Though we may be tempted in the face of all these potential problems to "batten down the hatches" and stay at home, living in community requires us to take some risks in travel.

Travelling is also more than simply a physical moving from place to place. There are economic conditions to be faced, "troubled waters" which we must navigate. As I write this, BCE Inc., which for years was known as Bell Telephone, and one of the most stable and dependable companies in the country, has lost forty percent of its value overnight. One day recently the Toronto Stock Exchange fell almost ten percent -- in a single day! Cutbacks, layoffs, plant closures, and deficits seem to be both topics for the news but also harsh realities for many individuals, families, and communities.

For others travel involves a migration. A move to a new house or residence may result from a change in health or family situation. Enrollment in college or university or the offer of a new job may require travel to a new city and all the challenges of finding one’s way in a new environment. For new immigrants, travel entails embracing a whole new way of life in often very unfamiliar surroundings.

Travelling -- whether a walk in the neighbourhood, a trip across the country, or a journey through economic or political change -- is often tricky, dangerous, and scary.

The celebration of Christmas offers us an opportunity to grasp that one of the great truths of life is that God chooses to travel with us. Christianity is not first a "religion", but rather life lived in the companionship of God, as our fellow traveller. God -- as Spirit -- chose to visit the earth he created and to take on human flesh, that he might accompany us in the journey of our lives.

John 14: 5-6 - Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life." (NIV)

It is so often so reassuring to be travelling with someone else rather than going alone. Yet the most assurance is to be found in recognising God’s Son as our fellow traveller. This is especially so as we travel through uncertain economic conditions. When the Bible reminds us that God has pledged never to leave nor forsake his people, it is interesting and significant that the promise is joined to God’s express counsel that we are to trust in Jesus rather than in the riches and comforts that this world tries to offer us for insurance.

Hebrews 13: 5-8 - Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. (NIV)

May our annual observation and celebration of Christmas serve to remind us that Jesus is our fellow traveller, and that amid the changing and challenging conditions and circumstances of our lives, He will remain faithful, as we journey with Him. In His company, we can travel securely, but travel we must, and travel we will, even amid the dangers and challenges.

Your fellow traveller through the storms of life,

Your Pastor,
James T. Hurd