Walk With Me

Often when I arrive or am leaving St. James, I see someone out on the wall that is on my “nagging list.” I greet them saying, “Walk with me.” The walking may be short or long, depending on the person talking. It is a time for me to be silent and listen. It can be a time for me to question or praise or nag. Sometimes a referral is suggested. It is always a time to reinforce the person as a person and to remind him where the power is.

Leading up to that walk and conversation, at some time past, had been a meeting and encounter at some activity at St. James that made the person feel welcome and led to an initial conversation. This is not unlike what happens when someone enters our church for their first time. We greet them with love. We make certain they are comfortable with all the stuff we give them at the door. We follow up at fellowship to make sure they feel welcome and meet our family.

All the above is right on as far as it goes. We have welcomed them into the family we call St. James. We have then just begun to take our walk with this person. Our walk must now lead to the presence of Christ.

There is an old hymn that talks about walking with Jesus. It goes something like this: and He walked with me and He talked with me, and He told me I was his own… If we are icons of Jesus, then we can take this walk with those who come seeking a new way of life. If we ask our new friend to walk with us, we open the opportunity to share our love of Jesus. We offer our presence to help them into their own journey to Jesus.

Walk with me: tell me what you are seeking. I’m here to listen. What is your heart telling you. How can we help? Walk with me: let me share my walk with you. Let me share with you how having Jesus in my life has changed my life. Walk with me: I will bring you together with other members of our St. James family who will share with you and walk with you.

Walk with us and together we will do those things Jesus would have us do, serving in His name. Walk with us and be a part of feeding the hungry at the Gathering or clothing the needy at Red Door Clothes, or aiding with means of hygiene at Sundries. Or be present at the burial of those without family as representatives of Jesus by our presence so they are not alone.

You may want to walk with us in one of the myriad of activities that bring together our family at Sunday Eucharist. As we walk together serving Jesus in these many ways, we find ourselves growing closer to Jesus. We find ourselves feeling His love every time a guest says thank you or God bless you or just gives a big smile. For some of them, saying those words or showing a smile may be a big step out of the lonely world they exist in. This sharing is for me the ultimate proof of the love of Jesus in my life. Walking together we all can experience this love and grow stronger knowing it all comes from Jesus.

Any time I say, “Walk with me,” I never know what the result may be that particular time. Experience shows me that the important part is asking the question. In doing so, we have opened a door. What follows comes from Jesus.

Remember the words of Jesus to the fishermen: follow me. It remains the same today. We ask, Walk with me, so together we can follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

Deacon Ned Howe