Ralph Waldo Emerson famously quotes, “Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
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Being an adventurous person, I find this quote somewhat inspiring as it pertains to discovering the unknown. But I think there is a larger, more expanded point in this quote. Well, at least I’m going to lead a discussion where I talk to myself about that.
I think that this quote makes implications to be a unique individual. One who doesn’t just follow the path of those who go before us. Sort of a “blaze your own trail,” type of quote. Or, “make your own way in the world,” “you be you,” etc.
Our culture finds that message very appealing, but what I think we find less appealing is following a difficult path. One that has been tested and proven, carried on, but maybe people would argue it’s fruitless.
If we go back to thinking of hiking, so many people who dislike the outdoors might ask, “why wander around for no reason, especially without a destination in mind?” To that I would say that a destination can sometimes be the very act of just going- somewhere. Somewhere outside of the normal, somewhere exciting, to find out what’s outside of our comfort zone. To appreciate the beauty of life, experience something transcendent. There are so many reasons that a destination is more than a set point to those who wander the outdoors. It is an experience at its’ core.
Now, back to the “larger than hiking” ideas. Maybe we could use less of these quotes today than in Emerson’s day. The individualist ideas in this culture are already fairly abundant, but again, I must stress that along with experiencing new things- we need to have drive. And to have drive, I think we ought to have a destination in mind. Again, this isn’t necessarily a fixed point.
We might think of traveling the world. That’s our idea of a destination. But the type of goal I’m hinting at is really more of the person you will become. We know that death is certain, and our lives are temporary… Or at least for now. But they can be really full. And I don’t just mean full of fleeting happy moments, or full of mountaintop experiences. Again, I think we’ve heard enough of that.
Fullness of life goes beyond going from point A, in this case birth; to point B, in this case the “end.” When we think about living a full life, I think one of the first things that will come to mind is where we aren’t full. Our shortcomings, the sickness of doing wrong things, or at least not enough. Or maybe we are really apathetic, stuck in thinking about point B, how death’s certainty makes this all really meaningless. After all, what is the point in living a full life if death will just wipe that all away?
While that question is mostly rhetorical, I think maybe it’s something we’ve all at least thought about. Especially when we can’t find a good path to follow. If we take a look at a fruitful path, we will see people that have worked and labored to build something lovely and abundant. That is the proper human life, to be full, not just ideas, but actions of love. That is the path we want to follow, and those people that have walked that path we can imitate. Going at it on our own is a mistake, but I’m not throwing out the idea of our own uniqueness. I am saying that we are made to be together as a people. Death is not very powerful, and I believe that we are made to become better people together.
I think we can agree that the good path is marked by evidence of love, a lasting impression. Something that even goes beyond “death,” there is a substance of hope and life that drove these people. I call that faith, because it is not just said, but there is real evidence of it. It is passed on, like a torch in the night, and it blazes a trail for many. I think there is only one path, and a thousand paths that look like it but end up being dead ends. If we follow our own path, there is not telling where we might be swept off to. And I don’t mean in a jolly way.
I believe it has become clear by now that I am talking about Jesus Christ, His Apostles, the Church, the Faith, etc. He told us that He is the way, the good path, and we know that He passed on a legacy. A tradition which He and His followers told us to uphold in love, first and foremost. I think that there are so many paths I could have found myself on in the twists and turns of life, and so many I could still fall to. But in this time of my life I want to really solidify my love for the man and God, Jesus Christ. So that whatever life may bring, I’m not tossed about by all the different ideas thrown my way… all of the experiences I have, or what everyone else is doing. I want to follow the good path.
Today we commemorate the Apostle and Bishop James. The brother of Jesus Christ, and a firm believer in the oneness of faith and works. He was martyred for this destination He had in mind, and for living it out by imitating Jesus to His fellow Christians. He passed on the legacy of Christ through His writings and teachings, His good works, and most importantly His love. He believed in living a life devoted to pure religion, which is a call to act on our love.
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As we consider and honor his life, and Christ in Him, we should remember that we too are called to imitate this life. We follow and imitate him and other Christians who followed him. We can take each step of the narrow path with ambition, with an aim. An aim to overcome what I brought up earlier. Those things that keep us from living a full life. The sickness that sin causes in our soul and body. And in overcoming, abstaining, and driving away this sin we find our destination. We discover our “proper end,” as the Church Fathers call it; which is to be in communion with Jesus Christ and all the saints and angels. To see God, to love, and to be in the Image of our Maker. That is a path worth following.
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As a side note,
I believe that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Salvation is in Him- today. And it is a process of shedding the sickness of sin, and being made perfect by partaking of the divine. This happens through communion, the tree of life, by which we find life. Jesus said that if we do not eat of His flesh and drink of His blood, there is no life in us. This entails that we have one Lord, one cup and body, and we are found communing when we fast from sin and put on life. We will sin less as we mature in Christ, as we eat the solid food that is communion, and our confession is true and faithful.
Through the prayers of the saints and angels, through our labor of love and striving, and especially through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit we can and must be restored to the Image of Jesus Christ. “Time has turned back on itself,” as C.S. Lewis famously says. And God has made a way for men and women to be restored to Him through the good path of faith and love. If our goal in life, our drive, is to acquire the Holy Spirit…And God’s will is that we abstain or fast from sin and become perfect, then it can rightly be said that we become like Jesus at the “end” of the path. But there really isn’t an end, is there? Sure we will at some point become sinless and see God in purity, but our fellowship with Him will never ever end. It is “unto ages of ages” or “forever and ever” as Jesus says in the Scriptures.