Bridge to Nowhere

9.30am Sunday 28 October 2007

Readings: Proverbs 14:6-14; Mark 1:1-15

I will never forget my 50^th birthday. The day before, two friends and myself along with five of our children had set off late afternoon on our way to the 'Bridge to Nowhere.' It is located in an area of land west of Raetihi that was allotted to returned servicemen following World War I with the hope that they could establish farms there. Most of it was covered in dense bush and the men and their families had to live in tents until they could build more permanent dwellings. Although many persevered for up fifteen years, the project was a failure because of its isolation, and the difficulty in maintaining a road through the area. The steepness of the terrain meant there were frequent slips and the road required constant attention. The government eventually gave approval for building the bridge over the 40m chasm that divided the area with the hope that it would link it to farmlands to the west. However it came too late, as by the time it was completed most of the families had gone. These young men gave the best years of their lives to break in the countryside, plant pasture and rear stock, only to find that the difficulty of access made it unprofitable. Most of them walked off their properties with nothing to show for years of heartbreaking toil. All that is there today are small signs with the surname of the family that farmed the land. We joked that we had dinner at McDonalds when we walked the track, at which people would raise their eyebrows thinking, "I didn't know there was a McDonalds there!" We said that because where we cooked and ate dinner was on a property once farmed by someone named McDonald.

The bridge that was eventually built is called the 'Bridge to Nowhere' as it is literally in the middle of nowhere. You can access it like we did by a full days walk from the nearest road, or by taking a jet boat or canoe up the Wanganui River and walking half an hour from the Mangapurua Landing. This was how the early settlers did it, coming up the river by steamboat, like this one, and walking into the area. They could have done with the concrete structure of the bridge then as in those early days their only way of crossing into the farmland beyond was on a platform hung from four strands of number eight wire that straddled the chasm. It was not for the fainthearted, as the platform with no sides, would run down the wire to the centre of the chasm and then you had to pull yourself up to the other side. It is a fascinating story worth reading.

However, back to my 50^th birthday. The eight of us set off in high spirits about 5pm in the afternoon. We had studied the map and knew that we did not take the first track to the right to get to where we were going. It was a steady climb to the top of the first hill. At least being late in the day it was cooler for tramping but I remember as we neared the top of the hill my friend was literally glowing from the effort, as he was not very fit. It looked like he could blow a fuse, his face was so red. I was in front when just on dusk we came to the first fork in the track, and thinking this was the intersection where we took the track to the left we headed on our way, thankfully heading downhill now. As darkness set in we stopped to pitch our tents and cook tea. The only flat area was in the middle of the track. The next day we packed and headed on our way passing the odd lonely chimney stack, the only evidence of habitation. There was an eeriness about the place, almost as if the ghosts of those who had once lived there were still around. By midday we reached a place where the track finished. Beyond the fence there was farmland with stock grazing. "That can't be right," we thought. "Where's the bridge?" The others stayed while I ran on further to see what was ahead. It was soon very obvious that we had come the wrong way, and when we studied the map again we realised our mistake. As you can imagine none of us took favourably to the prospect of having to retrace our steps to where we had gone astray, and then start down the right track late in the day. We celebrated my birthday that evening. My friends had packed a small bit a fruitcake with a candle so that there would be something to mark the occasion. But I remember feeling bad as I was largely responsible for leading them astray. The next day three of the younger ones did not want to continue, so they headed back with one of my friends while the other friend, Jane, Bryony and myself set out for the bridge. Eventually only three of us got to the bridge itself, as my friend's knee began to play up and he waited where we had decided to camp for the night, a few kilometres short of our goal.

