Keep walking

"Keep walking" I can still hear that phrase. It is the voice of my mother as she continues her breathless pace. She is short, but she walks fast.

It’s 1988, and we are walking from one place to another through the crowded streets near the Zócalo, the main square, the heart of Mexico City, where underground lies buried the great Tenochtitlan, the great city witness of the clash of civilizations. Two roads, two worldviews: the European and the American. The Spaniards and the Mexicas. It was a tragedy, a violent encounter of two worlds, a cruel battle, a blend of blood, barbarianism, and greed. Necessary, avoidable, cruel? What do you think?

Back to my story. It is eady to get a taste of Mexico if you are in the Zócalo through the music, flavors, sounds, scents, and colors. This was also evident in the decoration of each store.

So there I am, dragging my steps behind my mom, visiting heaps of stores filled with colorful and textured fabrics. Mom’s goal was to sew the next costume for my sister's new dance at the Mother’s Day festival at school.

After the third store, I am exhausted. I just can’t continue walking.

Then comes her promise: “Okay, you will get an ice cream at the end of our shopping experience. So keep walking.”

Now, almost 40 years later, it is my own voice saying those same words every morning.

“Keep walking.”

Yes, that voice struggles with my body. It is not easy to start, but I enjoy it once I am out there. Walking has now become part of my schedule. I feel uneasy if I don’t get enough oxygen and sunlight outside.

I used to run, but now my back basically encourages me to walk instead. Well, hiking is also an option, a healthy option. It is a time when I can focus on each step and every breath. It is the perfect occasion to observe and appreciate the gardens, flowers, and trees and delight in the capricious forms and colors of vegetation.

It is a time to start an open dialogue with the Creator. Some days I have more words to say, and sometimes I prefer to listen to God’s Word through the audio Bible or hear the sweet tune of a hymn, joining the voice of the psalmist in praising the wonderful works of God and His name in all the earth.

However, along the walk there are unexpected turns and threats, like mad dogs or stumbling stones.

A few days ago, I learned about the book The Long Walk by Stephen King, a dystopian novel that he wrote under the pen name Richard Bachman and published in 1979. Set in a future totalitarian America, the story follows 100 teenage boys who must maintain a strict walking speed of four miles per hour in an annual, brutal endurance contest until only one survivor remains.

Along the way on this crazy and scary journey, they have a chance to reflect on life, losses, and grief. There is also space for moments of joy, friendship, and fellowship. I know this is fiction, and it is worth reading if you are not scared by Stephen King's publications.

A similar scene is described in the passage of the two disciples on their road to Emmaus in Luke 24. As they walked, they were speaking about the recent events and how they had seen Jesus die on the cross in front of a big crowd of Jews and soldiers. Now according to the women’s account, the tomb of Jesus was empty.

Then a third person joined them on the walk and showed interest in their narrative. They began talking about his rabbi as a prophet powerful in deeds and words before God. They shared about their “failed hope” for Israel’s redemption.

This supposed foreigner speaks while they keep walking: “Was it not necessary that Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” They cannot recognize Him. Their eyes are veiled. But in an act of grace along the road, this stranger explains about the Messiah in the Scriptures.

When they arrived at their stop, they invited Him to stay. He sat down at the table, took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them.

Suddenly, their eyes are opened.

They recognize him. It's Jesus himself! Their risen Savior, he is not dead but alive! And then He vanishes from their sight.

“Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” they affirmed.

Life is like a long walk. Often, I find myself focused on my own concerns, paying attention to my daily problems.

Today Jesus continues walking near us and comes to meet us on the road, in your journey or in the privacy of your home.

In His grace, the living Word made flesh comes to meet you and walks beside you in every part of the journey. Just pay attention around you.

He opens the Scriptures to our veiled eyes to give us teaching, correction, and reassurance. Jesus, the Son of the Living God, is risen!

And sometimes you just have to stop and rest.

Sometimes, I confess, I feel tired or exhausted.

Then God invites me to rest in Him, at His table and at His altar. There He comes to me in His real presence, His true body and blood, given for our forgiveness.

He restores my soul and my strength along the way. He calms my anxious thoughts, and He is ready to lead me on the right path, the right way. Because He is the Way. He has called me to persevere. 

So, what are you waiting for? You just need to put on your shoes and start walking and pay attention along the way.

Be attentive. The risen Savior of the world is coming to meet you along the road.

Pastor Carlos Velázquez