“When the days drew near for him to
be received up, he set his face to go to
Jerusalem.” Luke 9: 51
One of the most difficult parts
of this tough winter has obviously
been the roads. Those of us who live
in town sometimes forget just how bad
the roads can be for those of you who
live in the country or who need to
commute to work every day. I became
painfully aware of how difficult travel
is for some of you recently when I
happened to drive down a township
road near Hurley. It was single lane
traffic with snow up to the windows
on each side of my truck for about a
half mile. It became apparent to me
how just a little breeze would fill that
corridor in, in just a matter of hours.
And even the main highways
have become somewhat difficult. My
wife commutes every day to Sioux
Falls and when I get to the office I
anxiously await an e-mail each
morning to make sure that she has
arrived safe and sound.
The roads this winter are tough
but did you ever wonder what the
most difficult road in the world might
be? Some suggest that the most
dangerous and extreme road in the
world today is the North Yungas Road
in the Bolivian Andes. It is often
referred to as the ‘Death Road’. The
road clings to a mountainside. It is
only about 7 feet wide and yet it is
often traversed by buses and trucks.
It has constant sheer drops of some
1500 feet without any guard rails or
barriers. Extreme dust clouds from
vehicles in the summer and fog all
year round often reduce visibility to
almost zero. Rain in the winter
months often washes away parts of the
road, and reduces visibility as well as
causing mudslides and the loosening
of rocks from the hillsides above. It is
a road that is not for the faint of heart.
During Lent we think about
the road that Jesus traveled as he
went to the cross. It too was a ‘death
road’ but while the ‘death road’ in
Bolivia is only potentially catastrophic
for some travelers, the ‘death road’
for Jesus was certain. He knew what
lay ahead of him. He knew that he
would be required to suffer shame,
beating and, of course, the agony of
the cross. And yet scripture says that
Jesus set his face to Jerusalem
knowing full well what the road ahead
held in store for him.
And why did he travel that
road? He traveled that road so that as
we travel the road of this life we need
not fear what lies at its conclusion. He
traveled it so that we might be
reassured that there is hope and
eternal life at the end of our days in
this place.
Just as Jesus traveled the road
to the cross so too Lent is a road that
we travel. Jesus calls us to walk by his
side as he goes to the cross so that we
might fully understand what a
profound sacrifice God made on our
behalf. So I hope that as you travel
the road to the cross with Jesus during
these days of Lent you will rediscover
the price your God has paid so that
you might never need to travel the
‘death road’ as he did so long ago.
May your Lenten journey be a
meaningful one!
Pastor Larry