A Message on Pilgrimage

As I begin writing this article, I am sitting in the airport waiting to board the plane. It is one of those interesting moments in life. We are about to begin a journey where we know the destination but not what we will be experiencing. We so often focus on the wrong reality in life. We get so focused on where we are heading that we lose opportunities to experience life in a new way. Life is not simply about the destination, but what we experience along the way. For it is these experiences that give deeper meaning or greater context to the destination. Not paying attention to them creates a lost opportunity. When we board the plane, we are of course not just heading on a trip or vacation, but a pilgrimage. And that makes a big difference; it should impact not simply the places we will visit but also the journey to those places. It is a chance to truly focus on our relationship with God without the normal distractions of life. It is a moment where our journey with God can be heightened and explored in a different context. But the most important reality is that this journey is not an end to itself. It is not about learning specific messages or finding answers. It is rather a means to an end. It is about discovering God in all aspects of our lives. The journey of our life is in itself a pilgrimage. We are all seeking to head to a particular place, heaven. And our God is on this journey with us. The problem is that we so easily forget about the destination that we lose the true context of our life's journey. As such, we create a false dichotomy where we place God in a box in order to contain Him; where we can then live life as we feel is best and only take God out of the box whenever we might need Him. We create our own final destination and craft our experiences around that. The problem is that whenever we run into a problem, whenever we get overwhelmed, whenever life seems to crush us, it is then we turn to God. We take him out of the box and want Him to fix what is broken, but on our terms; we require that He get us to our self-determined destination. The issue with this is that God does not work this way. And because God is not meeting our "needs" as we see and feel them to be, we blame Him for all the wrong that is happening in our lives; because He is not responding in the way we believe that He should, we have a hard time hearing Him and recognizing His presence in our lives. Hence, our past experiences are not able to help us to understand God's presence "when we need Him." Therefore, God is the problem. The story of salvation is a story of discovery by people open to God's presence in their lives who in their own journey lived a life of pilgrimage. God is discovered in the most unlikely places and moments; by people who did not try to contain God. Abraham heard the call of the Lord and left his home, family, and friends. He simply went without question. And through his long and diverse travel, he experienced God over and over again, which led him to place his trust and faith in the Lord even when he was called to sacrifice his own son. He knew God would provide the sacrifice. He did not know how, but he simply remained open to the Lord. Moses walked and discovered a burning bush and went to see it. He heard the voice of the Lord and found himself walking on holy ground. The journey he would experience was like no other. God used him as a powerful instrument and sign of His goodness. He brought the people of Israel forth from slavery to the promised land. He recognized the living God with him, stayed focused on God, and it made all the difference. Elijah heard the voice of the Lord and stood alone in the Kingdom of Israel when the people deserted the true faith. He stood against the King and Queen and paid a heavy price. But for him what was most important was staying focused on the presence of God in his life. He discovered him in a still whisper on a mountaintop. He let all the distractions of wind, fire, lightening go by and instead focused on how the living God chose to speak to him. There are so many other examples in the scriptures of people making a choice. It was a choice to seek God in the ordinary and extraordinary moments of their lives. It was about choosing to live a life of pilgrimage. Many people question how to do that. It begins with truly accepting that you are on a pilgrimage with the final destination being heaven. Also, that we cannot earn, merit or deserve to arrive at this final destination. Rather, we are completely dependent on God to achieve this goal. We then need to become people of prayer. Prayer not only as a means of communication but more. It is not about us telling God what needs to happen, but learning to listen. Recognize that God is in charge and that the ultimate goal of prayer is to grow in relationship with Him and come to fall in love with Him. Prayer as such is not just an action, but also an attitude. It is a way of looking at life where it is not a priority but THE priority of daily living because our relationship with God is what defines the life we desire to live. The choices we make matter. The question we need to ask ourselves is how will we choose to make those choices. Will it be a life centered in self where God is nicely contained, or a life of pilgrimage and discovering God's presence in our life? Ultimately the choice is yours. I pray we all choose to live the life of a pilgrim. If you have any questions about anything, please do not hesitate to call/text me at (978) 254-0560. If you prefer to email, please visit https://theholyrood.org/email-frbrian.