The Road Less Traveled
Commentary
Robert Frost wrote a poem titled “The Road Less Traveled,” about making a choice between one turn in the road instead of another, and, as he concludes, “…that has made all the difference.”
I think in all these scriptures we see biblical individuals take a road less traveled, and in each case, it makes a world of difference. After fleeing a murder charge and abandoning Pharaoh’s court, Moses settles into a secure, if arduous, course as a shepherd — but he turns aside from his path to see what’s going on with this burning bush thing.
The Apostle Paul addresses the Christians in Rome, who live in a culture in which preserving face is the most important thing about life and encourages them to do as he has done — follow the words of the Sermon on the Mount, a radically different road less traveled.
And after Peter correctly addresses Jesus as “…the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus invites us all to reject the world’s definition of glory, success, and honor, and deliberately uses the language of shame and humiliation and then invites us to pick up our cross and follow him along a road less travelled.
Exodus 3:1-15
A road less traveled. What a long journey it had been for Moses. Condemned before birth, destined to be murdered for the crime of being born a Hebrew male child, two Egyptian midwives commit civil disobedience (another road less travelled) at great risk to themselves and lie about Hebrew women being so strong they give birth before their arrival. He is then set afloat on the Nile, hidden among the reeds, watched by his sister, when he is discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter and rather than calling for his destruction, she raises Moses in the royal court. Who travels that road? As an adult, raised in privilege, he kills an Egyptian taskmaster for beating Hebrew slaves, only to discover with alarm that he is not considered a leader by his people. After fleeing a murder charge and abandoning Pharaoh’s court, Moses settles into a secure, if arduous, course as a shepherd, working for his father-in-law — when he hears a voice speaking from a burning bush that is not consumed by the flames, and makes a deliberate choice to turn aside from his path to look into this marvel more closely.
This takes place near Mount Horeb, associated with Mount Sinai — same mountain different name. Indeed, the word bush, seneh, is a pun for the word Sinai.
Now in the ancient world, gods were associated with sacred trees, but not with humble bushes. According to the ancient Rabbi Rashi, this is an expression of God’s identification with the enslaved of Israel.
As the saying goes, “Curiosity killed the cat,” and though I’m not sure what truth there is to that, but in this case, curiosity leads to a lifetime ministry. This is definitely the road less travelled. What a difference it makes for not only Moses, but his people, and our people!
Whereas in Genesis, there is a sacred time (the sabbath) in Exodus where we discover there is such a thing as sacred space, as when Moses is commanded to take off his sandals before approaching. It is in this sacred space that Moses is commissioned, despite his objections, to do the great work of God, to free the captives, as both Isaiah and Jesus teaching in their hometown synagogues will call us to.
I find one of the most interesting things in this passage to be God’s name. YHWH is a form of the Hebrew verb “to be.” Rather than being described as a god of thunder, lightning, rushing water, fire, and other destructively powerful aspects of nature, God’s greatest attribute, the naming attribute, is existence. I Am that I Am.
But to sacred time and sacred space God adds sacred history — God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In other words, we have a history with God. We know God because of this history, because of the way God acts in history with people. And for us, to get to know God we must walk with God, act with God, and observe God.
Romans 12:9-21
The Apostle Paul addresses the Christians in Rome, who live in a culture in which preserving face is the most important thing about life and encourages them to do as he has done — follow the words of the Sermon on the Mount, a radically different path.
This passage seems to include a combination of Hebrew wisdom, Christian sayings, scripture quotations, and references to the Sermon on the Mount. Circle bits and pieces and try to connect some dots. Here’s a few suggestions. “Love one another…” (12:10) is reminiscent of John 13:34-35).
“…live peaceably with all” (12:18) feels like Mark 9:49 — “…be at peace with one another.”
“…pursue hospitality with strangers” (12:13) feels like Hebrews 13:2.
“…bless those who persecute you…” (12:14) comes right out of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:11).
