Poor Paul. You read through Acts, and he’s all over the map, literally. And from the convenience of our google maps, distance calculators, and automobiles, the distances seem underwhelming. But imagine no modern-day maps, or cars, or Uber. Just walking.
In today’s reading, Paul is in Amphipolis, heads to Thessaloniki, to Berea, and eventually to Athens. This is only a portion of his adventures in Greece, but account for hundreds of miles. On foot. No Google Map. And from each place he believe he’s sent, he’s either driven out, or compelled to travel on. Travelling overland from Jerusalem, up and around the Mediterranean to Corinth, and back is somewhere near 3000 miles. On foot. No Google Map. And all the way, Paul and his companions are meeting and proclaiming, and being sent on.
As I read this portion of Acts, and Paul’s travels, it reminds me of what I heard when my husband was reading the Tolkien books to our kids. Adventure, after adventure. Every time I tuned in to the story, the crew was again on the road.
On one hand, Paul is covering a lot of ground and doing a lot of good proclaiming. He’s becoming acquainted with all those communities to which he eventually writes the letters that become the bulk of our New Testament. And on the other hand, poor Paul spends all of this time going to one place, because he thinks it’s where he’s supposed to be, only to find out that he’s not welcome, or that he needs to go on to another place. In a car, driving distances, this could be frustrating. On foot, with no Google maps, I can only imagine. Go there. OK, I’m here. Just kidding. Go there. OK, I’m here. Just kidding. Go there.
From these travails, I take two things. First, sometimes where we think we’re supposed to go – even where we genuinely believe God asks us to go – isn’t the final destination. It might even be flat-out wrong. Even with the best guide and best intention, the place we think is the destination is only a stopping point. And we must continue on. If that’s the case, then maybe it really is about the journey.
If you look at a map of Paul’s journeys, initially from Damascus where the scales fell from his eyes, to Jerusalem to Greece and back and think about the mileage, and the conditions, it’s pretty amazing. I wonder what it was really like for him, on the road.
This morning, I’m thinking about what that map would look like for me. Where did the scales fall from my eyes? Where are all of the places on my journey that I thought were destinations, only to discover they were rest stops? What am I learning on the way? Today, I want to think about the map of my journey, see the dead ends and detours. I want to recognize that it really is about the journey.
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