Approx. read time: 2:20 min.

The Sea of Galilee was the locus of life for Jesus and his early followers. It is the place of our invitation into a new way, into life. (Photo: M. Hundley)

Living on Pandemic Time makes me forget that Easter was only four and a half weeks ago. Pentecost, only two and a half weeks ahead, seems a dot on the horizon.

Easter and Pentecost—visible, colorful, joyful events. But these days I am noticing the invisible thread that connects the two. An invisible assignment, really, an invitation written as plain as day in the Easter Gospels.

The risen Lord entrusts news of the assignment to Mary of Magdala: Go, tell my brothers, my sisters, my kin of the heart, to meet me in Galilee.

Why Galilee? Why can’t he be here now?

Think back. Galilee is the place of first calling, first love, the place where the journey began.

After Jesus’ resurrection, Galilee is the place of new mission for his followers. The place where they will receive the outpouring of Spirit of the Living God.

Been there before?

Perhaps you’ve experienced Galilee. My first time was at age four, when my family journeyed for an overnight on the northern Oregon coast. As I bedded down and waited for the Ocean to sleep, I received my first intuition of the vastness of God. 

I fell into pure Mystery. And I loved it. I felt safe, and held. I felt known, and secure. Even in this creaky, drafty old Astoria hotel I slept in peace.

I found myself returning to Galilee at age 30 with early stirrings to give myself in a fuller way to this unfathomable Mystery. 

I entered graduate studies, got a degree in theology. One thing led to another. 

And now I rise up from life-in-pandemic, sensing that more assignments await me. So once again I journey to Galilee, anticipating encounter with the risen Lord. Anticipating Pentecost.

I want to encounter the risen Lord. Not as I imagine, but as he desires, in the ways that only I can, given the life that only I have been given to live.

Things you need to know before you go

To prepare for your journey to Galilee, first, just know that you will be given neither roadmap nor directions. Galilee is a place of the heart. It is your place of first calling, first love, the place where your journey with the Lord began.

Second, you will not know what, or whom, you are looking for, or waiting for. You journey only with invitation in hand.

Third, your experience in Galilee—Pentecost—will equip you for works and ways of being beyond what you have known. You will feel like a branch growing out from the true Vine. You will bear fruit. This is the point of the Christ-centered life.

Shall we journey together? Let me know your thoughts!

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