Years ago, the Episcopal Church started sending its young people on pilgrimages as a part of their spiritual formation. What a good idea. Pilgrimage sums up the experience of Anglican Christianity. We like the journey this world offers us as much as the destination. We love a God who promises to walk with us on this journey- a God who became one of us for a time and still travels among us. Sending our teenagers on pilgrimage journeys makes perfect sense.
What do we take with us?
We take our baggage: our past, hopes, fears and a few things that we think are necessary . So, we prepare carefully in the week that remains before we leave. Phil Cousineau, in his book "The Art of Pilgrimage" says:
"Being ready mentally, spiritually, and physically makes us lighter on our feet, more adroit at making decisions, and perhaps can even help keep chaos at bay. Bearing in mind that the journey to come might turn out to be our first deeply significant pilgrimage puts the entire trip in a different context...One of the soulful questions to ask ourselves as we are poised to leave is: What can I do to lighten my burden on this journey? How we pack our bags defines our journey."Tradition has it that pilgrims only bring one bag. I am working hard to winnow down all the stuff that I feel compelled to bring so I can only have one bag. Leaving behind the extra shirt or pair of shoes is hard for me. Deciding which books to bring with me is torture. I am finding, though, that the process of holding each object in my hand and deciding whether or not I really need it is quite revealing. My hope is that every single thing I carry with me is there for a purpose and not "extra baggage" that simply takes up space... (I feel a metaphor brewing... don't you?)
Let's leave behind all that is unnecessary for our pilgrimage. That's my prayer for all of us in the week leading up to our departure.
Tim
