Trusting the Ancient Rhythm of the Journey
- davidwperk
- Jun 2
- 7 min read
Devotional Reflection, Monday, June 2, 2025
The week of the seventh Sunday of Easter
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Daily Office Lectionary readings (BCP, 964)
AM Psalm 89:1-18; PM Psalm 89:19-52
Ezekiel 4:1-17; Hebrews 6:1-12; Luke 9:51-62
Key verses for reflection from today’s Gospel reading.
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. . . .
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’. . . .
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.
Today we celebrate the Feast of Blandina and her companions, martyrs. (See below.)
David's Reflections
Irish poet and mystic, John O’Donohue wrote, ”We are always on a journey from darkness into light. . . .Each day is a journey. We come out of the night into the day. All creativity awakens at this primal threshold where light and darkness test and bless each other. You only discover balance in your life when you learn to trust the flow of this ancient rhythm.”+
Luke’s Gospel presents us with a panoply of that ancient rhythm of journey, consistently applying that metaphor as the key to perceiving the Christian experience. In Luke alone, ten chapters are woven around Jesus final journey to Jerusalem, including much of Jesus’ teaching unique to Luke’s account. That segment begins with today’s reading. Today's text marks the turning point, for Luke, of Jesus' life and ministry, the point at which he turns toward Jerusalem for a final confrontation with the leaders of his faith, with rejection and death the anticipated outcome. His rejection by the Samaritans in today’s Gospel foreshadowed what lay ahead in Jerusalem (verses 52-53 below). The journey motif also predominates in the writer’s second volume, The Book of Acts, especially with the missionary travels of Peter and Paul.
Luke organizes the bulk of Jesus' teaching around the motif of this final journey, with his disciples following as he taught along the way to Jerusalem (Luke 9-19). What a vivid picture of the Christian life--following Jesus each day and learning from him as we go along together, what O’Donohue calls the ancient rhythm of the journey from darkness to light. Here, the disciples’ prejudices against the Samaritans run afoul of Jesus’ radical openness and gentleness. For us to follow Jesus in this way will call into question many of our assumptions and prejudices. Are we willing to confront those?
James and John were so angered by the inhospitality of the Samaritans that they wanted Jesus to call down fire on the village in Elisha-like fashion (2 Kings 1). That request went unanswered (verses 54-55 below.). Instead, all his followers found themselves facing Jesus’ ringing challenges. To journey with him would require a radical separation from all assumptions and attachments that would hinder their freedom of movement. In three rapid-fire vignettes, three potential followers fail to unite with that ancient rhythm of the journey, and Luke confronts us with the challenges this commitment presents (verses 57-62 below).
Like them, we must be willing to endure a sense of "homelessness" akin to that suffered by Jesus; he suffered rejection by his own people. Like a fox without a den, Jesus had no truly safe space of his own. In a world resisting God's loving claims, those who witness to that love may well often find their space compressed by unfriendly and misunderstanding responses. Those who push against God’s loving claim on their lives will push against those whose witness reenforces that claim. That would be us, the witnessing community.
Like the second and third would-be followers, we must also be willing to question the nature of our loyalties to relationships. Are we so loyal to our relationships that we would choose to preserve them at the expense of obedience to Jesus’ teaching? Would we soften our loyalty to Jesus to spare ourselves disapproval and conflict with those closest to us? Would we fudge on our core values, suffering the sense of self-betrayal involved, for the sake of harmony and acceptance?
The decision to follow Jesus and to learn from him each day involves just such hard choices. They are not always ultimate, crisis-like choices; rather, they often are the choices made quietly over lunch or during a TV show in the company of those with whom we share our lives. We consistently will feel Jesus nudging us on in the journey, pulling on us to pull up stakes, strike tents and move on with him.
As Gerhard von Rad so well expresses it, "Christ and his word are the real causes of the Christian's restlessness and pilgrimage. . . . Christ commands us again and again to break camp and move on. How many regions of the mind and spirit has Christianity wandered through; and how many shelters that it has built to make some small provision for itself . . . have been demolished. But God is also constantly leading the individual out of and beyond what he has arbitrarily regarded as his home." *
A journey begins with a single step. What small step(s) can you and I take to align our lives more fully with Jesus’ call to live into that rhythm of the journey from darkness to light? What one step could we take today to put our lives more fully in synch with the ancient rhythm of this journey?
+John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (New York: HarperCollins, 1997), pp. 4-5.
*Gerhard von Rad, Biblical Interpretation in Preaching, trans. John E. Steely Nashville: Abingdon, 1977), p. 124.
Collect of the day, Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (BCP, 226)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Blandina and her companions, martyrs of Lyons (died ca 177 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Blandina and her companions
Almighty God, who gave such courage and endurance to Blandina and her companions that by their deaths many hearts were turned to you; Grant that we, in accordance with their example, may also gladly endure all that is required of us as we witness to you in our own day; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for the Weekdays of Easter
O God, by the glorification of Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit you have opened for us the gates of your kingdom: Grant that we, who have received such great gifts, may dedicate ourselves more diligently to your service, and live more fully the riches of our faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever Amen. (Weekday Eucharistic Propers, pp. 68-69)
A Collect for the Renewal of Life
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 99)
Of the Holy Angels
Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 251)
In the Morning
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen. (BCP, 461)
In the Evening
O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen. (BCP, 833)
A Collect for Mission
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of thy faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 100)
Daily Office Gospel, Luke 9:51-62
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ 55But he turned and rebuked them. 56Then they went on to another village.
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ 58And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ 59To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ 60But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ 61Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ 62Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’
Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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