What do you think life is about? What would you compare life to?
Of course, there are many, many answers to that.
But one of the themes, strangely enough, that appears both in secular literature and in biblical literature
is the theme that life is like a journey.
Life is like traveling from point A to point B.
And so you need to get from this place to this place.
And so life is compared to that in many ways.
In secular literature, you may remember the Odyssey.
Homer wrote two epics, the Iliad, about the wars between the Greeks and the Trojans.
And then the Odyssey about Ulysses trying to get back home.
And so we have this long journey.
So that is one place where you can see that.
If you can speak Arabic, which I doubt very seriously,
you would be able to read the two famous travel works of literature,
Sinbad the Sailors, the travel of Sinbad the Sailors, which have become movies,
and the travels of Ibn Battuta.
Most of you couldn't spell Battuta, much less know it.
But the theme of travel also shows up in other places in secular literature.
One of the most famous movies from 1939 is The Wizard of Oz.
And what does Dorothy have to do?
She has to follow the yellow brick road.
Follow the yellow brick road.
And then there is that song, which I will spare you, my voice.
So why does she need to follow the yellow brick road?
Because she wants, she needs to end in the Emerald City,
where she will meet the Great Wizard of Oz.
And hopefully, the Wizard of Oz will help her figure out how to get back to Kansas.
So she is on a journey.
George Clooney was very interested in The Odyssey,
and took that and made it a very popular, wonderful movie,
a lot more intellectual than it seems to be.
But it really is deep.
But it's very funny.
Called Brother, Where Art Thou?
That is really the Odyssey set in America in the 20th century in the South.
If you know the original Odyssey in Greek,
you will see how much he borrows.
The word is plagiarized, but he borrows from that Odyssey.
For those of us who love movies,
science fiction movies were awful.
They were B.
They were, you know, second class.
And then in 1968,
a director introduced a movie that was just mind-boggling.
Almost everybody would think it's one of the best 10 or 20 movies ever made.
It's the one that raised science fiction into first date
and in some ways prepared the way for Star Wars 10 years later.
That movie was 2001, A Space Odyssey by Kubrick.
If you think you're smart,
you ought to see this movie,
and that will show you quickly how smart you're not.
It's mind-boggling.
You leave the movie thinking,
what is it about?
And there is a recurring figure there,
a slab, a monolith,
that emanates sound.
And human beings are following.
They're going on a journey,
hence Odyssey 2001, the year.
It's a space Odyssey.
But it is in space.
And so human beings go to the moon,
and from the moon to Jupiter,
and then to outer space.
And the thing that Kubrick never answers in that movie is,
what does this monolith represent?
And some have argued it represents God.
And some have said maybe it represents evolution.
Maybe it represents human inquiry.
Maybe it represents our curiosity about the world.
But it is a movie about travel.
And so I want us today to think about travel,
and to see travel in the biblical context.
In the Old Testament itself,
of course, there are several events that are described as travel,
because they are indeed literally travel.
The most obvious one is traveling out of Egypt into the Promised Land through Sinai.
So that is a theme that covers two books,
both Exodus and Numbers.
In the second half of Isaiah,
chapters 42-66,
there is a theme that Isaiah describes again and again.
It's the most prevalent theme in that second half of Isaiah.
It is the theme of the new Exodus,
traveling back from the land of captivity
to the Promised Land.
It's the return of the exiles.
And it is called the new Exodus.
In Jewish circles,
one of the most important things is the halakha.
If you don't know that word,
it's a Jewish word.
And it is very important,
because rabbis quickly realized that,
as a matter of fact,
not only do we have scriptures,
but we have the other task of interpreting scriptures.
In most cases,
in huge portions of the Bible,
the meaning of the passage is self-evident.
You don't need to get a PhD to figure out what the verse means.
You know, when Jesus says,
I am the way, the truth, and the life,
that's fairly obvious.
But there are passages that are difficult.
And so, Jewish scholars, rabbis,
were asking,
how does the scriptures apply to our lives?
How does Leviticus apply to our lives?
If I'm going to get a haircut,
does it matter whether I get this kind of a haircut,
or that kind of a haircut?
Do the scriptures tell me anything about my appearance?
Does my appearance matter whether I'm a believer or not a believer?
And so, this huge discussion about the meaning of life
comes from,
this huge discussion is collected in a place called the Halakha.
The foundation of the Halakha,
the basis of the Halakha,
is Psalm 1.
So, please turn with me now to Psalm 1.
And see this important verse.
I'm sure many of you know it,
but let's look at it just the same.
