After landing on Pitt Island this morning, some of the locals met me at the airstrip and drove me to the Church (Our Lady of the Antipodes) to celebrate Mass. There are no real "roads" on Pitt Island, just tracks across the farmland linking the homes of the 30 residents.
Many of these tracks have potholes and rocks that make them almost impassable. A robust 4WD vehicle is needed. It's a couple of years since the grader last leveled the tracks, but today the grader driver arrived on Pitt, and one of the local topics of conversation of the day was the hope of smoother travel. During the celebration of Mass we could hear the grader at work.
The rough-road image is a powerful one. Life is full of ups and downs. Every day has its share of each. At times the distance between a high and a low is very short. I might be having a great day, but a bad-news phone-call changes everything. There are times too when a day's struggle is relieved by a sign of hope.
If I rely on the events and encounters of each day to provide my stability, then I make myself very vulnerable. I leave myself with no control over my own reaction to the days downs and ups.
Today, when we left the Church after Mass, the work of the grader was noticeable. Our ride along the same route was much more smooth than it had been just an hour earlier. Our vehicle was the same. Same people. Same route. It was Mario's work at the controls of the grader that had smoothed our path.
The one who lives in relationship with Jesus, will not have any difficulty in relating the grader image to the journey of life.
Christians have the same gifts and struggles as other people. The circumstances of our lives are pretty similar to that our our non-Christian friends and family. The difference is that we don't depend on the events and encounters of each day to provide us with the stability we seek.
The stability in the life of the Christian comes from Jesus. If the day is weighed down by burdens and anxieties, we turn to Jesus. And when things are going well, the Christian turns to Jesus who does not miss an opportunity to give us all the stability we seek.
Thanks be to God.
The rough-road image is a powerful one. Life is full of ups and downs. Every day has its share of each. At times the distance between a high and a low is very short. I might be having a great day, but a bad-news phone-call changes everything. There are times too when a day's struggle is relieved by a sign of hope.
If I rely on the events and encounters of each day to provide my stability, then I make myself very vulnerable. I leave myself with no control over my own reaction to the days downs and ups.
Today, when we left the Church after Mass, the work of the grader was noticeable. Our ride along the same route was much more smooth than it had been just an hour earlier. Our vehicle was the same. Same people. Same route. It was Mario's work at the controls of the grader that had smoothed our path.
The one who lives in relationship with Jesus, will not have any difficulty in relating the grader image to the journey of life.
Christians have the same gifts and struggles as other people. The circumstances of our lives are pretty similar to that our our non-Christian friends and family. The difference is that we don't depend on the events and encounters of each day to provide us with the stability we seek.
The stability in the life of the Christian comes from Jesus. If the day is weighed down by burdens and anxieties, we turn to Jesus. And when things are going well, the Christian turns to Jesus who does not miss an opportunity to give us all the stability we seek.
Thanks be to God.
note the grader in the centre distance of the picture.
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