This reflection was originally published on March 7th, 2020.

Back in the world of large sailing ships, it was not possible to safely sail through the mouth of a harbour. Instead, the ship would sail close to the harbour and drop one anchor. A small vessel, a forerunner would come out and row her other anchor into the harbor and set it firmly into an anchorage that was suitable for the ship. From the moment the forerunner set the anchor, the ship was safe from any storms. Once that anchor was set and the fullness of the tide had arrived, the ship could then winch herself into the harbour.

In Hebrews 6:19-20, it says, “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind
the curtain [the Holiest of Holies], where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.” Jesus is the forerunner of our soul. His work of carrying the cross-shaped anchor into the port of God’s holy temple has secured our safe passage into heaven.

The captain of the sailing vessel had to have implicit faith in the skill and integrity of the forerunner. They would make sure that the anchor was not set weakly or in soft sand that may shift and loosen, but that it is set so that it grips the solid rock. Jesus anchors us in the in the love of God, of whom Isaiah 26:4 says, “In the Lord God you have an everlasting rock,” and in John 14:3, Jesus hints at the job description of the forerunner, where he says of himself, “I [will] go and prepare a place for you.”

There will be the final voyage to our home port, to our haven of rest, but in the meantime we have our purposes to fulfil. Harbours are where we pick up and deliver our cargoes. We are working vessels and can expect some high seas adventures, some storms to pass through, and perhaps a bit of damage. Calm waters do not make skilled sailors.

Perhaps we can think of Lent as a harbour where we unload what needs to be unloaded from our lives, where we get some repairs for what damage has been done to us, and where we are loaded with whatever cargo God wants us to deliver to fulfil his providence in the lives of others.