The Halakha is trying to understand Psalm 1,
verse 1.
Blessed is the man who does not,
what's the next verb?
Walk.
Blessed is the man who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked.
So, if the blessed man does not walk
in this path,
where does he walk?
And the Halakha is a discussion.
This idea of life as a journey
shows up in Judaism, in the Halakha,
but it also shows up in the New Testament.
There's a verse that I want you to look at,
which is like a Christian version of the Halakha.
Look at Acts, chapter 9, verse 2.
Acts 9, verse 2.
Starting with verse 1.
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out
murderous threats against the Lord's disciples
before his conversion.
He went to the high priest
and asked him for letters
to the synagogues in Damascus,
so that if he found any there
who belonged to the way,
whether men or women,
he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
He wanted to arrest Christians,
and Christians were called
the people of the way.
Ways are roads.
So, the question, of course, is
why are we called the people of the way?
Why aren't we called the people of the elephant?
Or the people of the pizza?
Why the way?
I suspect
we are called the people of the way
because of the very important statement of Jesus.
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life.
And if Jesus is the way,
and we are followers of Jesus,
then we are followers of the way.
And so, Christianity,
in some ways,
is compared
to somebody who is traveling
from one place to another.
We are on the way to somewhere.
Some of you may know
that the Bible, of course,
continues again and again,
year after year,
be the best seller of all time.
There is no book,
there is no work in literature
that has sold more than the Bible.
You know,
not even Shakespeare,
not Dickens,
not Austen,
not Sherlock Holmes.
It is the Bible.
But the next question is,
within Christian literature,
what is the book that has sold the most?
Who comes second after the Bible?
You know which one it is?
It is Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan.
And Pilgrim's Progress
is about a Christian
traveling on the way,
on the road,
from the city of destruction
to the glorious city,
the city of God.
So, all of these are ways,
no pun intended,
all of these are ways
to describe
our Christian life
as a journey.
Now,
the world has its journeys too.
Jesus isn't the only option
in the world.
The world has its many options.
And I want to share with you
a couple of those options
that I saw recently.
As you know,
I'm sure you remember
that
in basketball,
LeBron James
kept everybody in suspense.
Is he going to stay at Miami?
Is he going to
go to New York?
Is he going to go to Los Angeles?
Is he going to go back
to Cleveland?
And so,
everybody was curious.
What is he going to do?
During this discussion,
I want to,
let me just give you
a couple numbers.
Bosch
was given a contract
for $118 million.
Carmelo Anthony
was given a contract
for $422 million.
I myself
would be very happy
if anybody gives me
$122,000.
$1,000.
I am not even close.
I'm not anywhere,
you know.
I may be around
$122,000 pennies,
but not
$122,000.
That's not the kind
of salary
that I get.
And yet,
people like that
are receiving
these kinds
of salaries.
At the time
of the Oscar,
it was said
that
the movie
Gravity
with Sandra Bullock,
the actress
was given
$14 million
salary.
Tom Hanks
for his two
movies
about Captain
Philip
and Mary Poppins
received
$20 million.
I remember
when Elizabeth
Taylor
was the first
actress
in Hollywood
to break
the $1 million
barrier
for a movie
called
Cleopatra
in the early
60s.
When
entertainment
and sports
offered their
participants
millions,
incredible
amounts
of millions,
what America
is saying
is,
what is the
road that
leads to
happiness?
Wealth.
Wealth
is the road
that leads
to happiness.
If you ask
the Bible,
is it really
the case
that wealth
leads to
happiness?
The answer
is,
vanity
of vanities.
All is vanity.
Meaningless,
meaningless.
Everything
is meaningless.
Emptiness,
emptiness.
Ecclesiastes
is saying
bluntly,
no,
it is not
wealth
that leads
to happiness.
It is
a relationship
with God.
Life
without God
is meaningless.
So,
if we do
not want
to take
those paths
because they
don't lead
to happiness,
what are
the paths
that we
are offered
in the
scriptures?
scriptures,
I want
you to
know this
passage,
Deuteronomy
chapter 30
verse 15.
There are
five books
called the
books of
Moses.
Exodus
through
Deuteronomy,
Exodus,
Leviticus,
Numbers,
Deuteronomy,
deal with
the law
and the
covenant
and God's
relationship
with his
people.
And Deuteronomy
is serving
as the last
book is,
among other
things,
is summarizing
what we have
just been
reading in
four books.
Where does
all this
end?
What's it
all about?
And please
turn to
Deuteronomy
chapter 30
verse 15.
In verse 15
God is
summarizing
this is
what it's
all about.
