Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Mrs. Suzette Cayless
BCP – Easter 5 C - Sunday 06 May 2007
Acts 13:15-16,26-33(34-39)
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30
There is a word in the Collect for today that we do not often use: “steadfastly.” We pray ... that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life ...
Steadfastly ... steadfast ... What does it mean to be “steadfast?” A dictionary definition says that to be steadfast is to be “firmly fixed in place;” “immovable;” “firm in belief;” “loyal;” “faithful.” We pray that we may be steadfast in our following in the steps of Jesus.
Some years ago I met a rock that cetainly fits the description of “steadfast,” “immovable.” We spent several days of vacation that summer exploring the Shenandoah National Park and the surrounding countryside. We drove the 100 mile length of the Skyline Drive with its 30 miles per hour speed limit and explored a number of the special places near by, including the Luray Caverns. It was 164 feet below ground in the Caverns that I met that rock. It is a massive column formed from stalactites and stalagmites that the guide assured us is seven million years old.
That rock has a presence! This ancient rock reminded me of the questions posed by God to Job: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? ... On what do its supporting pillars rest?” Seven million years is such a long time that I find it incomprehensible and yet, scientists have dated that column and I accept their findings. The stability of this ancient column, which has been there, below the earth’s surface long before the first human beings existed, is both comforting and awe inspiring.
This column, like so many other amazing features of earth, is known to God, and gives testimony to the ongoing reality of a God who cares. One incredible fact about that rock is that although it is immovable, firmly fixed in place, steadfast, it is not stagnant. It continues to grow in stature. Water slowly seeps over its surface and the minerals it contains are deposited with the result that growth is at a rate of one cubic centimeter per one hundred years.
Being a rock in reality and being “rock-like” in certain respects are two different things. There is a fine line between being steadfast in faith, immovable in terms of our loyalty to Christ, and being stuck in a lifestyle that is stagnant and constricted. There is a children’s story that illustrates this difference and I will read it to you. It is one of Arnold Lobel’s animal stories and is from the little book “Grasshopper on the Road.” The story is called, “Always.”
In the late afternoon Grasshopper saw a mushroom. It was growing at the edge of the road. “I will rest my feet,” he said. Grasshopper sat down on the mushroom. Three butterflies flew down. “Grasshopper,” said the butterflies, “you will have to move.” “Yes,” said the first butterfly. “You are sitting on our place. Every afternoon at this time, we fly to this mushroom. We sit down on it for a while.” “There are lots of other mushrooms,” said Grasshopper. “They will not do,” said the second butterfly. “This is the mushroom we always sit on.” Grasshopper got up. The three butterflies sat down.
“Each and every day we do the same thing at the same time,” said the third butterfly. “We like it that way.” “We wake up in the morning,” said the first butterfly. “We scratch our heads three times.” “Always,” said the second butterfly. “Then we open and close our wings four times. We fly in a circle six times.” “Always,” said the third butterfly. “We go to the same tree and eat the same lunch every day.” “Always,” said the first butterfly. “After lunch we sit on the same sunflower. We take the same nap. We have the same dream. “What sort of dream?” asked Grasshopper. “We dream that we are sitting on a sunflower taking a nap,” said the second butterfly. “Always,” said the third butterfly. “When we wake up, we scratch our heads three more times. We fly in a circle six more times.” “Then we come here,” said the first butterfly. “We sit down on this mushroom.” “Always,” said the second butterfly. “Don’t you ever change anything?” asked Grasshopper. “No, never,” said the butterflies. “Each day is fine for us.”
“Grasshopper,” said the butterflies, “we like talking to you. We will meet you every day at this time. We will sit on this mushroom. You will sit right there. We will tell you all about our scratching and our flying. We will tell you all about our napping and our dreaming. You will listen just the way you are listening now.” “No,” said Grasshopper. “I am sorry, but I will not be here. I will be moving on. I will be doing new things.” “That is too bad,” said the butterflies. “We will miss you. Grasshopper, do you really do something different every day of your life?” “Always,” said Grasshopper. “Always and always!” He said good-bye to the butterflies and walked quickly down the road.
We all have our mushrooms, and our personal ritual dances! They are different for each one of us but they can become so much a part of us that we cannot think beyond them. We certainly need to be steadfast, but not stuck. It is the journey to the kingdom that is important and we have to be prepared to move on wherever the road takes us. As St. John reminds us in today’s Gospel reading Jesus gave the major clue: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” It is as simple, and as complex, as that. “Love one another.”
Our piety in observing hours of prayer, our devotion to special acts and practices, all this can be important in helping us to focus attention on where we are going but it can also obscure our vision of who it is we serve and follow. The only true test is the love we show for each other. It is so much easier to take possession of the mushroom than it is to be gracious and kind to others - especially to those we do not particularly like. Just as that massive rock below the earth receives the constant drip of water which enables it to grow, however slow a process that is, so we can receive the soft dews of God’s grace that will change us and cause us to grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
Let us indeed pray ... that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life ... Amen.
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