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Philippe
Petit is a high-wire artist. Those of you who are old enough may remember him
from 1974 when he walked a high wire between the twin towers of the World Trade
Center, those two towers that no longer exist. In his book, released in 2009,
Petit talks about the experience. He sounds matter-of-fact about an experience
that makes most of us cringe in terror. When asked why he balanced precariously
on a tiny steel cable and walked between the twin towers, he said. “When I see three oranges, I juggle. When I
see two towers, I walk.” Unlike most of us though, Petit chooses to walk many
feet above the earth with nothing to protect him from falling except his own
skill and the grace of God.
Lent
is our invitation to walk the high wire. Jesus is an invitation to risk, an
invitation to engage in a life that goes beyond the mundane and the predictable
and enters the sphere of adventure.
I don’t
know about any of you, but I am terrified of heights. Just reading about
Philippe Petit’s exploits makes me a little dizzy. Watching him on the T.E.D.
talk he gave in 2012 reminds me again that I have no temptation at all to try
it out. And yet…and yet, there’s something about him, even for those of us who
are terrified of heights that fascinates us. His books sell worldwide. And his
illegal artistic adventure of walking between the twin towers captured the eyes
of people around the world. Anyone near a television tuned in to watch. Perhaps
it was the foolishness of risk that drew us.
In his
T.E.D. talk in 2012, https://www.ted.com/talks/philippe_petit_the_journey_across_the_high_wire#t-1158395,
Petit talks about the beginnings of his magic, his juggling, and his walking the
high wire. He gives a list of what got him to where he is.
Passion
Tenacity
Intuition
Faith
Improvisation
Inspiration
These are
the qualities we seek in the Christian life. These are the things that keep us
going even when we are tired and discouraged. Petit describes each quality in
his talk, but the last three are the ones that can capture our imagination and
give us strength for following Jesus. They are the qualities Jesus exhibits is
his life, death, and resurrection.
Petit
describes Faith as what replaces doubt, improvisation as knowing that you can
cheat the impossible, and inspiration that by inspiring yourself you can
inspire others.
Stepping
onto the wire requires preparation. It requires knowing it is you and Christ.
Petit says when he puts his foot on the wire he knows he will not fall because
there is nothing there except him and the wire. When we step out there is
nothing but Jesus and us. And this is everything.
This is
what Jesus encounters in his walk to the cross: nothing but himself and God and
that is everything.
To see
that we stay on the wire, rather than slip and fall, requires there being
nothing there except Christ and us.
The world
is a seductive and powerful place, it waits for us in the wilderness of our
lives, in the same way the evil one waited for Jesus in the wilderness. Our
foot will slip and our concentration will waver if we take our eyes off Christ.
Lent is
our time to refocus our eyes on Christ.
We all are
at risk of falling, yet we have a God who bears us up and sends us out. Go
ahead; put your foot on the wire. Step out. Keep your eye on Christ. It is you
and he. Keep your eyes on him. AMEN.
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