Enchanted

Peter came and said to Jesus, “How often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” – Matthew 18:21-22 abridged (NRSV) 

Will God forgive us yet again if we desecrate our daily commute by acting as though it is not sacred time – while saving money for the “real” sacred times like a vacation or a walk on the Camino? Is the disenchantment of ordinary life in constant need of enchantment, with a detour at the forgiveness stoplight? I think yes. 

We just moved from Florida to Texas and tried to take the back roads and hug the Gulf of Mexico. We wanted to sacralize our passage. I regularly fantasized about how beautiful it was going to be, the Gulf on one side, good thrift stores on the other. Local creole barbecue places with slow-cooked collards, bitterly vinegared, would appear regularly at noon.  

When we did try to get out of the car on behalf of the dog as well as ourselves, the temperature was usually over 100. There were no back roads. Once we hugged the Gulf for about eight miles of condos blocking the view. Our trip riddle became counting Mattress Firm establishments.  

Nonetheless, it was a pilgrimage. Crossing the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge was splendid. Some of the early bridges in Texas were beautiful, even if surrounded by oil drills violating the land. Our pilgrimage resembled a regular commute.  

How to need less forgiveness for the regularity of disenchantment? Or get Jesus’s number down from 77 to 50 or so? How to turn a trip to the grocery store into a feeding of the 5,000? Or go slower at the stoplights when everybody honks? Or just be more regularly glad about who you are and where you are on the enchanted road of life? 

Prayer
Bless us, O God, with refreshed perspectives as pilgrims.

About the Author
Donna Schaper is the Pastor of the Congregational Church of Austin (COA). Her book Rooted in Resurrection is a garden memoir and includes spiritual and horticultural advice in its meditations.