Walk Before Me
I highly recommend watching the CNN documentary¹ on Alexei Navalny if you haven’t already. While I had heard of Navalny in the news media, my knowledge of his life was limited to him being a Russian opposition leader who was poisoned by Kremlin agents and later imprisoned. The documentary starts after Navalny survived the assassination attempt in 2020. Following his escape to Germany and recovery, Navalny collaborated with investigative reporters to expose the Russian agents who had used the chemical nerve agent novichok in the unsuccessful attempt to poison him. Navalny’s sense of humor, determination, and especially his courage were captivating. I was also struck by the courage of his wife, Yulia Navalny, who continues to fight for her husband’s cause, the freedom of Russia, despite her deep grief over his tragic loss.
Navalny had a checkered and conflicted past, having once been associated with ultra-right-wing anti-immigrant political groups. He also used to be an atheist. However, in 2021, after recovering from the attempt to poison him, he found a new conviction and trust in God and converted to Christianity. Despite knowing he would likely be arrested, tried, and imprisoned, Navalny decided to return to Russia from Germany that same year. In the CNN documentary, there was a touching scene where Navalny, along with the camera crew and his wife, spent a few moments in silent prayer before leaving his apartment in Germany. He then said, “Let’s go, with God’s speed.”
As predicted, upon his arrival in Moscow, Navalny was arrested and later moved to a jail cell in a facility north of the Arctic Circle, where temperatures in the winter often reached 30 degrees below zero. Tragically, on February 16th, Navalny died suddenly, most likely due to another assassination attempt. During his trial in Moscow, he said to the judge, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” He continued, “I’ve always thought that this particular commandment is more or less an instruction to activity. And so, while certainly not really enjoying the place where I am, I have no regrets about coming back or about what I’m doing²”
Navalny’s life and death exemplify what Joseph Campbell refers to as “The Hero’s Journey.” “In such a journey³ the hero “falls through” what is merely their life situation to discover their Real Life, which is always a much deeper river, hidden beneath the appearances.” Navalny’s journey is reflected in the text from Mark’s Gospel, where Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
Last week, I delivered a sermon on the hero’s journey, using Noah’s passage on the ark through the flood and God’s Covenant promise symbolized by the rainbow as examples. I also shared the story of Alfred Rouleni, a safari guide from South Africa, who underwent his own hero’s journey as a child. At the age of thirteen, he survived alone in the jungle wilderness for six weeks as part of a rite of passage, ultimately discovering his identity as a member of his community.
However, upon reflecting on that sermon, I now have regrets about certain aspects. Specifically, there was a moment when I quoted a verse from Gen. 8.21 and imagined God saying, “I’m done trying to force humankind to change the way they behave. The flood did not cleanse the human heart of sin, and I’m not expecting human behavior to improve much in the future because the inclination of the human heart is evil from their youth⁴.” Even as I preached those words, they didn’t sit well with me, and this feeling was further affirmed when I returned home. Margaret, who watched the service online, told me, “That was an awful sermon. What were you thinking?” It’s a question I am still grappling with. Perhaps I was misguided by some puritanical tendency within me? Last week, I posed the question, “Are we truly that bad? Are we genuinely sinful?” The answer I provided leaned toward “Yes.” Today, I will revisit that question: “Are we really that bad?”
Our text from Genesis provides another example of a hero’s journey in the lives of Abraham and Sarah. Heroes are never perfect; they always possess flaws. Abraham, too, had a complex and troubled past. Years earlier, during their travels in Egypt, when they set out for the promised land, the Pharaoh was captivated by Sarah’s beauty and desired her. Instead of confronting the Pharaoh and risking his own safety, Abraham lied and claimed that Sarah was his sister to protect himself.
Years later, when Sarah was unable to conceive, she and Abraham, lacking trust in God’s promise that they would have as many descendants as the stars took matters into their own hands. They arranged for Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar, to sleep with Abraham, resulting in the birth of Ishmael. This decision caused tension in their marriage and brought about rejection and heartache for Hagar and Ishmael. However, in the text we are reading from Genesis this morning, God appears to Abraham again when he is 99 years old. Even though Paul describes Abraham as good as dead, God says, “Walk before me and be blameless.” One might expect God to say instead, “I will go ahead of you, and you shall follow me,” but rather, God says, “I’m going to follow you.” Why? Because I trust you, Abraham. I have confidence in you and in the decisions you will make.
During our Bible study this week, Rabbi Ellis⁵ shared an interesting perspective. He said that it’s as if God was saying, “Sure, I’m responsible for the whole universe and everything, but Abraham, you’re right there on the ground, and you can see things up close that I might not even notice. So I’m going to follow you. I know that you have intentionally placed your faith in me, and so I’m putting my faith in you.’ This doesn’t sound like a God who expects the worst from humankind, does it?
Last week, I read a verse from Genesis 8:21 that suggested we are as flawed and sinful as can be. Do we really make so many mistakes? Well, we certainly make mistakes along the way, just as I did last Sunday. But as we continue this journey into Lent, the words God spoke to Abraham are equally applicable to us: “Walk before me and be blameless.” Despite the errors we make, we carry within us the divine spark. We have the divine presence because we are holy in God’s sight. Even though we may not always recognize this or live up to it. We are created by God, and we come from God, who is perfect, We are called to walk with courage and faith, knowing that God walks behind us, confidently anticipating what we can achieve in His name.
In the whole tapestry of life, Navalny’s journey mirrors that hero’s path, echoing biblical tales of flawed yet redeemed figures like Abraham. So today, let’s heed God’s call to walk blamelessly, embracing our imperfections with courage, faith, and the certainty that, with divine guidance, we can shape a just and righteous world. Stand firm, act boldly, for in each step, God walks behind us.
1 CNN Documentary: Navalny
2 Google translation from trial script
3 Richard Rohr Daily Meditation
4 Rev David Atwood: Rainbow Covenant Journey
5 Rabbis Ellis: Lectionary Ball Game
