One of my favorite Psalm is Psalm 139 where it says that God knows everything about us, everywhere we go, everything we do. For some, that thought might be quite disconcerting. Some might not necessarily find it comforting to know that God goes wherever we go, knows whatever we do. And I might agree…if that were the only thing the Psalm said. But listen to the first ten verses:
1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast
I love this Psalm for many reasons, but one of them is that it’s perfect for a traveler. Now if you know nothing else about me, you know I’m a traveler—sometimes on my own, sometimes with family or friends, and sometimes with groups. As a result, I’ve been to many states (49), countries (45), and continents (4) and have seen many of the world’s famous sites. Of all the places I've been to, though, nothing has reached my heart and soul the way a garden in Jerusalem did when I was there with the New England Youth Ensemble one June morning almost 30 summers ago. I learned something important that day, and it is that which I want to share with you here.
As you might imagine, Jerusalem is crammed full of places connected with Christ—His birth, His ministry, His death—and we went to all those sites. To be sure, they were all interesting, and sometimes I was awed at the thought that “this was the place,” but more times I was appalled at the commercialism of the places. Vendors and hawkers of relics were constantly besieging us, hoping to swindle us out of the money they were certain all Americans had.
Because of this, I became discouraged after awhile. None of those places really gave me a sense of Jesus in the same way I've sensed, say Emily Dickinson in her home in Amherst, MA, or Martin Luther in his secret mountain-top hideout in Germany where he translated the Bible. I just couldn’t find Him in the crass merchandizing, the crowded spaces that wanted my money, rather than my heart. Then, just before noon, we found ourselves at the Garden of Joseph of Arimathea. Our tour guide was an older gentleman from Scotland who had been working in the Garden for about three months. He took us through, pointing out various things he thought would interest us along the way, until we reached a clearing in front of a cave‑like opening. There were benches some feet away and he invited us to sit down. “This,” he said, pointing to the opening, “is the Garden Tomb where Jesus lay for three days.” At that point, some of the group (we were a choir and orchestra numbering over 100 musicians) immediately broke into that beloved hymn “In the Garden…”
Hearing that, he realized he didn't have to tell us the story so he told us instead why he was nearly 100% certain that this was the spot. There were a number of reasons, and when he was done, we were convinced as well. But before he let us go inside to look at the place where Jesus had lain, he said he wanted to share one more thing with us—something he hadn't told any other group.
He told us that he imagined we had probably been to a lot of places in the last few days where Jesus had walked and talked. He said we had probably sat on the hillside where Jesus had delivered the Sermon on the Mount and where he had multiplied the loaves and fishes. We had.
He said we had probably seen the field where the angels sang to the shepherds and the Mount of Olives where Jesus had prayed before He was taken away. And we had.
He said we were probably like a lot of other Christians coming there to find something of Jesus. And, in varying amounts, we all were. He said he had done that too when he had first come to Jerusalem. And that he had been frustrated because he hadn't found what he was expecting. Try as he might, he just didn’t find Jesus in all those “Jesus” places the way he thought he would. It wasn't until he had stood in front of that Garden Tomb a few times that he realized a most wonderful thing—a thing which made all the difference in the world to him and he hoped it would to us, too.
“Do you remember what the angel told the disciples when they came early to the tomb?” he asked us. We responded appropriately: “He is not here. He is risen.” “That's right,” he said. “He is not here. He is risen. He is risen and is walking among us again—even now.”
You know, that man was so right! We don't have to go 1/2 way around the world to find some piece of Jesus. We don't have to stand in the grotto marking His birthplace to feel His presence in our lives. He is not there in the hills of Judea. He is not there in Bethlehem. He is not there in Jerusalem. At least not exclusively. He is wherever we are, He goes wherever we go. He was at our birthplace, and will be at our resting place. He is here in this place, too. He is with us, beside us right now—offering to lead us, guide us, and love us so completely. How can we turn Him down?
I’ve been lucky. I've walked where Jesus walked in Jerusalem. But more importantly, I am walking where He is walking right now. Right here, walking everywhere you and I walk every day. Right here. Right now. Walking amongst us, even as I write. He is standing beside each one of you, holding out His hand, inviting you to walk with Him. He wants to make a world of difference in our lives, and He will—if we let him. I invite you today to put on your walking shoes and walk with Jesus. It will be the greatest journey of your life to walk with Jesus—not only where He walked, but where He is walking right now.
