If you have ridden with me in the past you may describe me as a bit of a tailgater, one who follows a little too close, or as my wife sometimes describes me, a bit of a bully. You can at least do the speed limit and get off the phone or move over to the slow lane, yes please, thankyou! I am somewhat of a “driven” person who pushes through the day to accomplish my tasks, and you may just be in my way! Maybe when I get my spaceship like George Jetson, it won’t be so much of a problem as I will be able to l leap right over you!! Look out Saturn and Mars!
Well the Good Lord saw fit to give me an alert navigator who helps me be more communal and less of the lead-dog! And in those gentle timely reminders as she clutches the grab bars by the car door, I open my eyes and see that we are all on a path, and loving my neighbor means I shouldn’t be running over them!
Of course now days as I have been driving on these paved highways for about 50 years, I still press on a bit but not for the sake as being driven as it is me wanting to get there before I forget what I was trying to accomplish and even where I was heading! But I try to be more neighborly and even allow those “more driven” folks to now go ahead of me.
In the Gospel of St. John this morning we heard Jesus seeking out Philip and Nathanael to be His Disciples: “Follow thou Me.” [Jn. 1:43]. It seems if I had my priorities right, I would be a Driven Christian Tailgater!! But instead I tend to me more of a slow poke, busy on the phone and sometimes just a Sunday driver! What’s the hurry?
The Good Lord has given us all a navigator in the Holy Spirit as we were sealed after our baptism. In fact, we have been given many navigators and on this Sunday, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, we look to the Great Saints of the church who having been guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit, help guide us and protect us. The Saints were good followers of Christ and His teachings! Since 843, this Sunday has been about the victory of the icons. In that year the iconoclastic controversy, which had raged on and off since 726, was finally laid to rest, and icons and their veneration were restored on the first Sunday in Lent, and ever since, this Sunday has been commemorated as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy."
And many of us include in icon in our vehicle as we travel. Many of us chose St. Nicholas the Wonderworker who is considered a guardian of travelers. And also we may include the Mother of God Hodegetria, which is the Theotokos holding the Christ Child known as “Our Lady of the Way”. St. Christopher is also known as a patron saint for safe travels as well and St. John the Russian: for transport, auto, busses, just to name a few. These Icons placed in our vehicles are a good reminder that the path we are traveling is on a busy pathway with many other sojourners.
As we leave here today, ask yourselves: Am I following Christ or that sinful person I see in the rearview mirror? With the much needed help of these God-Seeking Saints, may our travels lead us closer and closer to Christ!
Fr. Gabriel Weller 3-9-2025
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