Pilgrimage

“Faith is not the clinging to a shrine,
but an endless pilgrimage of the heart.”

Abraham Joshua Heschel

We took the cog railway to the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire a few years ago. Travelling up the steep incline in a safe, protected cab, we passed the tree line, a huge boulder field and arrived at the top in an unwelcoming mixture of wind, driving rain, cold temperatures and fog. Our temporary discomfort and risk was nothing compared to that taken by adventurers who hiked the distance, frequently passing markers with names of people who had perished on the same journey in the past. They had a more intimate knowledge of the mountain and its moods and gained strength and wisdom during the challenging trek.

Hikers on Mount Washington NH

It is easy to give advice to others about where they should go and how to get there. It is harder to allow them to take their own pilgrimage, perhaps on an alternate path with different experiences, making mistakes and learning their own lessons. It is especially difficult to free our grown children to forge their own way in life.

There comes a time when we need to walk away from our shrines and become a pilgrim. Shrines can feel safe with someone there telling you what to think or do, saying this is the best or only destination. We may receive rote answers to hard questions, and acceptance from the group who hangs out there with us. We tend to unfairly judge those who are in different places, but in time we will see cracks and weaknesses in our own shrines as well. Shrines come in many forms and may be religious, political, career based or even family oriented. 

Jesus called a group of disciples to join him in a pilgrimage. They travelled with their teacher but never envisioned where the journey would ultimately lead them. He taught hard truths in parables leaving his followers with more questions than answers. He encouraged them to walk away from the rigid rules and expectations of religion to seek righteousness, truth, justice and reconciliation with God and man. 

Toll road along the Devil's Spine, Durango-Mazatlan Highway, Mexico

The chaplain at a hospital where I worked was a Kenyan lady, gracious, wise, and from an evangelical Christian denomination. She supervised chaplaincy students from different faiths, and worked with a diverse group of patients. When I asked her how she reconciled her own beliefs with her work at the hospital where proselytization is discouraged she said,

“Everyone is on a spiritual journey. My job is to find out where they are and to walk beside them.”

We will cross paths with other pilgrims. We may share a table briefly or stay with them for a longer season, and we may journey alone at times.

I once had a patient who told me, 

“I have gone through life with a pickaxe, pulling myself up a rock face,”

Above average intelligence, education, and good looks did not smooth the scarring from abusive relationships, years of mental and physical illness, job loss and community disconnection. Life was a struggle but she was still fighting to make it to the summit. She talked about life “outside the village” and her “misfit” faith which was not understood in any church she had attended. She had not found acceptance in shrines and had travelled alone much of her life. I marvelled at her insight and her inability to find an easier route on her pilgrimage. Surely there was a paved road somewhere on her journey. 

In my much easier path, I have had spiritual mentors from every walk of life. I have grown in strength in times of uncertainty and in times of favour. I want to continue my travels in wide open spaces, not in walled rooms. 

Blessed are those whose strength is in you (Yahweh);

    who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage.

Passing through the valley of Weeping, 

they make it a place of springs.

    Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings.

They go from strength to strength.

    Everyone of them appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 84: 5-7 (World English Bible)

I am currently reading Three Mile an Hour God by Kosuke Koyama. It is interesting to read a book about our spiritual journey written from an Asian perspective rather than with a North American bias. I may write more about the book later, but, in keeping with the theme of this post, the author illustrates how God moves with us at a walking speed in our journey through life. The pace is not hurried and the destination is always ahead of us. 

Labyrinth, Picton Ontario

Edited and updated from a post originally published on Body Soul and Spirit August 6, 2016