As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds, each affirming faith’s reality. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into… Hebrews 12:1 (TPT)
The Way – Pilgrimage Series – Part 5
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6
“We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was filled with the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!” Heb 12:2 (TPT).
To be a pilgrim, or to go on pilgrimage, is to go on a long journey – a holy expedition – of a sacred nature to a sacred place. Yes, our modern translations of Hebrews say, let us “run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us.” (12:1 TPT).
But there are some scholars who believe that rather than likening our Christian faith to a sporting event – a one-day event with spectators – the author of Hebrews was more likely talking along the lines of pilgrimage. A lifelong holy journey, where the road has been walked upon by those who’ve gone before us, their footprints and monuments and altars and stories affirming our faith and journey, bearing witness to God and faithfulness.
We don't walk the exact same road that our faith ancestors trod, there are differences. We have our own unique challenges and responsibilities “here and now.” As a collective, a global community, we have transformed: technology, science, education, information, health, values, practices – in many ways we are more advanced than our past pilgrims.
It’s not purely and only the “form” of walking our pilgrimage that we glean from them, but the spirit of journeying, moving forward, stepping out. In his book, “We Make the Road by Walking” Brian McLaren said:
“But before Christianity was a rich and powerful religion, before it was associated with buildings, budgets, crusades, colonialism, or televangelism, it began as a revolutionary nonviolent movement promoting a new kind of aliveness on the margins of society.”
In some ways, we look back to our forefathers and their “race/pilgrimage” to learn how to move forward: back to our roots so that we grow something new and fresh in the world. Jesus represents the fulfillment of newness. He didn’t come to abolish Judaism, or to overthrow the Roman empire, or to exalt the Gentiles: He came to show them (us) how to move on from where they (we) were (are). How to get unstuck. He showed us the way. Which is both THE way, and the WAY.
So let us run our life’s marathon race, embark on our holy quest, continue down the sacred road of pilgrimage…
Where to?
The unanswerable question. The mystery. The life of faith. We don’t know the destination. We can’t set our GPS and autopilot our way there. The destination? The end to our means? Well, it is the walking. It is living life. It is putting one foot in front of the other every day. The MEANS is the END. The journey is the destination. (I promise I’m not trying to be cryptic…).
John records Jesus as saying:
“I am the way, the truth, the life…” (14:6).
The Message Translation by Eugene Peterson puts it this way:
“I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me.”
Where too?
The way of Jesus.
Are you racing through life or looking for the holy moments? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Go to Part 6 – The Heart »
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