Road Trip!

Regina wouldn’t dream of going on a vacation without knowing the lay of the land. Lists are made–many, many lists. She scours the internet, compulsively checking airline schedules, car rentals, and hotel reservations. She researches the destination and schedules activities–tours that must be taken, attractions that are too good to miss.

Regina makes another list to ensure that the house looks lived-in while she’s away. Beware, would-be thieves! Regina will set traps that make the kid from Home Alone look like an amateur (actually, he was an amateur, but I digress.) She  schedules the lawncare crew, arranges for pet-sitters, reserves airport parking. Time to pack! Another list! What’s the weather report? Bathing suits or sweaters? Jeans or evening wear? Heels or flip-slops? More research! Three months later, by the time Regina heads to the airport, she is 100% prepared for every eventuality–and exhausted. 

Meanwhile, Barbara plans her road trip. Yesterday, someone at work mentioned that Southern California was fun, so Barbara plans to go to San Diego–next week. She goes to Priceline and gets a package deal–airline, hotel, and rental car. She’ll figure out the rest when she gets there. Barbara’s flight leaves today at 2:00 pm. At 10:00 am, she grabs her backpack and tosses in a couple of pairs of jeans, three t-shirts, a sundress, tennis shoes, sandals, and a toothbrush. The hotel will have everything else she needs, and besides, there are Wal-Marts in San Diego, right?

Do the planning rituals of Regina and Barbara remind you of a couple of New Testament sisters? (Answer: Yes! Mary and Martha!) In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus pays a visit to His friends, the sisters Mary and Martha. Martha is a lot like Regina. She, no doubt, had a list–plan meal, provide place to wash up and relax, cook, dust, clean baseboards, arrange flowers on mantel. (Maybe I exercised a little prosaic license there, but you get the idea.) But Martha’s sister Mary, like our friend Barbara, did little or no planning. The only thing she thought about was spending time with Jesus. Which sister got the most out of the day?

Not too long after His visit to Mary and Martha, Jesus took a road trip to Jerusalem. It would be His last journey, one that had been planned for Him for at least 33 years. His trip would begin with a crowd, but when He reached His destination, He would be alone. It wasn’t necessarily a trip that He looked forward to, and He even asked if He could get out of it (pardon my vernacular translation): “Father, do I have to go? I’d rather not travel this road, but if You want Me to, I’ll do it.” (Matthew 26:39, 42) 

We know how the story ends–the Passover meal with the Disciples, Judas’ betrayal in the garden, Jesus’ torture and Crucifixion, and His Resurrection three days later–hallelujah, a happy ending! But the Disciples didn’t immediately recognize Jesus’ death as a happy ending. They mourned His loss, not understanding that the Resurrection was not the end of the story (even though Jesus had told them exactly what would happen). They did remember, however, that Jesus promised that He would be with them again, and they spent the remainder of their earthly lives spreading the good news about Jesus and preparing for their next meeting with Him.

For those of us on this side of the cross, we know that the Resurrection is not the end of the story! In fact, that belief is the basis of our Christian faith (my homespun translation again): “God loved the world so much that He sent His only son Jesus to die in our place, and if we believe that, then we will live forever!” Now, that’s good news!

Even though we don’t know what our earthly future holds, we can know for certain what our final destination will be. And that’s a road trip I want to take!

*Come back next week and I’ll tell you how Jesus prepared for His ultimate road trip. Warning: There will be more prosaic license.

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