The admonition to “associate with the lowly” reminds one of Luke 14:12-14, where Jesus tells someone who invited him to eat, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers and sisters or your relatives or rich neighbors…” since in so doing you will have received your reward, but “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.”
This is very much the road less traveled. One sees here the upside-down kingdom of Jesus the Christ. And Paul is calling us to act not halfheartedly (“Hey look, I tried.”), but zealously. The admonition to “…pursue hospitality to strangers” is interesting. The verb behind pursue is dioko. It means “to pursue, to harry, to chase.” In other words, “Go for it!” Don’t make excuses. Hound people to receive goodness. Go after then.
I especially like the command, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (vs 18). There’s no question it is not possible to live peaceably with all.” Some people are impossible, and they work at it, and take pride in it. But in the process, we are to “bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them.” (vs 14). This is the way of Jesus.
Matthew 16:21-28
After Peter correctly addressed Jesus as “…the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” he demonstrated that he had no clue what Jesus meant by the term, since he scolded Jesus for declaring that he would be killed by the religious authorities, and after three days be raised from the dead. Jesus’ response, “Get behind me, Satan,” is very much in keeping with the definition of ha-satan, “the Satan,” as we meet the character in the Book of Job and a couple other places in the Hebrew scriptures. This individual is not the same as the Satan we meet in Revelation, and elsewhere in the New Testament. This is more like the prosecuting attorney in the heavenly court, whose job it is to challenge some basic assumptions and make us rethink the way we look at the world. So, Jesus is not calling Jesus the enemy of the world, but one who is pointing down the path towards the more conventional way of thinking. Peter wants Jesus to take the path to glory — worldly power and authority, worldly crowns. But the poet Thomas Grey, in his poem “Elegy written in a Country Churchyard,” notes:
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow/r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike th’ inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
By contrast, Jesus invites us all to reject the world’s definition of glory, success, and honor, and deliberately uses the language of shame and humiliation, to pick up our cross (and how obscene that language must have sounded not only in Galilee and Judea, but also to Roman ears when this “Good News” was preached to them by Paul) to strike out on a radically different road less traveled, one that leads also to the grave, but beyond, to an empty tomb, resurrection, and eternal glory.
I think in all these scriptures we see biblical individuals take a road less traveled, and in each case, it makes a world of difference. After fleeing a murder charge and abandoning Pharaoh’s court, Moses settles into a secure, if arduous, course as a shepherd — but he turns aside from his path to see what’s going on with this burning bush thing.
The Apostle Paul addresses the Christians in Rome, who live in a culture in which preserving face is the most important thing about life and encourages them to do as he has done — follow the words of the Sermon on the Mount, a radically different road less traveled.
And after Peter correctly addresses Jesus as “…the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus invites us all to reject the world’s definition of glory, success, and honor, and deliberately uses the language of shame and humiliation and then invites us to pick up our cross and follow him along a road less travelled.
Exodus 3:1-15
A road less traveled. What a long journey it had been for Moses. Condemned before birth, destined to be murdered for the crime of being born a Hebrew male child, two Egyptian midwives commit civil disobedience (another road less travelled) at great risk to themselves and lie about Hebrew women being so strong they give birth before their arrival. He is then set afloat on the Nile, hidden among the reeds, watched by his sister, when he is discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter and rather than calling for his destruction, she raises Moses in the royal court. Who travels that road? As an adult, raised in privilege, he kills an Egyptian taskmaster for beating Hebrew slaves, only to discover with alarm that he is not considered a leader by his people. After fleeing a murder charge and abandoning Pharaoh’s court, Moses settles into a secure, if arduous, course as a shepherd, working for his father-in-law — when he hears a voice speaking from a burning bush that is not consumed by the flames, and makes a deliberate choice to turn aside from his path to look into this marvel more closely.
This takes place near Mount Horeb, associated with Mount Sinai — same mountain different name. Indeed, the word bush, seneh, is a pun for the word Sinai.
Now in the ancient world, gods were associated with sacred trees, but not with humble bushes. According to the ancient Rabbi Rashi, this is an expression of God’s identification with the enslaved of Israel.