I share this story to illustrate a very important truth. When we set off on the wrong track we didn't have a clue that we were heading in the wrong direction. Sure, we had studied the map. But if you have done any tramping you soon realise that what is on the map looks quite different once you get into the bush. It looks so simple on paper, but not always so once you are actually there. Often there are no landmarks to plot your course from, and it was all completely new territory to us. We thought we had got the directions right, but we did not realise our mistake until we had virtually gone half a day tramping with heavy packs. Our experience illustrates something that is true in real life. It is so easy to be on the wrong track in life and be unaware of the fact. We might think it is right and go blithely on our way not realising that it will not get us to where we want to go. Until we come to realise that we are headed in the wrong direction, and become convinced of it, there is no valid reason to turn back. You may recall the phrase, "ignorance is bliss." Ignorance is not bliss if it is leading you along a path that will be harmful to your future wellbeing. The Bible says in Proverbs, "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death."[1] No one in their right mind would want to take the road that leads to their being eternally separated from God. This is why the Bible is so precious. We are literally lost without it. And it is why it has often been likened to a roadmap, because as we study its teachings carefully and put them into practise, it keeps us on the pathway that leads to Life!

 

In the passage we read this morning from Mark's Gospel Jesus spoke about the 'kingdom of God' and what we needed to do to line up our lives with God's purposes. Jesus wants us to have a much broader and higher perspective on life. The essence of life is about God's reign and rule, both on earth and in heaven. God is the One who is in charge here. He is overseeing the course of human history, and your life and mine is inextricably linked to him. Thinking of this in relation to our tramping experience, if we had an aerial perspective on where we were, we would have known immediately where the bridge was located and what track to take, and would not have gone astray. This is what the map eventually enabled us to do. Of course it would have been better if we had read it right in the first place. This is what the Bible helps us to do with life. It's like a global positioning device. It can pinpoint where we are in relation to where we should be. It provides access to reality, access to the truth. You and I desperately need that, as we are lost and doomed without it.

Recently I have been reading through the Book of Job. Without chapters one and two we would not be able to make sense of his story, because it is those very chapters that enable us to see the big picture, what is really going on. Namely, that it was God who allowed Satan to test Job, to strip him of all his worldly wealth, his children and his health, to take away everything he had apart from his life. We also know that Job had not done anything wrong to deserve what had happened to him, but that he was being tested. God was proving to Satan that Job was a "blameless and upright" man. When we come to Job's friends we find that they have only one explanation for their friend's plight, namely that Job must have done something terribly wrong for this evil to befall him. According to their limited perspective there was no other explanation, and no amount of Job's claiming it was otherwise could shake them of this conviction. They consistently and persistently accused Job of error. They could not entertain the idea that God might have allowed this calamity to come on Job to test his integrity.

But is not this true of us, as well. So often we look at things from a merely human perspective, just like Peter did. After confessing Jesus to be the Messiah, Peter rebuked Jesus for saying he would suffer and die at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law. What Jesus said to Peter on that occasion he could well say to us: "You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns."[2] This is why Paul counsels Christians to "...set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."[3] Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is near."[4] God's reign and rule is immanent. The world is different since the coming of Christ. Like what was said at the beginning of Tolkien's trilogy Lord of the Rings -

The World has changed

I feel it in the water

I feel it in the earth

I smell it in the air[5]

The world is different now from what it was before Christ came. You can feel it in the earth, you can sense it in the air. Now is the time to put our lives in order so that they line up with God kingdom purposes for the world, "to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ."[6] We need to see God's purpose in sending Christ. Through Christ's coming, one day "...the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,"[7] for Jesus Christ has both made him known and knowable. This is the essence of eternal life,[8] knowing God personally and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. This is the first truth that comes out in the words of Jesus in Mark 1:15 - "The kingdom of God is near."

In light of this fact Jesus then says there are two things we need to do. First, we are to "Repent" and secondly, we are to "believe the good news!" Let us consider them one at a time.

