Pilgrims together: 30th April 2017
It has been my experience that conversations on walks can be both profound and mundane. I have probably said before in this blog, that walking with someone seems to provide a liberation. The very act of walking in the same direction, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, seems to inspire confidence and confiding.
Today in church we reflected on the thought that Jesus is a fellow pilgrim, walking alongside us - metaphorically and in some way other than physical - throughout our lives. In the road to Emmaus story in Luke 24, Jesus is described as being 'like a stranger' to the two friends so lost in conversation. The Latin for the word we have translated as stranger in modern versions, is 'perigrino'. This word actually means pilgrim. A pilgrim is someone who is travelling in the same direction as others. These others may be strangers. But on the course of a long pilgrimage, they can become friends, and profoundly so.
Most of the time in our lives in modern 21st century Britain, we are rooted in one place. We may travel for work. We may travel for pleasure. But rarely is it on foot. And rare still, might we go on pilgrimage. Yet, as we reflected in church today, we are together as a community of faith, a group of ordinary pilgrims who need each other's companionship on this journey of faith.
Jesus, we are learning, never imposes his presence upon us. And, as the story of the post-resurrection appearance on the road to Emmaus tells us, Jesus was happy to go on beyond the journey of the two he walked with when they reached their destination. But they invited him to stay with them (for the day had ended and the night was at hand). I love that phrase, which is repeated and picked up on in the Anglican rite of compline.
In the context of exploring our over-arching theme of vocation, I find this moment of the story instructive. Jesus is the one who will always stay with us but is also always taking us beyond our current horizon. The Lord is with us. But the Lord is also beyond us. In his earthly ministry he urged all those who wanted to be his disciple to 'follow him'. From the very beginning he was always on the move. Death tried to hold him still. And the forces of death nailed him to a tree to pin him down. But even death could not hold him for long. On the day of this encounter in Luke 24, Jesus is on the move again. Resurrected, he is on the road again.
We try, sometimes, to seek Jesus in the safe places, in the familiar ways, in revisiting experiences we once had on the road way behind us. And there is nothing wrong with remembering and being thankful for the things we received from Christ and through others in the past. For such remembering causes thankfulness. And thankfulness is often the spur which prompts us to put one foot in front of the other day by day.
But it seems that we need to help each other as fellow pilgrims to affirm two things. First, that Christ is indeed with us (and rejoice in the Christ we see in each one of us). And second, that Christ is also further up ahead, maybe even over the horizon of our sight. With us and beyond us.
That's the Christian life.
During yesterday's walking sermon there were moments when I felt I wanted everyone to get up and walk round the church and talk, as the symbolic action very effectively showed how it can be easier to talk while walking than sitting formally in neat rows. So it made me wonder how we might help one another discern vocation in ways in addition to the sermon series. Maybe the sermon series could conclude with a "walk and talk"!
ReplyDeleteBeing fellow pilgrims, following Jesus together, is enriching and exciting. Often it is our companions in faith who can recognise our calling before we do. Are they Christ ahead of us? I was 21 when it was first suggested to me that I might train to be a Reader, something that had never even crossed my mind. It took another 13 years before I was licensed. I am still learning to listen to what Christ may be saying to me through others. It has been my constant experience that it is being with my fellow pilgrims that my faith has been challenged and consequently deepened.
I am, however, aware that not all yet recognise Christ in themselves, never mind ahead of them. I asked someone today what he thought his vocation was. He said this is a word he does not apply to himself. He sees himself as just getting on with things he can do. Is the word "vocation" a stumbling block? Would it be helpful to explore what is the difference between vocation and the gifts or talents we may have? Maybe for some, the "taking beyond our current horizon" will be a recognition that Christ is already at work in them, and to give him thanks for his life within. That new horizon may be nearer than we think.
What amazes me about the story of the walk to Emmaus is that the disciples didn't recognise Jesus. How could they not recognise him? He had been their friend and companion for three years. They loved him and spent a lot more time than most of us do with our friends, because they followed him everywhere. Did they not see his swollen face and pierced hands, and want to ask him what had happened to him? If it was too dark to see his face did they not hear his voice? What of his method of teaching, as he explained the scriptures to them?
ReplyDeleteAre we so engrossed in our own problems that we fail to recognise and hear Jesus when he is walking by our side and talking to us? Do we fail to perceive the needs of those around us as they accompany us on our way?