Walk This Way

Before we were gifted the Bell West Campus, which includes the ROTC building and the land behind and beside it, Olivet ROTC cadets used to drill in the lawn just west of Ludwig. So, I had a front row seat to their drills. It began the first two weeks of every fall semester. There are some basics every cadet has to learn. How to stand; hear commands and respond appropriately; the proper way to salute; what to wear and how to wear it; and among other things, how to walk.

This may sound odd because as adult humans, they all knew how to walk, but also learned quickly they didn’t know how to walk properly – at least not the way the military requires. You don’t walk any way you choose, and there is only one way to learn; you practice and drill, over and over again until you get it right. You walk in straight lines, learn how to lift and place your step, learn pace, cadence, and how to turn. You don’t walk too fast, or to slow. And you do the same things over and over again not just until you get it right, but until it becomes second nature. In the military, there is a proper way to walk.

I love the imagery. They will spend hours learning how to walk and turn; lifting, spinning, keeping their balance by placing their feet just so. In the ROTC setting, cadets never learn how to walk alone either, there are always others in line learning with you. And there is always an instructor, someone who has learned the proper way to walk, teaching you. For those who are teaching the proper steps, they know them when they see them. If you aren’t walking properly, you keep walking, practicing, until you learn the right way. Once you learn, you still have to practice so you do it right. You can get sloppy in the way you walk, losing your balance, but the goal is that what you used to spend all your energy concentrating on, you have practiced so often it becomes second nature.  

If there is a proper way to walk in the military, there is also a proper way for people of faith to walk. And just like an ROTC officer recognizes it when they see it, so do we. They have a goal, and so do we. Jesus uses words like; “poor in spirit, mourners, meek, hungry and thirsty, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, even the persecuted because of God’s way.” 

Paul says we can recognize it in people of faith using words like:

“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  Saying, “There is no law against such things.”  

Galatians 5:22-23

He describes this like clothing, saying we wear: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience,forgiveness, and we are grateful, peace makers, and above all else,loving.”

Colossians 3:12-15

These are the fruit, as Jesus and Paul describe them. If this is what we look like, how do you get there? Well, you practice a specific way of walking, a specific way of life.

That is what we will talk about this semester in chapel. Once we have accepted the invitation to walk in the way of Jesus, we submit ourselves to the one who has already walked before us, and now walks with us. We don’t set the agenda, the cadence or step, if I may. So, where do we begin? How do we learn to walk? Here are a few suggestions to get us started.   

1. Read the Bible daily together, listening for the way this will shape us and our community.  Maybe you’ve never done this before, or this is already a daily practice. Wherever you fall, it is never too late to jump! If you have a way of reading, please, stick to what works for you. This isn’t meant to be legalistic, but formative. If you miss a day, skip it. Jump right back in with the next day. The passages will be listed at the end of each weekly Evo. 
2. Lean in when you come to chapel, listening for the way God is speaking. Pray before each chapel, asking what God wants to say to you today, maybe even using Samuel’s prayer; “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”.
3. Consider making Upper Room a part of your week as our student chaplains help us dive into ways we can practice this spiritual walk. Upper Room meets very Monday at 8:00 p.m. in the Warming House. This Monday night, we’ll be talking about celebration.
4. Oh, and find a church, because we can’t do this alone.   

Walk this way.

Week of January 20-26

Monday          Psalm 1; John 1:1-28

Tuesday          Psalm 5; John 1:29-51

Wednesday    Psalm 119:1-24; John 2:1-22

Thursday         Psalm 18:1-20; John 2:23-3:21

Friday              Psalm 16; John 3:22-4:15

Saturday         Psalm 20; John 4:16-42

Come and See

John 4:42; 1 John 1:1-4

When I was a sophomore in college, the men’s basketball team from the high school I attended made a run at the state championship. I listened to the quarter final game in my dorm room and made the decision to meet my parents for the semi-final game on Friday if they won. They did, so I got in my car that Friday morning and headed for Ann Arbor, MI. 

Listening to the game was cool, but I had to be there; to sit in the arena, smell the popcorn, hear the whistle and squeaking shoes and 1500 fans yelling, watching my friends play for our first state title since 1936. I heard the band, the coaches, the fans, the sights, sounds, even smells of the game because I was there. Sometimes you just have to see for yourself.

John writes about this in the opening lines to his first letter:

“From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, touched it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you clearly and plainly, with confidence that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself taking shape before us.

We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 

1 John 1:1-3

The emphasis is difficult to miss, isn’t it? Hearing, seeing, touching. It’s the same thing Peter says in his second letter:

“We didn’t follow clearly invented stories when we told you about the arrival of Jesus. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our own eyes: We were there on the holy mountain with him. . . We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears.

2 Peter 1:16 

There’s a story in John 4 about a Samaritan woman who comes to faith because she met Jesus by a well. This story is layered and rich with meaning. The disciples couldn’t get over the fact that Jesus was talking to a woman, and a Samaritan at that. It’s a story included this week in our daily reading plan. 

After a long conversation, Jesus sends her home where something familiar happens, she invites others to come and see. Her invitation is the same that Jesus gave Andrew, and Phillip gave Nathanael, to come and see for yourself. John tells us that many believed in Jesus because of her story and then went to find Jesus, not because they didn’t believe, but they wanted to meet him, to see him for themselves. When they met Jesus, this was their response: “We no longer believe just because of whatyou said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Come and see. It moved them from hearing to believing. Hearing someone talk about Jesus is one thing, coming to him is quite another. How do you get to know someone? You spend time with them. How did you become so close with your best friend here, someone you most likely didn’t know before you arrived? You accepted an invitation to friendship, to dinner or a movie.  You talked with them, listened to them, spent time with them and over time, became besties.  You heard and saw for yourself. The same invitation to friendship that you accepted is the one Jesus gave Andrew, and Phillip gave Nathanael, and this un-named Samaritan woman gave to her neighbors. Come and see. And it changed their lives forever. 

Week of January 27-February 1

Monday               Psalm 25; John 4:43-54

Tuesday               Psalm 26; John 5:1-18

Wednesday         Psalm 38; John 5:19-29

Thursday              Psalm 37:1-18; John 5:30-47

Friday                   Psalm 31; John 6:1-15

Saturday              Psalm 30; John 6:16-27