Starlight Retreat. Providence College,
Saturday October 22, 2011

By Fr. David Orique, OP

Focus:         Life is a Highway between our Origin and our Destination.

Function:    To remind hearers that life is the “highway” between our origin and our destination.

I.  Life is a Highway, We’re Riding it All Life Long

The twenty-first-century poet-philosophers of the band Rascal Flatts said it best:

“Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long
If you're going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long.”

A. Life is a highway! Yes, life is a highway. Yet sometimes on this journey, don’t we feel like bugs on the windshield, deer caught in the headlights, or road-kill?

B. Sometimes life is crushing, confusing, and defeating.  We feel squashed, bewildered, and conquered by the challenges and experiences of life. Yet, when these events or moments happen, how might we clean ourselves off of the windshield, or get ourselves out of the ditch, and get back on track on the highway of life? How do we re-focus on the road? We do this by looking at the deeper purpose of our life on this highway—on the highway between our origin and our destination.

II. Origin: The First Stretch of Pavement.

 

“Life is a highway, I wanna ride it.”

A.  We began our journey on the highway of life when we were conceived. The first stretch of asphalt was laid at conception. From the darkness of our mother’s womb to the light and embrace of our family’s care, we began this journey, this adventure, this trip. Our parents’ love united with the power of God initiated our trek on the highway toward our ultimate eternal destination. We did not decide this; God did.

B. In God’s loving providential plan, we (like all human beings) were conceived in a nano second, born in time, created out of nothing, given existence. We became someone—someone given the potential for an awesome journey—equipped with the GPS (God’s Positioning System) of the Spirit of God to arrive at our final destination. Do we follow this internal guidance, which is made clearer by Jesus’ teaching? Do we count on these grace-filled messages, and follow the life-giving sacramental signs? Do we ask for directions—call on an ecclesial On-Star—in the sacrament of Reconciliation, in the Christian community, in Scripture study, and in service to others? All this is given to us because of our origin in a loving God and of our destiny in the fullness of eternal Life with God.

C. Along the way we meet and share this journey with many people, who like all the travelers have equal dignity in the eyes of God. With us, they too ride the highway to eternity.

III. Journey: Sharing and Enjoying the Road Together.

“There was a distance between you and I…
A misunderstanding once …
But, now, we look it in the eye.”

A. Indeed we share the road with other Christians and with others who do not share our faith. As a Christian community, we help our sisters and brothers in Christ to reach their eternal destination. As brothers and sisters of the same Creator, we honor each other by dialoguing with respect, listening with love, and transforming the world through justice. We do this because we are all travelers on the highway of life.

B. As such, our journey is not a lonely stretch of highway, although at times, we feel we are traveling alone. At other times, we are acutely aware of the presence of others on the road, for example, in the traffic jams with their exhaust fumes, in the fender benders, engine trouble, and flat tires, which are the unpleasant events (and sometimes unpleasant people) in our journey. At times, we ask others to fix the problems or to help us fix them. At times, we meet people who change our lives, and we change the lives of others. We remind others of what needs to be done while on the road—that they need to clean their spiritual grill, or tune up their emotional life, or give someone else a physical lift.

C. Travel on the highway of life is mapped with many opportunities and changes. Sometimes these will be in excursions, such as pleasure drives and vacations. We take time to recreate and play, we also stop at rest areas, such as the Eucharist, retreats, and other meaningful times of renewal. Sometimes, we might ask “are we there yet?”

D. Travel on the highway of life sometimes seem like a race to the finish, when we drive in imprudent ways, leaving wavy dark black skid marks as reminders of the dangers of a recklessly-driven life. We have all been caught in providential speed traps in the admonishments and rebukes of parents, family, friends, priests, and the Christian community that challenge our irresponsible choices.

Whatever the challenge,
“Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand,
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind.”

E. Most importantly, in all of these opportunities and changes, keep moving down the highway with meaning, power, and purpose. Part of the joy of the journey on the highway of life is the passion and purpose of living with direction and determination. Remember,

“There ain't no load that I can't hold…”
… with God’s grace.

IV. Destination: The Final Piece of the Road, the Arrival at the End.

“There's a world outside every darkened door
Where Blues won't haunt you anymore
For the brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore.”

A. Our ultimate destination is the end of the highway. The road of life leads to eternity. When the pavement ends, we arrive at our eternal destination.

B. How we live, embrace, and express the journey on the highway of life will prepare us for the final stop. Will it be a sudden, shocking, and surprising stop? Or will it be a smooth seamless stop—a planned-for, prepared, and purposeful arrival?

C. That is, will we travel with a focus on those values and beliefs that make the journey both meaningful and purposeful? Will we travel with integrity, gratitude, and generosity? Integrity, traveling with a commitment to our Christian values. Gratitude, traveling with a deep and expanding awareness of the total gift of our life and of the lives of all people regardless of who they are or the conditions of their lives. Generosity, traveling with a willingness to live justly, act with justice, work for justice.

D. The journey of life is not meant to be a series of drive-by or drive-up experiences, rushing from one experience to another, attempting to collect happiness and to bottle peace of mind. Rather our journey of life is to be lived well so that when we cross the finish line and see the checkered flag, we will stand in the winners’ circle basking in the glorious eternal sunrise.

V.  Conclusion

So, life is a highway—a highway that I want to ride all night long on the way to the eternal day, where the dawn of everlasting life will be enjoyed with so many others who shared the road with its crushing, confusing, and defeating moments. The journey on life’s highway is meaningful if we remember the start and the finish. Will we travel well so that we might finish well?

Ladies and gentlemen, restart and reeve up your engines!

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Questions for our discussion of "Life is a Highway between our Origin and our Destination."

1) If the metaphor of my life is as a highway, in what ways do I show appreciation for the origin of my life and my final destination?

2) What plans, dreams, and hopes do I have for the highway of my life?

3) Who might help me reach my eternal destination, and how can I help others reach theirs?