Brian Underwood
Memorial Day weekend is often viewed as the unofficial start of summer and the summer travel season, and I was fortunate recently to actually get the jump on it days before with a special cross country road trip with our oldest daughter.
It was almost five years ago that my wife and I embarked on a cross-country trip from Carson Valley to Nashville to take her to college. While it was exciting in many respects, the undercurrent meant we were leaving our daughter 2,100 miles from home, and that was hard.
Fast forward five years to last week, my heart was much lighter for a return trip with her to begin a new job, locally. In addition to the quality time, we enjoyed traversing this beautiful country of ours was the opportunity to drink in its uniqueness, too.
A comforting thought to my wife and me when we delivered our daughter to school was the fact that she was going to a Christian college in the spiritually acclaimed section of our country, otherwise known as the Bible Belt.
This is not to say or insinuate the southeast is an inherently more faithful region, but one cannot help but note the strong presence of Christianity.
Churches on every corner, ubiquitous billboards and signs adorned with Jesus and messages of salvation, big rigs donning Bible verses, and so many other illustrations of the presence of our Lord are comforting examples of the Body of Christ surrounding a community.
However, the physical manifestations of Christianity, anywhere, represent half measures in the absence of God's people being active and intentional lights for Christ.
Famed writer C.S. Lewis, author of such metaphorical works as the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, once wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
This quote expresses Lewis' belief in Christianity is not simply a matter of blind faith but rather a deeply considered and personally transformative experience that he likens his belief to the undeniable truth of the sun rising each day.
And it is through this truth that he is led to his second and, perhaps, more important truth - "not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
Though Lewis, once an atheist who converted to Christianity, initially states his faith is grounded in tangible evidence, the latter stanza more significantly opines the Christian worldview of the lens through which he perceives and interprets the world.
More specifically, the essence of Christianity illuminates his worldview and offers a profound sense of meaning and coherence to his existence, which comes through the gift of the power of the Holy Spirit, poured out in consequential measure through his people.
The “sun” Lewis writes of can be likened to the representation of Christianity through physical means, like a church building, a Christ-centered billboard, and/or scripture on big rig, et. al. These are things we can see and perhaps reason to be rooted in truth.
However, the ability to make sense of the physical and truly understand who Jesus is and the awesome power of his death and resurrection comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. We become new creations in him by being washed in the waters of our baptism and washed in the blood of Christ in our confession of him as Lord.
The responsibility we, as Christians, have in bringing others to Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is deeply rooted in God’s word. In the Book of Acts, chapter 20, the Apostle Paul began his farewell to the elders of Ephesus by recounting his work.
In verse 24, Paul then speaks of his future, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
God uniquely gifts us to do his work and to be a living sacrifice, each in accordance to the grace given (Romans 12:6-8).
In this way, consider the words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel at all times. And if necessary, use words,” and its application to the story of a group of businessmen hurriedly making their way home from a business trip.
A group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago, and by the end of the week they couldn’t wait to go home. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner.
In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding...
ALL BUT ONE! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight.
Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor… he was glad he did. The 16-year-old girl was totally blind.
She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her; no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you OK?"
She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister..." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes.
She continued, "Are you Jesus?"
He slowly made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"
Church buildings, Christ-centered billboards, and well-placed scripture are critical reminders of the “sun-son” of whom C.S. Lewis wrote.
But the story of why – and for whom – the “sun-son” rose on the third day on the empty tomb is where soldiers of the cross help others see “everything else.” And hopefully, Jesus, wherever they look.
Brian Underwood is retired executive director at Sierra Lutheran High School, adjunct faculty member SLHS and WNC.