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Remember how it wasn’t all that long ago that local folks travelled freely, going to such places as Syracuse, Rochester, Kingston and even Lake Placid? The pandemic has seriously reduced such travel. Now everyone stays close to home and six feet apart!

But there’s another journey that we are all on; and it doesn’t require any miles of travel. We hear about it in our Gospel reading for this past Sunday (5th of Easter). Jesus says, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.” So we are on a journey to the dwelling place in the Father’s house. That’s our true home, our ultimate goal, our final resting place. This journey is why we were created; its destination is where we are meant to be.

Now we have a choice about how we make this journey. It’s either a field of land mines or an adventure. If it’s a mine field, we walk gingerly, fearful of stepping on mines that could explode. There’s a lot of doom and gloom around us. We tend to be negative and pessimistic and we are often sad.

If it’s an adventure, we forge ahead, unafraid, even though we still need to be cautious. Our travel guide is Jesus, who begins his remarks about the Father’s house with the words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” We walk with confidence because we know that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life.”

Of course, the journey to the Father’s house will vary for each of us. Sometimes we may take a by-pass or wander toward an off-road distraction. So it’s important that we travel together, like a pilgrimage. That means we need community; we need the church; we need the Eucharist because that’s what gives us the energy we need to continue the journey.

So let us pray for the heroes who are companions on our journey. Let us pray that more people will be inspired to follow Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life. And let us pray that we will soon be able to come together again to support one another in person as we journey to the dwelling place in the Father’s house.

Blessings, Fr. Ray