Friday Five: Companions on the Way

Dante had Virgil as a guide. Before he had younger siblings, my oldest child had an imaginary friend named Patrick. Betsy had Tacy. Laura Ingalls depended on her brindle bulldog, Jack. All of them were companions on the way.

As we take the beginning steps of our journey through Lent, who would we take as a companion? Name five people, real or imaginary, you might like to have with you as guide or guardian or simply good friend.

Larry Meyer - I think I miss Larry more during Lent than at any other time. It was Larry who first opened my mind and heart to the disciplines of Lent, and as I've shared before, most of who I am as a pastor comes from his leadership and tutelage during my years at the University of Nebraska and the Lutheran Student Center.

Martin Luther - Obviously, as a Lutheran I bear a lot of respect for the man whose name we claim as our own. But I think Martin would have known better than most how to balance the penitential nature of Lent with the freedom God assures through Baptism and forgiveness of our sins. Some people think that Lent means misery - I think Martin would say they've missed the point. If the focus is our misery, we've strayed as far from the mark as we do when the focus is our joy - the focus, as Luther often said, is at all times Christ and Christ alone.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer - What might it have been like to study with my brother Dietrich at the seminary in Finkenwalde? Reading Bonhoeffer has opened my eyes to so many blessings in Scripture and in the world; studying the Psalms and conversing about them during Lent with Bonhoeffer would have been a privilege beyond words.

Rich Mullins - I was unlucky to discover the depth of Rich's music in the months after his death, so I never had the chance to hear him in concert or talk to him in person. Rich was so refreshingly honest and open - his willingness to be vulnerable in his songs has helped me do the same in some of my sermons. We are only human and only following Christ if we admit that we don't have all the answers, that there is pain and sorrow in life that cannot be defeated by our own strength, only survived through the love of Christ. I learned that from listening to Rich Mullins sing songs like this:

I've gone so far from my home
I've seen the world and I have known
So many secrets
I wish now I did not know
'Cause they have crept into my heart
They have left it cold and dark
And bleeding,
Bleeding and falling apart

And everybody used to tell me big boys don't cry
Well I've been around enough to know that that was the lie
That held back the tears in the eyes of a thousand prodigal sons
Well we are children no more, we have sinned and grown old
And our Father still waits and He watches down the road
To see the crying boys come running back to His arms
And be growing young
Growing young

Well, this has been a totally depressing Friday Five for me, so I'll close on a happier note:
Ainsley Joy Suzanne Johnson - This morning I worked at the office while Ainsley kept me company. Beloved needed some time at home to finish a project or two and I knew that my office stuff could be done while I took care of our little girl. What a joy it is to finally be getting to know our daughter. This is a special, momentous time for us and I'm loving every minute.