Between Intention and Action
Sometimes I wondered if
I had any faith.
I sat down and thought about it.
And when I had had enough
of that I got up
and went on my way.
And that — the getting up
and going — was faith.
— Mary Jean Irion
Getting up and going. Especially when life seems pretty crazy, or when we’ve tread the paths over and over again, or when we wonder about the “big” doctrinal issues (Easter’s coming, right?) and all the other things that impact us in any given day, faith is a matter of getting up and going.
The scripture passage identifies the action verbs: going along the road, follow, nowhere to lay your head (no stopping point), and even Jesus’ word, “go.” Jesus didn’t tell the disciples what to believe, how much to believe, or anything else about believing. He just called them to go, get up and go. Jesus affirmed that what is required is to keep going, putting our hand to the plow (once again, doing something and moving forward!) and implied in what he says, looking forward toward the presence, calling and strength of God.
When we lived in Wooster, Ohio, I took the daily newspaper. Each evening when I got home, I took my 10 minutes to read it. One night I read about the First Church of Go! I’d love to belong to the First Church of Go! I think it was supposed to be with the First Church of God in town but an error was made and missed and pointed me once again in the right direction: It’s time to get up and go; get up and go again; get up and keep going!
That’s putting intention into action, or having faith.
Prayer: O God who makes the pathway and provides the directions along it, help me to get up and go; give me faith. And strengthen all of us in this church and beyond to get up and go together, supporting each other in whatever is needed to clear the path, provide the directions and care for the world. Amen
Sally Dyck