This is
the answer
to the
$64,000
question.
See,
I have
set before
you today
life and
prosperity,
death and
destruction.
I command
you today
to love
the Lord
your God,
to walk
in his
ways and
to keep
his commandments,
decrees and
laws.
Then you
will live
and increase,
et cetera,
et cetera.
But there
are two
things.
One option
is a path
that leads
to death
and destruction
and the
other one
that leads
to life
and prosperity.
Life and
death,
these are
the two
paths.
You may
say to me,
but Samir,
you know,
this sounds
familiar,
but I
don't know
Deuteronomy.
I don't think
I've ever
read Deuteronomy.
Why does
this passage
sound familiar?
It sounds
familiar because
Jesus paraphrases
it in one
of his
famous passages.
So please
turn to the
gospel of
Matthew,
Matthew 7,
13.
See how
Jesus repeats
what Deuteronomy
is saying.
Enter
through the
narrow gate
for wide
is the
gate
and broad
is the
road
that leads
to destruction
and many
enter through
it.
But small
is the
gate
and narrow
the road
that leads
to life
and only
few find
it.
There you
have it
again.
a road,
a broad
road that
leads to
destruction
and a
narrow road
that leads
to life.
Keeping
that in
mind,
keeping that
in mind,
now let's
take a look
at Psalm
119 to
see how
the psalm
is going
to illuminate
what we
have just
finished
seeing.
Psalm
119
verse 105
verse 106
Your
word is
a land
to my
feet
and a
light
for my
path.
The
psalmist
is walking.
He is
on a
path.
He is
traveling
from one
place to
another.
He is
on a
journey.
And
hopefully
the journey
that he
is on
is the
path
that leads
to life,
not the
path that
leads to
death
and destruction.
the problem
with the
psalmist
is that
while most
of us
can travel
easily during
the day
because we
can see
where we're
going,
what he
is doing
to compound
his situation
is that he
is traveling
at night.
And because
he is traveling
at night,
he needs
light to
help him
see where
he is
walking.
So,
if you
have light
that shows
you where
you're walking,
you need
to ask
yourself
three
questions.
The first
question is
where does
this road
go to?
Where is
it going
to lead
me?
Is it
going to
lead me
to destruction?
Is it
going to
lead me
to the
emerald
city?
Is it
going to
lead
Ulysses
back from
Troy to
Ithaca?
Where is
this road
going to
lead me?
And the
scripture
says
clearly
vanity
of
vanities
all
is
vanity
meaningless
everything
is
meaningless
the
Hebrew
word
is
evil
emptiness
everything
is
emptiness
if
you
do
not
take
the
path
of
the
Lord
I
am
the
way
the
truth
and
the
life
you
are
wasting
your
life
it's
much
better
to
realize
that
early
in
your
life
than
when
you're
60
or 65
or 70
so
where is
this
path
going
well
hopefully
we are
on the
right
path
look
we know
this
if you
take
I-43
up north
you end
up in
Green Bay
Road
in Green
Bay City
if you
take
I-94
you end
up in
Madison
it
doesn't
matter
what path
you're
on
you could
end up
here
or you
could
end up
here
in Los
Angeles
you take
101
you end
up in
San
Francisco
you take
55
you end
up in
Chicago
so you
have to
ask yourself
what path
am I
on
am I
on
the way
the truth
and the
life
or am I
on some
other stupid
path
wealth
popularity
fame
pleasure
you know
reputation
Jesus
says
take
the
narrow
path
that
leads
to
life
the
second
thing
we
have
to
ask
ourselves
is
how
good
are
the
road
conditions
how
good
are
the
road
conditions
let
me
help
you
look
at
this
famous
passage
in
the
New
Testament
it
is
associated
with
John
the
Baptist
but
in
the
Old
Testament
it's
associated
with
the
new
exodus
that
Isaiah
talks
about
look
at
Isaiah
chapter
40
you
may
recognize
it
because
it's
a
Christmas
passage
Isaiah
chapter
40
starting
with
verse
3
a
voice
of
one
calling
in
the
desert
prepare
the
way
of
the
Lord
make
straight
in
the
wilderness
a
highway
for
our
God
every
valley
will
be
raised
up
and
every
mountain
and hill
will
be made
low
and rough
grounds
shall
become
level
