Business or Pleasure

Seeing ourselves as the pilgrim people of God

9/28/2021

Lk 9:51-56 When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

One of the most common questions you ask someone when you travel is, “Business or pleasure?” Why? Well, that is the reason most people hit the road: either for a business trip or going on vacation. Did you know that I once drove in my car from Fort Smith to Seattle, Washington to give a men’s retreat? Most reasonable people would just catch a flight, but I drove for two days and 2,000 miles. I love spending time in my car and seeing the beautiful countryside, not to mention the majestic Rocky Mountains. I would answer that common question by replying: “I travel for both business and pleasure!”

If we were to pose that question to the Haitian refugees on the southern border, “Business or pleasure?” how might they answer? I suspect they would say, “We travel for survival.” Haiti, being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has seen a surging wave of migration into South America, through Central America and Mexico, to the U.S. border in the hopes of seeking asylum.

The recent assassination of Haiti’s president and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake have only added fuel to the fire of people fleeing their homeland of Haiti. Whatever you may think of the Haiti’s political turmoil, or America’s asylum policies, no one can question why these poor people are traveling. It is not for “business or pleasure,” but for simple survival. They will die if they remain at home.

In the gospel of Luke we see Jesus also hitting the open road for his final journey to Jerusalem. We read: “When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” This rather lengthy section of Luke, the ten chapters from 9:51 to 19:28, are known by scripture scholars as the "Lukan Travel Narrative," or "LTN" for short. Jesus is not traveling from Fort Smith to Seattle, or from Haiti to the U.S. but from Galilee in the north to Judea and Jerusalem in the south.

Jesus’ final journey will also be treacherous because he has to pass through hostile Samaritan territory. Samaritans and Jews were bitter enemies. That is why James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume them. If you were to ask Jesus the question during his LTN, “Business or pleasure?” he might respond: “I travel for neither business nor pleasure, but for the salvation of the world.” In other words, we all travel for different reasons, and Jesus also made his final great trip to Jerusalem for a specific reason: to suffer, die and rise again so we might be saved.

The Second Vatican Council said one of the best descriptions of the Church (of all Christians) is as “the Pilgrim People of God.” Why? Well, because the whole Christian life can be envisioned as a great journey, a road trip to heaven, you might say. And by the way, this Christian journey does not end with death, but continues through purgatory (hopefully). That is why at the funeral Mass, the priest says: “Lord God, whose Son left us, in the sacrament of his Body, food for the journey, mercifully grant that, strengthened by it, our sister or brother may come to the eternal table of Christ.”

In a sense, the most treacherous part of the Christian journey begins after we die, where we are purified and perfected for the glory of heaven. In other words, just as Haitian refugees undertake a harrowing journey to arrive at the shores of the United States, and Jesus “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” not counting the cost, so, too, we have embarked as a Pilgrim People on a great journey back to the Father’s House in heaven. Maybe that is why, right in the middle of the LTN – placed perfectly at Lk 15 – we find the Parable of the Prodigal son, who is lost and has to make a long journey back home to his Father, to seek mercy and forgiveness.

Folks, why do we come to Mass? To receive Holy Communion. What is Holy Communion? It is food for the journey. Why do we need food for the journey? Because we are a Pilgrim People on the road back home to heaven. So, are you traveling for business or pleasure? Neither, we are traveling for survival and for our salvation.

Praised be Jesus Christ!