“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” ( Matthew 17:20)
There is a lure to the pure life of just you and the country. My summer reading list often includes books that detail adventures into the wild outdoors, where man and/or woman pit themselves against the dangers of nature. There’s a ton of these non-fiction books around and I’ve read many of them. Some recommended examples:
A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson. Without a Paddle, by Warrant Richey. Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. The River of Doubt, by Candace Millard.
Some of these authors describe people who are merely challenging themselves by pushing their personal physical envelopes. (Why do we climb Mt. Everest? - Because it is there). However, in many others of these books, the author is telling of a person who has suffered a personal tragedy or confronted a crossroads in their lives that requires solitude and introspection. Many of these individuals believe that if given enough time by themselves in the wilderness, they will “find themselves” and resurrect their tortured existence and discover the meaning of life. (Being away from other people apparently contains the apparition of cleansing). I currently am reading a book called Wild by Cheryl Strayed about a woman who suffers an early death of her mother by cancer and as a result, makes some bad choices . . . like libidinously cheating on her husband and taking heroin and deciding to trek the 1,000 mile Pacific Crest Trail for which she is woefully unprepared. But she hopes to find the woman she really is and I admire her strength and determination. The only problem is that Mother Nature is not very caring. She could give a flying fig newton whether you live or die and is entirely uncompromising if you make a mistake. I recently read of a 57 year-old man who was hiking...alone...in Oregon and fell 1,500 feet to his death in a ravine. They found him three weeks later. The earth itself is merciless and takes no prisoners.
Why do I read these books? Because I’ve been there and like to compare notes. In my 20’s, I was very much a seeker and to a small extent, still am. When I was 27 and single, I took a month-long hiking/camping trip through the southwestern United States that started in Austin, Texas and circuitously ended in Colorado Springs. I thought I was young, strong and invincible. Daily 15-mile hikes through steep and rugged terrain were typical. The opportunities for profound thought on the lonesome trail should have been multitudinous but I found that when you are sweating your buns off due to the sheer negotiation of the trek, your thoughts are somewhat more focused on survival than philosophy. During that trip, I did make one monumentally stupid decision that put my life in jeopardy and I prayed to God to deliver me. And obviously He did. Thinking about the incident later, I berated myself for being a sniveling parasite; that is, I was ashamed that I had only gone to God when I had great need and not praised Him or even thought of him beforehand throughout most of the trip.
That is how these solo expeditions can be important to one’s soul: They are not about finding yourself . . . but finding God’s place for you in this universe. They very directly measure where you are with God. Do you think of Him daily (or at all)? Do you thank Him for the mere physical capability to climb mountains when so many can’t? Do you thank him for the mental drive of purpose and accomplishment? Do you whistle Lutheran hymns on the trail as well as your favorite pop songs and advertising ditties and the Flintstone’s theme.
You cannot possibly stare into the night sky in the middle of nowhere in the state of New Mexico without seeing a billion stars that you never even contemplated in New Jersey. The huge vastness of nature can often leave you awe-struck . . . but you need to acknowledge its creator and you need to know that puny-you cannot come before such a magnificent being without an intermediary, which is the Savior Jesus Christ. Only when you have found Jesus and understand what it is that He needs for you to do, then you can radiate outward to all your other relationships with a new enlightenment.
When you’ve found Him, then you’ve found you.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I’d gladly lose me to find you
I’d gladly give up all I had
To find you I’ d suffer anything and be glad
I’d pay any price just to get you
I’d work all my life and I will
To win you I'd stand naked, stoned and stabbed
I’d call that a bargain
The best I ever had
The best I ever had.
“Bargain”, by The Who - from the album, “Who’s Next”, 1971.
Note: The Angels Landing is one of the hikes I did on my Southwest trip. If you ever want to try a heart-pounder, check this out:
http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-trails/walk-up-summits/#page=2
Contributed by Donald
Monday August 11, 2014
Liturgical Year A: Week 37
Liturgical Color: Green
Sunday Gospel reading: Proper 14
Twelveth Sunday after Pentecost