Review 4/20/2014: Back to the Beginning

Matthew  28: 5-10
28:5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you."  So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

I wonder if the disciples wondered, "Why does he want us to meet in Galilee?"  Or did it seem immediately obvious to them that you would go back to the beginning. After all they were called from Galilee to follow Jesus, so now that Jesus is calling them again to follow in a new way it has a certain symmetry.   

We all have a personal Galilee; a place from which Jesus first called us.  Our beginning points are often exceptionally different and intensely personal.  Think back, where was yours and what direction did it send you?  More importantly, did you get where the call called you to go?

Whenever I lose something the first thing I do is go back and re-trace my steps to see where I might have dropped, or creatively set down, my lost item. (Ever find your keys in the refrigerator and wondered what you were thinking?) Sometimes you just have to go back to the start.  The same is true for getting lost, following instructions, or any of life's myriad of journeys.  

So when you think back on your Galilee when Jesus first called you to follow (and I assure you that he did...you just need to think really hard to call it up) did you go where you were supposed to?  If you got lost along the way, retrace your steps and start again, it is never too late to follow.