On the Way to the Way 2: The Sacred Journey 1: 3 Questions to begin with

So, as I said I have started my journey of walking through a journey of reading,  and thus I began reading the Sacred Journey by Charles Foster. As I am typing these words I currently sit at page 142 of 212, but I have already had so many ideas about blogs that I decided I will start now, as opposed to after I officially finish the book, which, given my current pace should be early next week. [Reading with an 8 month old is harder than I would have originally guessed]

I would like to begin where Mr. Foster begins in his preface, with three questions.

1. How did anyone ever think that a journey, such as a journey made by a barn swallow, had any religious significance?

2. Were they right?

3. If they were, what should we do with the insight?

Throughout his book Mr. Foster attempts to answer these questions, and today I will share a little of how he answers them, but mostly I will share how I do.

To begin with, how did anyone ever think that a journey had religious significance? Let me begin by asking you a question, have you ever taken a walk? And if you have, did you feel better or worse afterwards? My guess is that your answer to the first question would be, yes; and that your answer to the first would be, better, or at worst, both. That right there tells me why someone might think that there could be some sort of significance with taking a journey. When I go for a hike with Henry strapped to my chest I am often exhausted at the end, but my soul is so much lighter than it was when I began.

And if the journey has some significance why wouldn't it be religious? As Rob Bell made the case some years ago, EVERYTHING IS SPIRITUAL, we make distinctions between what God is and is not concerned about, but if we believe that God loves us, why should we not think that God is concerned with all matters of our lives, not just those we deem to be 'spiritual'? Is it not a spiritual experience to sit and watch the trees sway in the breeze? Is it not spiritual to open yourself to new people and experiences? I say, yes. And if that is the case than all significance is at base spiritual, and if all significance is at base spiritual than it should also be religious.

[perhaps the problem we run into is that religion has become encased in a bad rap of being institutional and hypocritical, it's not, it's adherents may be, but at base, religion is simply a communities attempt to understand something bigger together]

Secondly, were they right? As you may have guessed I strongly believe that they were. I, like Mr. Foster, believe that God is a God of the traveler, a God of those on the margins, a God of those who are in need. As Mr. Foster points out, God originally dwelt among his people in a movable ark (along with a pillar of fire and a column of clouds for that matter). And it was only with some convincing that God relented to the creation of a temple. Which makes me wonder if us in the church have done a grave disservice to God by calling the church the "House of God" isn't God bigger than our buildings? Isn't God's house all of creation? And even more so?

Abraham left, the Israelites wandered, David ran, Jesus set his face for Jerusalem, Paul traveled around the known world, I think that gives a slight edge to the fact that journeys matter to God, and if they matter to God, we should be interested in taking them as well.

[I am a Christian, and a Pastor, so my context is the Old Testament and the New Testament and the church tradition that followed. At the same time I am not without the understanding that most other religions also have a clear understanding of pilgrimage, many more deeply than my own (especially Protestantism, thanks Martin Luther)]

Which brings me to the final question, if they were right (I say yes), what should we do with this insight? I have decided that for me, my 'do' is to one day walk the Camino. I don't do this because Saint James is supposedly buried there, nor do I do this because I am looking for some convenient miracle or struggle. I plan on doing this because after learning of it's existence something inside me morphed.

As I alluded to, during the Protestant reformation Martin Luther put an end to all pilgrimages, partly due to the fact that he believed that the Catholic Church used them to exploit people. To that end pilgrimage has never been a part of my particular church tradition [though it may be able to be argued, quite successfully, that in my Church of God tradition, the journey to Camp Meeting in Anderson may itself be a pilgrimage]. So I grew up in the church, first Lutheran, then Church of God with no thought to pilgrimage. I first encountered the idea of pilgrimage in college when I began to read the Idiot's Guide to the World's Religions, but it still did not capture my attention.

I learned more about pilgrimages in my classes on religion and then in seminary and again and again I learned about it and it failed to affect me. Which goes to show you that Emilio Estevez may be a better motivator than a seminary textbook, because once I watched the Way I was hooked on the idea. Now, these many months later I am still hooked on the idea of walking 500 miles. That is proof enough for me that there is a significance in the journey, a significance great enough that I will one day walk the Camino.

I suppose that is a good enough place to stop as any.

Again, thanks for showing up.

As always, Buen Camino,
Pastor K

Link to my new blog

To those of you who do not get here by Facebook I thought I would post a link to my new blog. This one will still be my go to place for random writings, while my new blog On the Way to the Way will solely be about the books I read and journeys I take in order to prepare for a pilgrimage I plan to one day take along the Way of St. James in France and Spain.

onthewaytotheway.blogspot.com

Peace and Love,
Pastor K

On the Way to the Way 1: A Little Bit of Background

Hello dear readers. For those of you who follow my other blog [pastorkslifelook.blogspot.com] welcome to my next journey. For those joining me for the first time welcome, I hope that this ride is as fulfilling as I expect it to be.

The first thing that I need to say is that the title, and the very idea, of this blog came from my lovely wife Mary.

So, why another blog you may ask? Well, its fairly simple, every post on this blog will have a unifying subject, while my other blog is a rather random collection of musings. Here the subject is the Way, or the Camino, or the Way of Saint James, or el Camino de Santiago. It is a pilgrimage that I one day hope to take. It is a 500 mile walk. It is a dream and a destination, a hope and a prayer.

As of three years ago I had never heard of the Camino, let alone had any desire whatsoever to walk 500 miles to anywhere, especially to a Cathedral in Spain. But then I encountered a movie that lit a spark in my heart, my mind, and ultimately my soul. The movie was The Way, written and directed by Emilio Estevez and starring his dad Martin Sheen, alongside Deborah Kara Unger, James Nesbitt, and Yorick van Wadeningen.

The synopsis of the film goes like this: Tom (Sheen) is a California eye doctor whose son has left on a trip to see the world.  His son dies on his first day walking El Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage through France and Spain to the resting place of Saint James.  Tom goes to France in order to pick up his son and decides to walk the camino.  Along the way he encounters three pilgrims (Unger, Nesbitt and Wageningen) who become companions along the way.  Walking the pilgrimage Tom begins to move from a closed man into becoming a more open one.

The Way is a tale of life flowing from death, a tale of grace and redemption.  It has become one of my favorite movies of all time. And like I said, it started a spark in me, a base need to go for a really long walk. While I am not sure when I will be taking this walk, I guarantee that unless I die first I will go on this pilgrimage. To that end Mary suggested that I could read books about the pilgrimage and I could blog about them. This seemed like a good idea to me, I already own several books about the Camino and there are many others about it, hence this blog.

Over the coming weeks, months, years I will be reading these books and writing on them. I will share my thoughts on the journeys of others and my hopes for my own journey.

The book I decided to start with is about pilgrimage in general, rather than about the Camino specifically. It is The Sacred Journey by Charles Foster. It is the final book in The Ancient Practices Series, a set of 8 books about spiritual disciplines. I am only on the second chapter and I have already come up with around 10 possible thoughts to blog on, so my next installment should be coming within a few days.

Thanks for showing up, I hope you continue on my journey to my journey.

Buen Camino, my fellow pilgrims,
Pastor K