In a recent issue of Presbyterian Outlook, the writer Johari Jabir told about a conversation with a beloved neighbor of his, a man simply known as Papa Lee. He was a quiet man, a tender of gardens, a teller of stories, a singer of spirituals. They were talking one day about the state of the world when Papa Lee looked over and said, “Son, there ain’t but four kinds of people in the world: Those headed into a storm. Those in the midst of a storm. Those coming out of a storm. And then there’s the fools that think they can avoid the storm.”
All of us could likely name someone in each one of those categories right now—people whose lives are getting messy and complicated; friends struggling in the midst of problems; family members for whom things are slowly getting better; and then folks from all categories of life who somehow imagine they are immune from life’s troubles. In fact, if we are honest with ourselves, we can remember times in our own lives when we fit each of these four categories—including being a fool and imagining no storm will ever cross our path.
March is always a month spent in the season of Lent—that time of reflection and repentance as we ponder our lives in light of the gospel witness of Jesus’ slow walk to the cross on Calvary. Scripture says that Jesus “set his face toward Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). It is a clear depiction of someone who was heading into a storm, even as Jesus’ teachings and healings ensured that every day also was spent in the midst of a religious storm. There is real comfort that comes from knowing that whatever storm we may face or try to ride out, Jesus himself also endured storms just a tempestuous and daunting. And since there’s no way to go around storms, Jesus’ example gives us the courage to persevere and set our face for a path through the storm.
But, to continue with Papa Lee’s analogy, there is always a time in which we emerge out of storms. The same feet that carried Jesus into a city that would demand his crucifixion are the feet that Mary Magdalene grabbed in shock and joy as the resurrected Christ stepped forth from the dark grave. The one who was dead became the one alive once more. The heaviness of Lent gives way to the joy of Easter. In the famous words of Psalm 30, “weeping may last for an evening, but joy comes with the morning.”
For the first three of Papa Lee’s categories of life, there are words of scripture available to us: to be prepared, to persevere, to look to the horizon of hope set before us in Christ. To the last category, well, God’s love and mercy is great enough even to be available to us fools who imagine we can dodge life’s storms.
The good shepherd always seeks lost sheep. The loving parent waits patiently for the prodigals to come to their senses. And whatever storms descend upon us, God is near—calming the waves, holding us close, giving us the strength to take just one more step forward. Even in the stormy season of Lent, such is the amazing good news of our faith.
—Randy Bush