The Rev. Dr. Steven D. Irwin on the best and worst of society

Perilous Journeys

The distance from work to my home is about 14 miles. On an emergency call at three o’clock in the morning I’ve made it in 12 minutes. In rush hour traffic it usually takes about 45 to 50 minutes. Time varies, as does anxiety depending on traffic flow, fellow travelers and the needs of each driver to arrive at his or her destination.

Yesterday the trip was different. With ice covered roads in an area of the country where neither people nor roads are prepared for such conditions travel changes. My average speed was reduced to 10 miles per hour. My mental and emotional status was also different. Anxiety increased, fear at times when fellow sojourners drove too fast or attempted to stop at the last minute with little success, even anger at city trucks meant to make travel easier but just becoming another obstacle.

I also witnessed the best and worst of society. Complete strangers stopped to help each other. A car would spin out of control and a stranger would offer a cell phone or a push. A car slid into a ditch and a truck with a winch pulled him back onto the road. While some stopped, others drove by for reasons that I could only guess at. I also witnessed a few that chose to ignore the needs of other by driving too fast, running red lights, weaving in and out of slow moving cars.

There was a time when another generation was asked to make a difficult journey. The gospels say that:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Careens was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. (Luke 2:1-5)

We are not told much more about that journey from the story itself. I looked at a map yesterday and it looks like the two towns are separated by about 75 miles as the crow flies. In reality they are divided by what is known as the hill country, which is made of rocks and filled with trees followed by sections of arid desert. More rocks and many more hills with well-worn paths that are not very wide in some sections add to the journey.

I can only imagine what it was like to make such a journey. Neither walking nor riding a donkey sounds too comfortable for a woman who is nine months pregnant. I see some folks offering help and others turning a blind eye. I imagine some angry with the slow travelers causing their journey to become longer while others understood and offered words of kindness and comfort. Some may have stopped to help while others blew by when the path was wide enough; some may not even have waited for the path to widen.

Joseph and Mary had no idea what their next hours and days held for them or for the world. Travelers who stopped to help never knew whom they were helping. Travelers who blew by, ignored, or even hindered never knew what their ignoring meant. I think of Matthew’s (25:40) reminder that “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers [or sisters] of mine, you did for me.”

This time of year many of us of the Christian tradition find ourselves journeying toward the arrival of the Christ child. Our journey may be slow and arduous. Our journey may be too fast for our own safety. We may stop and help those we see in need or we may blow by. We may feel guilt or anger or anxiety as we travel. We may stop to see the beauty even in the midst of the danger. I encourage each of us to ask “How am I preparing for the arrival as I journey toward Christmas?”

 

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