As the saying goes, “Curiosity killed the cat,” and though I’m not sure what truth there is to that, but in this case, curiosity leads to a lifetime ministry. This is definitely the road less travelled. What a difference it makes for not only Moses, but his people, and our people!
Whereas in Genesis, there is a sacred time (the sabbath) in Exodus where we discover there is such a thing as sacred space, as when Moses is commanded to take off his sandals before approaching. It is in this sacred space that Moses is commissioned, despite his objections, to do the great work of God, to free the captives, as both Isaiah and Jesus teaching in their hometown synagogues will call us to.
I find one of the most interesting things in this passage to be God’s name. YHWH is a form of the Hebrew verb “to be.” Rather than being described as a god of thunder, lightning, rushing water, fire, and other destructively powerful aspects of nature, God’s greatest attribute, the naming attribute, is existence. I Am that I Am.
But to sacred time and sacred space God adds sacred history — God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In other words, we have a history with God. We know God because of this history, because of the way God acts in history with people. And for us, to get to know God we must walk with God, act with God, and observe God.
Romans 12:9-21
The Apostle Paul addresses the Christians in Rome, who live in a culture in which preserving face is the most important thing about life and encourages them to do as he has done — follow the words of the Sermon on the Mount, a radically different path.
This passage seems to include a combination of Hebrew wisdom, Christian sayings, scripture quotations, and references to the Sermon on the Mount. Circle bits and pieces and try to connect some dots. Here’s a few suggestions. “Love one another…” (12:10) is reminiscent of John 13:34-35).
“…live peaceably with all” (12:18) feels like Mark 9:49 — “…be at peace with one another.”
“…pursue hospitality with strangers” (12:13) feels like Hebrews 13:2.
“…bless those who persecute you…” (12:14) comes right out of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:11).
The admonition to “associate with the lowly” reminds one of Luke 14:12-14, where Jesus tells someone who invited him to eat, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers and sisters or your relatives or rich neighbors…” since in so doing you will have received your reward, but “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.”
This is very much the road less traveled. One sees here the upside-down kingdom of Jesus the Christ. And Paul is calling us to act not halfheartedly (“Hey look, I tried.”), but zealously. The admonition to “…pursue hospitality to strangers” is interesting. The verb behind pursue is dioko. It means “to pursue, to harry, to chase.” In other words, “Go for it!” Don’t make excuses. Hound people to receive goodness. Go after then.
I especially like the command, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (vs 18). There’s no question it is not possible to live peaceably with all.” Some people are impossible, and they work at it, and take pride in it. But in the process, we are to “bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them.” (vs 14). This is the way of Jesus.
Matthew 16:21-28
After Peter correctly addressed Jesus as “…the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” he demonstrated that he had no clue what Jesus meant by the term, since he scolded Jesus for declaring that he would be killed by the religious authorities, and after three days be raised from the dead. Jesus’ response, “Get behind me, Satan,” is very much in keeping with the definition of ha-satan, “the Satan,” as we meet the character in the Book of Job and a couple other places in the Hebrew scriptures. This individual is not the same as the Satan we meet in Revelation, and elsewhere in the New Testament. This is more like the prosecuting attorney in the heavenly court, whose job it is to challenge some basic assumptions and make us rethink the way we look at the world. So, Jesus is not calling Jesus the enemy of the world, but one who is pointing down the path towards the more conventional way of thinking. Peter wants Jesus to take the path to glory — worldly power and authority, worldly crowns. But the poet Thomas Grey, in his poem “Elegy written in a Country Churchyard,” notes:
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow/r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike th’ inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
By contrast, Jesus invites us all to reject the world’s definition of glory, success, and honor, and deliberately uses the language of shame and humiliation, to pick up our cross (and how obscene that language must have sounded not only in Galilee and Judea, but also to Roman ears when this “Good News” was preached to them by Paul) to strike out on a radically different road less traveled, one that leads also to the grave, but beyond, to an empty tomb, resurrection, and eternal glory.
