Food for the Journey
I felt good. I had way more energy than I usually do at 7pm on a Friday evening. The projector and slides were up. I was ready to give a talk…
…to a group of 50 junior high students.
My husband and I are on the junior high youth ministry team at our church, and we were giving the evening’s talk on friendship - friendship with God and with others. We thought we had a good outline. We thought we had the right content. We thought that a table activity in the middle of the talk would be a great way to break things up. The activity broke things up alright.
What I thought was a solid start to the talk, with engagement and eye contact from the kids, quickly spiraled into kids having their own activity at each table while Gabe’s and my words exited our mouths and floated off to the rafters. It felt like the teacher with the best-laid plans for instruction, and then poof, it all went up in flames. The purposefully prepared presentation becomes quite the opposite.
As Gabe and I reflected on the night, we dissected each part and attempted to figure out “where things went wrong.” You know, that all-too-human feeling of beating yourself up? The feeling of desolation didn’t last too long, as other parts of the evening began to stand out and filter forward. Our small group time was fantastic. Each adolescent shared, even multiple times, during our small group time. The snacks were well-consumed (always a good thing at youth ministry). And the ending game we played was a huge hit. Stepping back even further, with a wider lens, it was a consolation knowing that our team had just provided a place for middle schoolers to have fun with one another. To hopefully encounter Christ. Talk about God. Give Him a time and a space in their lives. That was all the consolation we needed.
Those consolations that Jesus provides are like food for the journey. As we journey through Lent, maybe we are experiencing some discomfort or desolation as we direct our eyes toward Christ and his 40 days in the desert. Even amidst our fasting, Jesus continues to give us food for the journey. We just have to keep our eyes on Him and seek it.
This weekend’s Gospel is the Transfiguration. Every time I think about the Transfiguration, I think about “food for the journey.” When Jesus took Peter, James, and John up Mount Tabor and transfigured before their eyes, becoming an amazing, “dazzling white,” those beloved apostles had an experience like no other. It must have been one of those moments you wish could last forever. In fact, Peter asked if they could pitch three tents, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, to make the moment last longer! Jesus was giving His beloved apostles something amazingly fulfilling. Some food for the journey. Jesus recognized that they needed this. In just a short time, Jesus would physically be leaving them on this earth, and not only that, leaving in a most excruciating manner upon the cross.
What food is Jesus giving you for your Lenten journey? Maybe it was the glimpse of spring this week. Maybe it was seeing dear friends that you haven’t seen in a while. (It was for me!) Maybe it was seeing a child or a student nod in understanding or contributing to class discussion. However, when those moments of consolation don’t seem to appear, we can lift our gaze to the ultimate food for the journey, Jesus himself. Jesus left us the most fulfilling food, His own body and blood, soul and divinity, so that we may not hunger, but have food for the journey toward eternal life.