the
rugged
places
a
plain
and
the
glory
of
the
Lord
will
be
revealed
and
all
mankind
together
will
see
it
let me
help you
understand
what this
passage
is saying
suppose
King David
wants to
travel from
Jerusalem
to
Jericho
what does
he do
he does
not
just
jump
on his
horse
and
take
the
horse
on a
journey
to
Jericho
that is
not
what he
does
first of
all
he
takes
body
guard
with
him
because
David
did
have
enemies
who
wanted
to
kill
him
and
so
he
needs
body
guard
with
him
but
the
other
thing
that
he
does
is
he
sent
few
soldiers
ahead
of
the
traveling
party
the
purpose
of
these
soldiers
is
to
check
the
road
the
conditions
of
the
road
what
if
there
are
trees
that
have
fallen
on
the
road
and
blocked
it
and
then
you
can't
go
that
road
so
their
job
would
be
then
to
remove
those
trees
that
have
fallen
it's
possible
that
there
has
been
immense
mud
slide
and
so
you
have
to
check
is
the
road
reliable
is
it
strong
is
it
wobbly
you
have
to
ask
yourself
are
there
potholes
on
this
road
let
me
stop
here
for
a
second
and
remind
you
we
are
from
Kenosha
we
are
in
Kenosha
so
for
a
minute
do
you
know
of
any
potholes
we
are
the
experts
of
potholes
I
was
a
student
at
Trinity
and
I
was
I
am
a
professor
at
Trinity
since
73
41
years
student
and
prof
because
we
were
in
a
town
called
Lincolnshire
which
really
wasn't
happy
with
us
and
weren't
glad
for
us
to
move
to
Trinity
they
wished
that
we
had
gone
somewhere
else
there
is
only
one
road
that
leads
to
Trinity
and
in
my
years
three
years
as
a
student
at
Trinity
they
never
fixed
the
potholes
once
this
is
called
passive
aggressive
behavior
it
was
dangerous
driving
potholes
everywhere
but
things
have
changed
quite
a
bit
now
we
now
have
a
wonderful
relationship
with
them
they're
really
dear
neighbors
and
the
road
in front
of
Trinity
is
fabulous
it's
really
great
so
how
good
is
this
road
look
what
Isaiah
says
make
in the
desert
prepare
a
way
for
the
Lord
make
straight
in the
wilderness
a
highway
for
our
God
what
is
low
should
be
lifted
up
what
is
high
should
be
lowered
and
then
this
way
you
make
a
plain
road
and
the
glory
of
God
will
be
revealed
so
you
have
to
ask
yourself
how
good
are
the
road
conditions
I
was
in
Chicago
yesterday
visiting
my
family
and
we
were
at
the
art
institute
coming
back
we
ran
into
a
parade
I
had
to
go
to
go
to
Chicago
well
so
do
I
turn
white
or
do
I
turn
left
do
I
just
become
patient
and
just
crawl
behind
the
parade
or
do
I
swing
around
or
things
like
that
suddenly
there
was
an
obstacle
that
I
had
not
anticipated
I
was
watching
TV
yesterday
and
I
heard
something
I
should
tell
you
I
never
heard
it
before
I
mean
at
somebody
my
age
you
think
I've
heard
everything
I
haven't
there
is
this
statement
that
if
you
are
in
a
road
construction
section
in
Milwaukee
and
if
you
speed
in
that
section
which
is
road
construction
you
know
how
much
the
ticket
is
it
is
I
wrote
it
down
anywhere
from
$570
to
$940
a
speeding
ticket
roads
aren't
always
wide
open
sometimes
there is
construction
if
you're
traveling
by sea
as
Paul
was
traveling
you
might
run
into
a
storm
Acts
27
and
you
may
end
up
with
a
shipwreck
and
stranded
on
an
island
so
you
have
to
ask
yourself
how
good
are
the
road
conditions
and
the
third
question
that
you
need
to
think
about
is
this
issue
of
light
is
the
road
well
lit
can
you
see
where
you're
going
let
me
again
give
you
a
passage
from
the
Old
Testament
a
very
famous
passage
again
associated
with
Jesus
chapter
9
verse
2
in
Isaiah
9
verse
2
the
people
walking
in
darkness
have
seen
a
great
light
if
the
psalmist
doesn't
have
the
light
to
shed
light
on
his
path
he
would
be
walking
in
darkness
it
is
dangerous
to
walk
in
darkness
let
me
just
give
you
one
example
one
illustration
from
the
Old
Testament
and
then
I'll
try
to
conclude
in
the
temple
or in
the
tabernacle
of
God
there
were
two
rooms
and
one
was
God's
throne
where
the
Ark
of
the
Covenant
was
and
the
