Psalm 104: 10-14

He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate – bringing forth food from the earth:  

 

This Sunday’s Psalms remind me of the spring of 1994, when I dozed off in a stationary car, on a grassy verge off a quiet Pennsylvania rural road after lunch. Keeping me company were my 3-yearold son and two of my best friends, CY and WK. WK was en-route from a meeting, and CY had come to America to commence his Masters in Counselling at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. He had spent several years as a full-time Church co-ordinator in Singapore and chosen to forsake a career as a trained lawyer to be a counsellor. Those were indeed glorious days amongst friends, as we helped CY settle in.

In parting, CY presented my wife and I with a copy of Scott Peck’s The Road Less Travelled, and penned on the inside cover, “ …in one’s life journey, there are difficult, or at least more difficult moments, when the help of those who had walked the way before is of immeasurable help…”

The term ‘the road less travelled’ has its origins in the poem The Road Not Taken, written by the august American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963). ” …….Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.”

There have been many interpretations of Robert Frost’s work, many of whom might have perhaps over read the simple intent of this naturalist poet. To analyse it any further here would be to deny the reader the pleasure of their own discovery. So today, on this 7th Sunday in Easter after the Feast of the Lord’s Ascension, we recall God’s glory in the wonders of the earth around us, rejoice in the bonds of friendship, and journey the road less travelled, all with the full assurances that Jesus walks the way before us always……..Alleluia!

(Picture from visitPA.com)

From, The Road less Travelled, a reflection first contributed to The Apostle, a newsletter of the Catholic Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Singapore. Seventh Sunday of Easter 5 June 2011