Guest Column / Richard Etienne

Renew your faith, follow ‘the way’ in building the kingdom of God

When you think of an image of your parish church, do you see it more as the final destination in your schedule at the end of each week at which you ultimately arrive or more like a momentary respite from your journey, similar to a filling station, to recharge your battery or “fill your tank” before going back out for the next leg on your journey along “the way”?

I have a vivid memory of hearing details from friends who made a pilgrimage in Spain on El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James).

I listened intently as they described their experience, from walking many miles each day to experiencing the amazing hospitality—often in people’s private homes—each evening after their day of travel.

This is a wonderful image of church for me—a place of rest—to find nourishment and renewed energy to continue our journey, much like the Gospel account in chapter 24 at the end of St. Luke on the road to Emmaus.

At the end of this journey, the disciples only recognized Jesus in the meal at the breaking of the bread. And what a high they got from this experience!

Aren’t we often also like St. Peter at the transfiguration in the Gospel of Mark when he suggests, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Mk 9:5)?

Isn’t it our first impulse after a great parish mission or a weekend retreat to see how long we can extend those personal highs—wanting just to hunker down, to set up tents and to ultimately stay on that “mountaintop” for a little longer? Could it be that it is only in these refueling processes that we are “recharged” in our mission?

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says, “I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred one on me, that you may eat and drink at my table in the kingdom” (Lk 22:29-30).

But is that enough? Is it enough to focus on more and more time with our new-found friends that, for the most part, act and think as we do? Isn’t a person inevitably called to go beyond that, sharing our Scripture stories, being nourished and resting briefly, to continue the never-ending task of impacting those persons nearest to us while also inviting others to join us at the banquet?

Doesn’t there need to be a balance between focusing inward on that parish experience and moving outward to take the Gospel message of the kingdom of God into the world?

What does that balance look like in your life? Could it be that it is only in these refueling processes that we are recharged in our mission? How we see our own role as a member of the body of Christ will greatly influence the actions we choose daily in our attempt to follow “the way.”

Although most of us will never have the chance to make a pilgrimage along the Camino, we are each called to be missionary disciples on the route God has chosen for us.

And remember: Enjoy your journey!
 

(Richard Etienne has a degree in theology from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad and resides in Newburgh, Ind., in the Evansville Diocese.) †