we search our maps and find no route, nonetheless we always find you, who lead us by a yet more excellent way. We pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, that you will always lead us back to you. Amen.
Christian Witness: I Cannot but Thank God
Ferial Baz is a member of The People of God community in Beirut.
My father was Greek Orthodox and my mother Maronite (Catholic). I grew up going to both Churches but being rooted in neither of them. I enjoyed celebrating Palm Sunday and Pascha (Easter) twice every year. That was about everything I knew of Christianity at that time.
While still a pre-teen and being an avid reader, I had an annual subscription at a Baptist library where I could borrow books and read them anytime I wanted to. There I was introduced to a different version of Christianity: The Baptist Church. I was attracted to the youth meetings, and I started reading the Bible on my own. Little by little I grew attached to the Baptist Church and became a faithful member of it. There I met my husband, who, like me, was also a cradle Orthodox. In 1984, we got married and eventually had three boys and a girl.
Early in our second year of marriage, we attended the Life in the Spirit Seminar, having started visiting the public meetings of the People of God back in 1977. Living in war-torn Lebanon during the 1970s and early 1980s, we were unable to join the People of God until after the war.
However, after the birth of our third son, I started having second thoughts concerning Church. I was feeling dry inside. There was something I was missing. My husband was equally experiencing a personal crisis. After consulting with some leaders in the People of God, we were advised to explore the possibility of attending the Orthodox Church, since this was the Church into which we were originally baptized.
Slowly, we heeded this advice. The first year, everything seemed so foreign to us, and to our children as well. They missed their friends at Sunday school.
But little by little, the dryness in my heart was lessening. The worship, the psalms, the lyrics of the chants, the litanies and all the beautiful prayers of the Orthodox Church started growing on me and opening me up to a new dimension in worship, calling me to explore new depths in my relationship with the Lord and with the Orthodox Church.
Now, thirty years after this experience, I cannot but thank God for the Baptist Church, who first opened my heart to the love of God and to the love of his Word. I also thank the Lord for the wisdom he has endowed my brethren in the People of God in order to bring me back to the Church I belong to now.
In the Orthodox Church, our children got baptized, and grew up not only in the midst of the community life of the People of God but also in our Orthodox parish where two of them became cantors, and where I am a reader, while my husband serves on the administrative committee.
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