I remember going on long road trips with my family when I was a child. Normally, my parents would
wake up all the children around four in the morning, lead us to our big blue Dodge van, and encourage us to go back to sleep. I would wake up somewhere in the middle of Tennessee or Indiana and ask the familiar question, “Are we there yet?” The answer I received is the same one I give to my children when we travel, “No, but we’re getting closer.”
We are starting this Lenten Journey together as a congregation this week, and we know we are nowhere near the destination, but I hope the travel brings us closer together and closer to God. Part of today’s reading from Luke’s Gospel traces Jesus’ lineage on his earthly father side all the way back to the first man, Adam. If you remember reading this passage from the King James Version, you’re likely to recall a lot of “begetting” going on. One might wonder why both Matthew and Luke include Jesus’ very extensive family tree, and there are a lot of theories about this. I think it is enough for us today to see God had a salvation plan in place from the very beginning. Jesus’ arrival time on this earth is part of the much larger divine message that God will not let anything separate us from God’s love (Romans 8.)
Over the next few weeks, we will certainly wonder, “Are we there yet?” The answer will be, “No, but we’re getting closer.” More than this, may this season remind us all that we are not the ones at the wheel. God is driving, God knows where we need to go, and, ultimately, God will bring us home. This season starts in the ashes of death and concludes in the lilies of resurrection. May we all trust that the Lord is God of it all.
In Hope and Confidence,
Pastor Dave
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