Saddle Up, Pilgrim
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Saint Augustine of Hippo
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of people and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Mark Twain
There are many reasons that I travel. Sometimes I am sharing my faith with folks on the Mainland who are hungry for good news. Sometimes I need to retreat in solitude to be renewed. Sometimes I am ready to party like a rock star in Las Vegas with a good friend. Sometimes I want to learn from a new culture and take a course to enrich my understanding of the world. Sometimes I travel solely to serve with an organization that is making a real difference. Sometimes I crave adventure and set off toward a distant land with absolutely no previously planned itinerary. But there is another kind of travel that is equal parts intention and openness, planned with a purpose in mind, but accepting of spiritual surprises along the way.
In the Christian tradition, we call this pilgrimage. It’s been an important part of my spiritual growth and awareness for many years. My first real pilgrimage was to the Holy Land in my 20’s, just after seminary. It changed my life in ways that I am still realizing today. Since that time, I have been blessed to experience all kinds of pilgrimages that have fed my soul and enhanced my relationship with God – everything from Celtic journeys to Iona in Scotland and hikes up Patrick’s Mountain in Ireland, to a Blues, Brews, and Pews trek through the Mississippi Delta. Lately, I sense that I am being called to lead a pilgrimage or two myself, to share what I’ve learned along the way with others who might seek to walk their prayers and experience for themselves the power of sacred sites and holy people in God’s world.
The idea of pilgrimage is rooted in the biblical narrative, from Abraham’s call to go to an unknown land so he could both be blessed and be a blessing to the world, to the children of Israel’s wandering in the Wilderness on their way from captivity in Egypt to a Promised Land, from Jesus’ 40 day hike in the desert as part of his own discernment process, to Paul’s missionary journeys in the Mediterranean and beyond. It has long been a part of the religious tradition as pilgrims have visited Mecca, the Holy Land, Lourdes, the Santiago de Compostela, and many other places in search of a deeper faith. Pilgrimage is part wanderlust, part intention, part openness, part prayer, part reading and reflection, part unexpected encounter, and part sharing with companions along the way. It is a journey taken slowly and deliberately for those seeking inspiration, insight, renewal, and healing. And, if undertaken with the right spirit and the right people, it can also be fun!
In future years, I hope to lead groups to the Celtic lands of Scotland, Wales, England, and Ireland. I’d also love to share the Memphis-to-Mississippi-to-New Orleans Blues and Jazz Journey. Perhaps even a trek along the Santiago de Compostela in Spain will come to pass. But the first pilgrimage that I will lead will be to the beautiful island of Molokai, right here in Hawaii, in the steps of Father Damien and Sister Marianne. Both of these saints have been sources of extraordinary encouragement to me. We will hike down (or saddle up and take the mule!) to Kalaupapa and spend the day in the place where Damien and Marianne ministered to those with Hanson’s disease. We’ll pray in several churches that Damien built. I’ll be presenting some meditations on the lives of these extraordinary saints of God. And we’ll have some time for recreation and renewal on Molokai’s quiet and secluded beaches. I will also arrange a visit to one of my favorite bookstores in Hawaii and perhaps a discussion with one of the world’s greatest photographers. We are tentatively looking at a 3-4 day pilgrimage in either March or April of 2015 for this Pilgrimage to Molokai. More information will be forthcoming. In the meantime, keep moving…
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.” T. S. Eliot