First, to "repent:" what does it mean? Literally it means to turn, to change direction, in the sense that you have a radical and fundamental turnaround in the way you think about life that sets your life in an entirely new direction. Life is now seen from a different perspective. There has been a paradigm shift in your mindset that causes you to live differently. Recently I came across this helpful definition of a 'paradigm shift.' A paradigm is a model consisting of shared assumptions regarding what works or what is true. A paradigm shift is that "aha!" moment when one sees things in such a new light that one can never go back to the old ways again. Each paradigm shift takes us from a model of thinking that we must discard to a new model that we must embrace. It sets you on a new direction. But before this can happen, you have to be convinced that the path you are currently on is wrong. It is like the experience I had on my fiftieth birthday. We thought we were on the right track, but we had got it wrong. It was this realisation that we were on the wrong path that persuaded us to turn around and head back the way we came and head down the right track. You need to be absolutely convinced and convicted that the path you are on is wrong before you can repent. Repentance does not make any sense otherwise. You would be quite right in asking, "Why do I need to repent?" There is nothing wrong with the path I am on. This is why the Bible is so helpful. It tells us plainly, as we read a few moments ago, "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." Jesus put it very simply. He said there are only two ways to take in life, and you enter each way through a gate. He said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."[9] What could be simpler than that? He is saying that there is a path that leads to life, and a path that leads to destruction. He urges us to "enter through the narrow gate," along the path the leads to life. The question you and I need to answer is, "Which gate will I go through, or have gone through?" "Where do I want to end up?" You need to know where you are now, to make an informed decision as to whether you are headed in the direction you want to go.

Maybe this morning you are on the right path, and you need encouragement to persevere and stay on it because life has been difficult for you of late. Jesus said this road would be narrow and possibly lonely as not many go that way. Or maybe you have realised that you are on the wrong path, and that you need to retrace your steps and go through the narrow gate. This is what repentance means, coming to the realisation that you are headed in the wrong direction, and making a definite decision to do an about turn and go along the road that leads to life. This is what the prodigal son had to do. He realised he had made a big mistake doing what he did. He thought living life to the full was having wild parties, but when his money and his phoney friends had gone, he realised the truth. It was just a charade, a sham, empty, hollow and meaningless. True there were restraints living in his Father's house. But that was where he belonged, not in the pigsty. He knew he would never know peace until he returned and acknowledged his error. The wonderful part in this story is that despite all he had done, his father was waiting for him to come home, wanted him to come home, and welcomed him with open arms. What the father did in that story was unheard of in middle-eastern lands. In fact, it was outrageous. Having asked for his share of his father's inheritance before the father was dead was tantamount to wishing that he were dead. And then for the father to welcome his wayward son back in the way that he did was beyond comprehension. But God is like that, extravagant with his grace, his undeserved favour. Someone wrote that unless you know you are a sinner, you cannot understand the grace of God. God is infinitely patient, infinitely kind. In love he calls us, he counsels us, he commands us to "repent." This is the first step to getting our lives in line with God's kingdom purposes. Jesus said there are two ways, Which way are you on this morning?

Secondly, Jesus said, "believe the good news." We have begun to touch on this already in the story of the prodigal son. Today is a day of grace, a day of opportunity to set things right, to put things straight. It is not too late. No matter how far you have wandered away, until Christ returns it is never too late. No one is beyond the 'pale' if they are willing to humble themselves before God, acknowledge their sin, turn from their sinful ways and seek God's forgiveness. The good news is that "...Jesus came into the world to save sinners," that God "wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth;" that Jesus is the "one mediator between God and human beings ... who gave himself as a ransom for all people."[10] When He died on the cross he paid in full the debt we and all humankind owed.

Note the tone of urgency in what Jesus says in Mark. You can detect it in the words, "The kingdom of God is near," and that the words "repent" and "believe" are in the second person plural present imperative tense. Therefore it is imperative that we do these two things - "repent" and "believe". They cannot be put off or delayed. You must not procrastinate. I urge you as Paul urged the Corinthian believers "not to receive God's grace in vain ...now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation."[11] And he reminds us, "It's no light thing to know that we'll all one day stand in the place of judgment. That's why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God."[12] Or to encourage them on to the right path.

I liken the 'Bridge to Nowhere' to being on the wrong path, the way that leads to death. Did you know that there is also a 'Bridge to Somewhere.' It is not too far away from the other bridge, and was built . In real life Jesus is that 'bridge to somewhere.' He will bring meaning and purpose into your life. You will know that your life has significance that reaches beyond time into eternity. He is the 'good news.'