Nativity Catholic Church
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Asking for Directions Just in time for the summer travel season, the Sunday Parade magazine carried a wonderful cartoon depicting a traveler stuck in the middle of nowhere. With a beautiful mountain vista in the background, the male driver cranes his neck out the car window and stares at a huge sign, complete with diagram, surrounded by these boldly lettered words: YOU ARE HERE…BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T ASK FOR DIRECTIONS! Many a tale has been told, and even more jokes have been hurled about the male species and our distinctive ability to continue driving around, nearly or completely lost, but still refusing to ask anyone for directions (as well as generally unwilling to even consult a map—that’s if we have one in the car at all)! Now, as with all stereotypes, there are exceptions…but as with most stereotypes, there are grains of truth sprinkled throughout. I suspect, though, that as women take on more of the unseemly characteristics of men in the ever-growing quest for “equality” of the sexes, there are a fair number of ladies who also resist asking for directions…and are stubbornly content to find the way on their own. Perhaps some folks are just “adventurous” and like the thrill of getting lost, ill equipped with not a map or compass in reach, and loving every minute of their unguided travels. Truth be told, however, most of the motivation for not seeking directional guidance springs from the ego—we’re just too embarrassed, hard-headed, stubborn, sensitive to failure, don’t like being wrong, wrestling with residual parent-issues from an earlier stage of life, uncompromisingly independent, don’t like admitting that someone has knowledge we are lacking (even if it would, in this case, prevent us from driving around in circles for hours), incredibly untrustworthy, don’t want to “owe” anyone anything, haven’t divested ourselves yet of the principle of “stranger-danger,” or simply too shy to draw attention to our mistakes. Whatever the issue or issues, there’s a brick wall we bump into when it comes to easily resolving this problem that mostly is of our own making. The solution is simple—JUST ASK! Come to think of it, though, these pesky little issues seem to surface on more occasions than when we happen to be traveling in our cars. Oftentimes, they appear as we are traveling through life. I wonder how many times we face any number of situations, or challenges, or significant decisions in our daily lives, when for all the above reasons and many more, we just will not ask for guidance, direction, assistance, insight, wisdom—we just refuse to ASK FOR DIRECTIONS. And this scenario, I’m afraid, also seems to play out in our faith journey as well. There are abundant resources available to us in our Catholic faith tradition that are capable of giving us immense amounts of guidance and direction, all sorts of spiritual and temporal assistance that can prevent us from either going around in endless circles, or worse yet, making our way down a dangerous route that will end up hurting others and ourselves. What is it about us that when it comes to the most crucial situations in our lives, we avoid seeking directions in that very place where Jesus proclaimed his abiding, unending, eternal presence…I am with you always, until the end of the ages”? What is it about us that when we are most in need of the curative “medicine” that the divine physician promises to provide, we choose to “self-medicate,” and often end up damaging more than healing? What keeps us from stopping at this wayside inn, the Church of Jesus Christ, and asking for directions? From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, to the powerful Sacraments of grace, to the counsel of deeply spiritual pastors, pastoral caregivers, and spiritual directors, to the strength we can receive by walking the walk of life with fellow believers, to the abundant gifts for teaching, healing, prophesy, and correction provided by the Holy Spirit of God, to the works of charity and mercy that invite us to move beyond our self-absorption, to the tender touch of forgiveness for our sinful choices—in these and so many other ways, the gifts and resources we so desperately need to make our way through this “beautiful yet troubled world” are freely available just for the asking! Indeed, like many a wayward traveler, blown off course by accident, stubbornness, ignorance, or an upside-down map, we can continue to drive around in circles, or wander into dark and dangerous territory unassisted…or we can echo the words and sentiment of the blind man in the gospels who shouts out boldly and unashamedly to Jesus as he passes by: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner! If we truly believe the Lord’s proclamation, I am the Way… and his Body on earth the Church illuminates this Way, then shouldn’t we be asking for directions as often as possible? Perhaps I should consider putting a large, bold and flashy sign in front of our parish church that reads: YOU ARE HERE…BECAUSE YOU NEED DIRECTIONS (AND WERE SMART ENOUGH TO STOP & ASK)!
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