Companions for the Journey

“My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me” —Psalm 101:6 (NIV)

In Psalm 101 the psalmist simultaneously praises God for God’s righteousness and also commits to live in certain ways in response to that righteousness. Some of these vows are standard fare in the Psalms and wisdom literature: the writer intends to lead a blameless life, rejecting vile actions, pride, deceit, and slander. But in verse 6 there is a line that may perhaps surprise: “My eyes will be on the faithful in the land” because those “faithful” people will dwell with and minister to the psalmist.

This psalm is not a purely “individual psalm,” giving thanks for God’s righteous deeds or making lament at the piteous state of the writer’s life, nor is it a communal psalm, in which the gathered community of worshipers speaks of God’s action in terms of “we, our, and us.” The psalm does come from an individual’s mouth, but it speaks of the importance of community and companionship. Indeed, translations like the New Living Translation render the last part of the verse, “that they may dwell with me,” as simply “to be my companions.”

And we know the value of good companionship, right? For some of us, we have made it through the past two years of pandemic life precisely because of our companions; even if we have only been able to communicate using electronic means, those deep and good friendships have sustained us through these difficult times. 

But for others, we are currently in a dry season—a lonely season—because we do not have good companions at the moment. Whether it is due to a job change, a divorce, or other relational difficulties, perhaps you are feeling that lack in your life. You don’t have faithful companions, and you know that you need some.

As a church historian, I firmly believe that this is where the Christian tradition can come to our aid. You see, Psalm 101 isn’t just talking about any old friends, but rather about faithful ones, the kind described in the very first psalm: they aren’t wicked or mockers or scoffers, but instead they are the righteous ones who meditate on God’s law day and night. Where do we find friends like that? Well, we can find them in our present-day lives… and we can also find them in church history.

Our brothers and sisters among some Christian fellowships call these people “saints.” But it is not necessary to accept all of the theology that our brothers and sisters espouse about the saints in order to be inspired by the saints. They are part of that great cloud of witnesses that the author of Hebrews mentions (12:1), the continuation of the great heroes of faith in the Bible. They motivate us to continue running the Christian race with perseverance, and to throw off the sin that so easily entangles us. 

So, who are these people? Beginning with the martyrs in the earliest days of the church and continuing on to the great exemplars of the faith through the centuries, they are the ones who have gone before us, showing us what discipleship to Jesus looks like. Some of them are famous (like St. Francis of Assisi); others are less well-known (Google Maximilian Kolbe some time), and still others are only remembered among their families, churches, tribes, or people-groups. They are individuals of different ages and genders and nationalities and time periods who show us what a life dedicated to Jesus looks like, in all the particularities of their own times and cultures. 

In the coming months, I intend to post occasionally to Mosaic, telling you the story of one or more saints of the Christian faith. My hope is to give you a broader vision of what it might look like to follow Jesus in your context. 

My rationale comes from the mind and heart of a youth minister in Poland in the years after World War II. He ministered to young people in the aftermath of that awful war and in the early years of the Soviet era of Eastern Europe. He saw how difficult it was for young people in the modern age to follow an ancient rabbi from the Middle East. Later, as his career progressed, he eventually took a new job in his church and became known as Pope John Paul II. During the 26 years of his papacy, he canonized more individuals as saints in his church tradition than did the 500 years of popes before him combined! I’m not aware that he ever said explicitly why he did this, but the two popes after him have continued this practice. I suspect that it has to do with those early days of his ministry, as he watched young people struggle to follow the Lord in a world that was actively opposed to discipleship. 

And to be honest, things haven’t changed: it’s still hard to follow Jesus! Our world is very different from that of the ancient church—most of us aren’t shepherds, or farmers, or tent-makers—and we need examples to follow. Just as Paul encouraged the Corinthian church in 1 Cor. 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (NRSV), so we will see others we can imitate insofar as they imitate Jesus.

In other words, we will keep our eyes on the faithful in the land, that they may become our companions.