Our first Torches Across America ride in 2005 took a detour on the way to
Ground Zero. We didn’t know it at the time, being in the front of about 3200
motorcycles, the ride form Hope, New Jersey some 90 miles away had gone down
flawless. Except for needing gas along the way, we were invited to ride up
front, as we were a core group from California. After getting gas, I passed 18
miles of motorcycles to get back to our position....but all was going well until
we got to the Holland Tunnel, and we came to a halt. It seems the guys leading
us had come to the fork in the freeway and taken the wrong side, the one that
said Brooklyn, our destination, but we were going into New York City first. So
when we got to the tunnel, the Port Authority Police had opened it up again to
traffic, no one had notified them we were running late, and in the finest of New
Jersey traditions, had given us the Bronx cheer. So 18 plus miles of
motorcycles sat waiting for them to clear the tunnel again, clear a path past
Ground Zero, and finally the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. Which took over an hour,
so we all parked, no other choice, and had a block party. A taxi coming in from
another exit turned on his radio and some danced. Those behind him in cars got
out and mingled with us. We met many that day and took many photos, maybe just
another traffic jam in Hoboken, but when the Harleys came to Hoboken that day,
it was different. And a fitting way to end the celebration of those killed in
9/11, and to honor the first responders by just getting out and living life.
The PA Police excepted....
But the next year meeting at the Hoboken Motorcycle Clubhouse, you could
see the tunnel entrance from there, we were escorted back to our motel, being
told how dangerous it was to ride across town. So Triple E and is club escorted
us through the hometown of Ole Blue Eyes Sinatra, and to our motel on the
Passaic River, where signs warned of the water being contaminated, do not swim
or drink. And at a motel where the signs said “PARK AT YOUR OWN RISK” and they
meant it. So we had some of our group take turns standing guard. This was more
like the New Jersey I remember, but for that one afternoon in 2005, celebrating
9/11 heroes, the day the Harleys came to Hoboken, we all got along. Even a
wrong turn, a traffic jam, and stopping for gas hadn’t deterred us. For one
brief shining moment, we were all brothers and sisters in one accord, with a
commonality being 9/11. Even this Triumph guy was welcomed with only a few
British jokes to taunt him, and in return the Harley jokes flowed too.
In Acts 2:42 we see how the church was coming together in one accord, not
the Honda Accord, but in spirit. Many backgrounds and even ethnic types were
coming to Christ, and were meeting in homes. Sunday and other days, they were
having church, and doing the things that the spirit instructed them to do. They
were praying for each other, knowing God would answer, and expecting great
things. They were eating together, sharing the food they had, being blessed by
God in a time of fellowship. They were listening to the teaching of the word
from the apostles, no New Testament was written yet, they were living what would
become the book of Acts, and hung on every word. It wasn’t for the sake of
knowledge, it was wanting to know more about Jesus, to get closer to him, to be
like him, and to be in one accord in the spirit. When someone expressed a need,
no special offerings were taken, someone in the group would have what is needed,
and God would bless them by giving. They had a commonism, not a communism about
them, they supported each other in Christ, instead of the state supplying their
needs. This was church, and this was the example that Jesus set forth for us,
with him at the center. All were welcome, an excitement was growing, and soon
the gospel of Jesus Christ was going forth to other places. The church was
alive, it was growing, and would need good men to carry on God’s work. And in
the book of Timothy we see from Paul’s hand how god wanted it set up, and the
requirements of the men to do it.
Some men were noticeably changed by Jesus, while some remained quiet. But
when praying together, God raised up the ones he wanted, and they became the
deacons and elders of the church. Men held to a higher standard, as they would
be the hands and feet of Jesus that was taking the gospel into all the earth,
and needed to be right with God or the church would be led in the wrong
direction. Without the direction of the spirit, they had no direction other
than their own, and like the ride to Ground Zero, a sign could be misleading,
and cause a delay and trouble. Just like the churches of today.....right?
We live in strange times, 12 men cannot decide on a verdict, a couple
cannot agree and divorces. But on one 9/11 day, over 3000 motorcyclists came to
honor those that died. In one accord. A lesson I wish we could all learn about
Jesus, to come together in one accord, agreeing on what the spirit directs us to
do. In Acts they called it church, the gathering of the saints together. One
simple scripture in Acts defining what the church was to be, and who was to be
the head of it. The day the Harleys came to Hoboken the earth shook, the air
was filled with loud exhausts, and many new friends were made. Even a wrong
turn couldn’t deter us, amazing what we can do when we let God lead. For one
brief shining moment, there was Paradise. If it works in Hoboken, do you think
maybe it could work for you?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com