There is so much about this work that I admire. As a limping preacher I find the book troubling and tantalizing at the same time. Troubling in that if the assertions Jonathan is making about religous professionals—like myself—are true, my days are numbered. If Jonathan is correct I can’t imagine Jesus allowing the bride he loves so deeply and at such high cost to go on her current path here in the west. If she “backslides to enlightenment” there will be no need for my vocation. That is who I have come to rely upon. I am what I do.

I can hear Jonathan say, “No, you aren’t. You are a follower of The Way. Follow Him and love him and live out your identity in Him. Be obedient to Him and watch what He will do in your world.”

But it is tantalizing as well. What freedom this kind of life will bring! Painful no doubt, but none-the-less a life filled with joy of knowing that you are stepping in nail-scared footprints. I could stand a bit more joy in my life.

I resonated deeply with the chapter– Listening To Our Longings: Ancient and Present. Connecting with One Another, Connecting to Creation, Connecting with Creator. I feel my most alive in prayer with my Father, sharing a beer with my friends, and being in the wilderness. This chapter reminded me one of my favorite poems…

The Waking

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

– Theodore Roethke

Of those who read “The Way of Jesus” I have a question:

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Keep going Jonathan and Jennifer! You will learn by going where you have to go.