Setting Your Face

"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem" Luke 9:51

  There are some journey's we love to take.  Trips to see family, Thanksgiving at Grandma's house.  Trips to the Zoo, or the Amusement park. Or those treasured, long planned out family vacations.  They are the journeys to which we look forward. We keep the date circled on the calendar. we tell all of our friends and can't wait until you can send them pictures or post them on Facebook.

  And then there are the other journeys. The trip to the doctor when you don't want o hear what they have to say.  The meeting about your finances, the summons to speak with your boss. The walk down the school corridor to see the principal... not that it ever happened to me of course.  These are the journey's we don't want to travel. We avoid them. We pull the covers back over our heads.   These are the journeys we don't talk about because they can be painful.

  Advent has always stuck me as a joyous journey.  Its so joyous in fact that even the secular world joins in.  It's common for us to complain that they are beginning their Advent too early. "Honestly Christmas decoration in October!"  But how can it not be a joyous time? It's about a miraculous birth, and infant in a manger. Peace and Goodwill for all mankind.

  This week we will begin a different journey. The Journey of Lent. It's, well, one of those "other" journeys. It's not pleasant. It's painful. It's the opposite of Advent. In Advent we celebrate life in the dead of winter. In Lent we remember a death in the time of Spring and renewal. Advent's about joy and eating. Lent's about contemplation fasting, looking at the painful parts of our life.  We drag our heels on this journey, perhaps because we know full well what awaits us at the end. A cross. The broken body of the Son of God.

  We don't want to go there because in the end we know why Jesus is on that cross. I, you, we put Him there. It was for the atonement of our sins Jesus went to the cross. To pay for our sins.  To free us from the pain of sin, and to heal us of our own woundedness in life.

  Maybe that's why this verse is so important to us. It says when the time had come, Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem. Newer translations say he "went resolutely".  But I like the image of Jesus "setting his face." He knew what the stakes were going to Jerusalem. He knew how unpleasant this journey would be. But He also knew that at the end there would be resurrection. Life and hope. Reconciliation. So Jesus Set His face.

  You may be going through your own personal Lenten season right now. You are walking a hard road. You're in the midst of some tough times ahead. The road is so dark you 're not even quite sure what's at the end.  Do not fear.  God is walking with you through this valley. You are not alone.  The one walking with you knows a thing or two about painful journeys. And he knows about life and hope as well.

  So have courage.  Set your face toward Jerusalem this Lent. take the journey. It may not be a pleasant one. There may be some lean times ahead. But you do not walk alone. He who conquered the grave walks with you and He will  conquer all your fears as well.

In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Brian Jones <><