Pilgrimage

 " A pilgrimage is a journey undertaken in the light of a story.  A great event has happened; the pilgrim hears the reports and goes in search of the evidence, aspiring to be an eyewitness.  The pilgrim seeks not only to confirm the experience of others first hand but to be changed by the experience." 

Paul Elie, 

The Life you Save May Be Your Own.  

Years ago I received a gift certificate for Barnes and Noble Bookstores.  One of my favorite things in the world are books.  Books that tells stories, either real or imagined.  Books that take me to someplace I have yet to visit.  Books that help me attach language to my experience in life.  Books of any kind.  

The most wonderful thing about this gift was that I was able to walk into this favorite store and pick out the book of my choice and take it home.  As I write this, it sounds like a very young child is speaking.  But, I was not a young child.  I was a grown woman, yet this really was how it felt.  

This was a time in my life when my children were young, my life was in the midst of much change and money was sparse.  The freedom to choose a special book felt very luxurious.  What would I choose?  

"A pilgrimage is a journey undertaken in the light of a story." 

As I wandered into this familiar store, I can see in my minds eye the setting.  My daughter who also loves books and did from a very young age, was with me.  We had a long standing pattern.  She would go off to the children's section, I would wander to the religion or spirituality section.  Each looking forward to the time to explore the books, the worlds that awaited us.  I had promised her that we would both be able to take a book home.  What would we choose? 

Lent is a time when we are asked to be self reflective.  We are asked to look at our story and honestly share with God what we know. We are also invited to ask God for help in those places that feel hard.  

"A great event has happened; the pilgrim hears the reports and goes in search of the evidence, aspiring to be an eyewitness. "

This day was a day like so many, the story of my life was unfolding and I had no idea where it was taking me.  My call to ministry had been affirmed by my congregation and my Bishop.  I was in seminary and  had two small children.  This pilgrim knew that God was calling, knew that the longing for God would not let up.  But what on earth was I supposed to do?  I have always looked for answers, confirmation or direction in the written word.  On this day I wander, yet again, into the religion section of this familiar place.  

The title of the book jumped out at me very quickly.  The Life You Save May Be Your Own, by Paul Elie.  I pulled it out of the stacks and as was my practice sat down near by.  As I opened the pages I was transported into the lives of four very different people.  This book weaves the lives of Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Walker Percy and Flannery O'Conner together.  Each of these people were faithful pilgrims and became devote catholics.  Each suffered much and found their faith and meaning in God and the written word.  

We are each pilgrims and we are each exploring  our relationship with God from the place of our own specific story.  But the most wonderful thing about God is that each of our individual stories intersect, each of our lives are part of the larger story that is of God.  

Many years have passed since my daughter and I left that store, each with a new treasure.  I read the first quarter of the book and it is adorned with many highlights and words in the margins.  But never finished.  At the beginning of Lent this year, I decided that I wanted to read the book again and finish it this time. 

Listening to books in some form has become something I really love.  I can listen in my car, on walks or anytime.  I decided that I would listen to these stories being told.  What a blessing.  I am already far passed my stopping point the last time.  But, as I write this, I smile and think, I am much further down the path of my own journey than I was when I first picked up the book.  

  

"The pilgrim seeks not only to confirm the experience of others first hand but to be changed by the experience." 

I invite you to think of yourself as a pilgrim.  What has been your story and how have others helped you along the way?  People we know and people we will never meet change our lives.  We are changed when we enter into the practice of paying attention, of listening to the lives around us.  We are changed when we experience our lives as one individual, yet part of a larger story.  

"Pilgrims often make the journey in company, but each must be changed individually; they must see for themselves, each with his or her own eyes.  And as they return to ordinary life the pilgrims must tell others what they saw, recasting the story in their own terms."

As christians our faith is formed in response to the story of Jesus life, death and resurrection.  As this time of year, we are called to remember that story in very real and personal ways.  Jesus came and taught, lived and died so that we could enter into that story and make it our own.  

It is powerful to reflect on all the changes and blessings that have been significant to my faith in the time since I first picked up this book. God continues to tell the story through each of us.  

As we enter the second week of Lent, what is your story?  Is there someone's life that has been a particular inspiration to you?  

Hello pilgrim, we are on this journey together, you are not alone.  But your story, your life, is yours, its special.