04/17/2026
The Paths We Take
In this Sunday's service, we look at the Road to Emmaus, Luke 24: 13 - 35. It's about two men walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, a nice days walk, when they meet up with a stranger who shares the path with them.
This week's photo is from a trip to Ireland I made in the fall of 2006. I was walking through the ruins of an old monastery, which stood beside a flowing river. At the backside of the monastery stood a small forest, and there was a path that beckoned me into the woods.
I listened to the call of the path that led me into the forest. The trees grew so closely together, that even though it was mid-afternoon, it was as dark as late dusk under the spreading canopy of lofty, leaf covered branches. Earlier this year, I included a photo I took on that path, of a beautiful fern that was illuminated by a shaft of sunlight, that pierced the darkness.
Still, the path called me further into the woods. And I followed it. For five minutes. Then thirty. Then for almost an hour. I was beginning to wonder where it would end. I kept walking.
After nearly and hour and a half, I stopped. The path led ahead, the trees were as densely woven as they were at the start. I was getting hot and thirsty. The air was still and no breeze penetrated into the middle of the woods. A tiny irrational fear began creeping into my thoughts. The rational part of me told me I was on a maintained path and I wasn't lost. But I didn't know where it would end. How much farther did I have to go? I had no water with me, just a camera. I looked ahead of me and like the path I had been following, it curved to the right, and I could only see to where it curved away from me.
I said a little prayer - "God, do I keep going the way I am going. or, do I turn around and go back the way I came?" Going ahead required faith. Going back required none. And as I turned around on the path I had come, I saw on a tree beside the path an arrow, notched and painted on a tree beside the path. It pointed ahead. I followed the path for another half hour and discovered the path ended almost where it began, in the rear courtyard of the ruined monastery.
Where are you on your path? Do you continue going ahead, even if you can only see a little ways ahead? Or, do you turn around and go the way you came? To continue going ahead requires faith. To go back means you have given up on faith. So, where are you on your path?
