LENT THROUGH WALKING
Haiku Meditation
When we feel downcast
The one who walks on water
Also walks with us
Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures up to us? Luke 24:32
This final week of Lent we are focusing on walking as a spiritual practice as we make our way through holy week. I am drawing from other writers and theologians on what I have learned about the ways walking is spiritually formative. Throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth we read several times in scripture about how he walked from place to place. Even one of his most familiar miracles recorded in Matthew 14, Mark 6, and John 6 is how Jesus walked on water to demonstrate his power over the wind and waves and bring calm in the chaos. It is estimated that Jesus walked over 3,000 miles during his three-year ministry, often traveling 20 miles a day.
Walking symbolizes a purposeful, unhurried life. The average pace of walking is about three miles per hour. Writer, Rebecca Solit, describes the pace as the speed of our thoughts and quite possibly the speed of our souls. In his book, Three Mile an Hour God, author and Japanese theologian Kosuke Koyama, describes it as Jesus’ pace of grace. Jesus walked everywhere which allowed him to be present with those around him, to be attentive, and to teach and heal along his journeys rather than rushing to get from location to location.
In Luke 24, we read about the stranger who appears to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus a few days after Jesus’ crucifixion. The two companions are devastated over what has happened, thinking Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for only to have watched him die. But this stranger who joins them on their walk seems clueless about who Jesus is or the events that have recently occurred so they explain everything to him, saying “we had hoped he was going to redeem Israel” Luke 24:21
Scripture tells us it was about a seven mile journey to the village. They walked and talked with this stranger for what was probably 2-3 hours. The stranger teaches them things reminding them about the fulfillment of scripture, saying “did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” Luke 24:26
When they finally reach the village the stranger tries to depart from them but they insist he stays for a meal. “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke itand began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:30-31
Jesus reveals himself at the meal but it was in the long walk getting there that the hearts of the disciples were being prepared to receive the bread at the table.
How can we walk through holy week as a preparation to truly receive and rejoice in the resurrection Easter Sunday? Below you can follow the guided response to help you walk through these next few days. Reflect on how God has walked with you and prepared you through this Lenten season to receive the broken bread and poured out wine Jesus gives us through his death and resurrection.
Guided Journal Response:
Retrace your Lenten journey of these past weeks. Take a walk and reflect on what I call a “word map of remembrance.” Think about any specific words that have come up for you during the Lent study. Don’t think of it as a list but more of a map of discovery of how God has been leading you. Through prayer and reflection, see how the words are connected with how God has walked with you through this season. Is there one word that especially stands out or keeps coming up?
To go deeper, on a blank page, write down any words that came up for you in this journey. They don’t have to be organized or written in any order. Notice if there’s a theme or connection. Other ways to explore your word map are:
Find your words in magazine pages, cut them out and make a word map collage, use paint or drawing as un underlayer
Write a haiku using your word map
Write a psalm using your word map
Thank you for joining me on this year’s Lenten devotional series. I hope and pray this season has been meaningful and formative. As always I’d love to hear from you about your journey. You can email me at vividartistryco@gmail.com
Haiku by Libby Johnson
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May not be used or duplicated without permission