The Power of a Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage is a sacred tradition in religion. Christianity does not hold the reins of the pilgrimage, since people were walking to visit holy sites long before Jesus ever walked around Galilee. The Jewish tradition of visiting the Temple (today, the Wailing Wall) predates Christian pilgrimages. Muslims also have a tradition of pilgrimage, walking to Mecca on the Hajj. Today, thousands of people make pilgrimages in all sorts of ways in order to connect with God, with themselves, and their communities. Stories about pilgrimage are fascinating since each one is very different.

Personally I have a couple of pilgrimage stories. As a teenager in the Journey to Adulthood Sunday School program, my class made a pilgrimage to San Francisco and the one of the Redwood Forests. Directly after seminary, before I started my first paid job in ministry, I made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, walking the land which Jesus and millions of other Christians have walked.

What's your pilgrimage story?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nicodemus's Questions

31 May 2015 O God of infinite possibilities, you have revealed yourself in so many ways. Help us to see you in your work of recreating the world in love, justice, and peace, through your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen. I love to ask questions. When I went to college my father looked at me and said, “I’m so glad I can finally pay someone else to answer all your questions.” Apparently I asked him a few too many questions as a kid. We all know those children, the little ones that wander around asking why every time you say something. After only a little while, How? And Why? Become the worst two words in the history of the English language.  Some questions come about simply through curiosity. We want to know how or why something is the way it is. Some are simply practical. What time should we meet? Where would you like to meet? What do you need from the store? Some are more culturally or politically influenced. Since moving to Texas, the rate at which I have bee...
Read more

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday 3/1/17 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Paradox always seems to hit in the most sacred of moments. Today, I am experiencing some serious conflict between what we have come here together to do this morning and the gospel passage for today. Ash Wednesday is best known for the imposition of ashes in the sign of the cross on our foreheads, but it is also known as a major fast day for the Church. A day where people give up food, sweets, meats, and all manner of other things in order to focus on God. Yet, in the gospel passage from Matthew, Jesus tells us very specifically not to make it known to everyone that we are fasting… which is slightly incongruous with putting ashes on our heads. Paradoxical? Maybe. Hypocritical? Maybe. The true question underneath this ironic situation is, “What is appropriate piety to practice?” This passage in Matthew is structured around the three major ways of the Jewish tradition to practice piety, to practice following their beliefs. First, alm...
Read more

Joy

2/8/18 Joy Joy: (talking to herself) Yes, Joy? Joy: You'll be in charge of the console, keeping Riley happy all day long. And may I add I love your dress, it's adorable. [Joy begins to happily twirl around] Joy: Oh, This ol' thing? Thank you so much, I love the way it twirls... - Disney Pixar's Inside Out Joy is deeper than happiness. Joy is a deep seated calm emotion which underlies other emotions and moods throughout the day. Its a way of living in gratitude and relationship with God. Happiness comes and goes throughout our lives, but joy endures, despite hardships. Joy is the foundation which allows people to be content, to thrive, to be pleasant even when bad things are happening in their lives. You can find the word joy over three hundred times in the English NRSV of the Bible. From the beginning to the end, joy is present throughout the scriptures. People sing with joy, people dance in joy, people enjoy the fruits of their labor, God blesses...
Read more