27 Mar Is This The Path to Take?

Greetings Westwood Community,

Peter doesn’t want Jesus to go to Jerusalem, and he lets him know. Jesus responds, “Get behind me, Satan.” Jesus knows that he must turn his face towards his own death; he has lived a life of dangerous, radical love, and this is the price to pay.

In the Middle Ages, Christian pilgrims turned their faces and their footsteps toward Jerusalem to honor the memory of such dangerous, radical love. Those families and friends left behind devised a way that they could make a pilgrimage at home. They used the ancient form of walking a labyrinth.

Recently, thinking of that walk of Jesus, all the children and their teachers at church entered our homemade labyrinth. We had converted our game room into an inner sanctum of “candlelight” and an engaging path made of blue painter’s tape, leading into the center. We were in silent prayer, with soft Taizé music playing and the lights turned off. We were heading into the heart of God in the middle, where we could lay our worries and burdens down.

Ms. Deanna brought the children in a long line, circling the labyrinth. Not a sound was heard in this game room that normally carries raucous laughter and big muscle activity. They were then seated against the walls. She began tapping the head of a child who appeared ready to enter. Slowly they walked; slowly they stopped in the middle, releasing any heaviness they had been carrying. Slowly they exited by the same road, making room for other who were moving towards the center. The silent procession was mystical and magical.

When every child and adult had finished walking and had moved back to the periphery of the room in order to lie down or lean against the wall as they continued praying, we turned off the music. “What happened to you in there?” I quietly asked.

They remained silent until one of our fourth graders, whose mind is usually going full speed ahead with creativity and questions, began to answer. “I thought about people who don’t have a chance to do this and I felt thankful for our church.” A fifth grader was next, echoing what had just been said. “I thought the same thing! I felt so grateful for this.”

Last Sunday at snack time in the game room, I invited anyone who wanted to play a game, to follow Ms. Ashley out to the courtyard. And anyone who had missed the labyrinth walk two weeks prior could stay with me in the room with the labyrinth. Again I asked for silence and had children turn on the candlelight batteries. Ms. Emily found the music and the speaker and gave them to me. We were set!

A third grader decided we were already moving too slowly and escaped to the game outside. Those who remained began the silent prayer walk. Suddenly a few children joined us from the courtyard. One boy had a bit of a challenge not to direct his younger sister on the path, but after a quiet talk, he went his own way and let her claim her own pace. When we had finished, the children sat. We talked. We prepared to leave. That same little second grader put his hand on his heart and said, “I don’t want to go out to play a game. I want to keep the calm I have.” He found his path to take.

One of our team member, Ms. Lesley, walked it, too. She responded with, “It gave me peace.” She had just been to her grandmother’s funeral the week before. “Treasure your grandparents,” Lesley told the children. A parent had experienced the labyrinth with us. Later she said to me, “I love this program with the children. All of it. You all are teaching them life skills.”

This Holy Week, we are remembering the path Jesus took to walk into the heart of God. We are on that life-path, too, developing life skills even when we’re not able to see where we’ve been on those hairpin turns. But Jesus leads us, with courage and conviction, sacrifice and assurance. Our job is to follow him into life, abundant.

A blessed Holy Week to all of you, my friends.
Pastor Diana Holbert