other
one
was
a
room
where
God
met
with
his
people
the
room
had
no
window
so
it
was
absolutely
dark
and
there
was
also
a
warning
if
by
mistake
you
stepped
into
the
other
room
you
would
be
killed
instantly
so
this
is
a
serious
business
so
the
priests
have
to
minister
in
this
pitch
black
room
so
what
do
they
need
they
need
light
so
they
can
see
where
they're
walking
the
light
sheds
light
at
their
feet
it
sheds
light
in
the
space
and
so
they
know
where
they're
walking
and
they
won't
make
the
mistake
of
entering
into
the
presence
of
God
so
the
light
that
was
placed
in
the
temple
in
the
tabernacle
was
the
menorah
the
lamp
stand
the
candelabra
the
purpose
of
the
lamp
stand
was
to
shed
light
at
their
feet
turn
to
Psalm
119
106
do
you
see
the
imagery
there
something
is
shedding
light
for
somebody's
feet
so
they
can
see
where
they're
walking
and
what
is
that
the
word
of
God
the
word
of
God
is
the
light
that
sheds
light
at
our
feet
so
we
can
see
where
we're
walking
this
idea
light
helping
us
see
where
we're
walking
so
we
don't
walk
in
the
wrong
place
or
fall
off
the
road
or
whatever
it
said
whatever
is
repeated
in
1
John
1
7
please
turn
to
1
John
in
the
New
Testament
1
John
is
summarizing
in
some
ways
what
I've
been
saying
up
to
now
1
John
1
7
if
you
walk
in
the
light
not
in
darkness
if
you
walk
in
the
light
as
he
is
in
the
light
we
have
fellowship
with
one
another
and
I
don't
mean
just
with
one
another
but
also
with
one
another
that
way
too
but
in
order
to
have
fellowship
what
do
we
need
to
do
walk
in
the
light
you
need
to
have
light
in
front
of
your
feet
so
you
are
walking
in
the
light
not
walking
in
darkness
let
me
let
me
give
you
an
illustration
from
my
own
life
I
lost
my
mother
when
I
was
seven
years
old
it
was
the
day
before
Easter
and
we
were
traveling
to
her
parents
to
my
maternal
grandparents
home
and
so
we
were
in
a
taxi
but
they
lived
in
a
very
rural
area
the
roads
were
not
paved
there
was
no
light
and
that
area
the
taxi
driver
didn't
know
anything
about
because
he
doesn't
do
business
there
so
it
was
in
the
middle
of
nowhere
bad
roads
bad
lighting
etc
as
the
taxi
driver
was
driving
he
thought
that
the
road
curved
and
he
started
to
curve
because
I
suspect
his
even
his
headlights
were
not
that
good
and
the
car
flipped
and
my
mom
was
killed
instantly
why
because
the
taxi
driver
couldn't
see
where
he
was
going
he
was
driving
in
darkness
and
of
course
darkness
sometimes
brings
physical
literal
death
but
spiritual
darkness
of
course
leads
to
destruction
how
should
we
apply
all
of
this
to
our
lives
we
need
to
think
of
that
important
verse
of
Jesus
I
am
the
way
the
truth
and
the
life
if
you
translate
that
passage
to
Hebrew
it
could
be
interpreted
in
two
ways
that
Jesus
is
saying
I
am
three
things
I
am
the
way
I
am
the
truth
I
am
the
life
but
there
is
also
a
rabbinic
discussion
that
says
expressions
like
that
can
also
be
translated
this
way
so
let
me
give
you
the
alternative
translation
not the
one
that
you're
going to
find
in
your
Bibles
it
can
also
be
translated
I
am
the
way
that
leads
to
truth
and
life
and
of
course
Jesus
is
the
way
the
truth
and
the
life
and
Jesus
leads
to
the
way
the
fact
that
God
has
given
us
his
word
as
light
for
our
feet
to
lighten
our
path
we
should
take
this
word
of
God
seriously
study
it
with
devotion
and
we
should
follow
this
Lord
Jesus
because
he
is
the
way
the
truth
and
the
life
let's
have
a
word
of
prayer
thank
you
father
for
these
brothers
and
sisters
and
I
pray
that
we
would
increase
our
love
for
you
and
want
to
walk
with
you
have
fellowship
with
you
follow
you
and
obey
you
learn
to
love
you
and
learn
to
love
our
neighbor
as
ourselves
and
father
for
those
who
don't
know
you
may
they
sense
in
some
ways
the
futility
of
life
without
you
and
may
see
in
you
the
light
that
will
dispel
the
darkness
that
surrounds
them
I
ask
you
this
father
in
Jesus
precious
name
amen