A Prayer for the El Camino Pilgrimage

 

God of beginnings and endings

God of wanderers, pilgrims, disciples, 

truth seekers and ordinary people on a journey of faith, 

 we call out to 

you at the beginning of our Pilgrimage 

and pray for your wisdom, your protection, and 

your guidance. 

We pray for the people of Portugal and Spain

as they provide for us a pathway that has given

joy, delight, and hope to Christians throughout 

the centuries. Thank you God for people of faith and 

hospitality that have offered us food, homes, 

guidance and direction. 

Thank you God for the Apostle James, though eager and 

and often confused as to his role as a follower of Jesus. 

It is his own weakness, God, that gives us strength to make

this journey, his own hopes and dreams to spread

the love of Jesus Christ to this part of the world. 

Upon his faith, his wisdom, and his actions that we can 

confidently make our own Way to your grace and love. 

God, I pray for my body as it sets out on this journey. 

I pray that you will guide my feet, give me courage

when I doubt, and hope with each step I take. Strengthen

my resolve and my determination embrace the 

mystery and joy of this journey and may my 

heart with joy, my body with resolve and my 

spirit open to the mysteries of my faith. In you, O God, 

I give myself to you. Amen. 

Journeying with the Spirit

 

In less than twenty-four hours, Carly and I will be boarding our plane that will take us to Porto, Portugal where we will begin our walk along the El Camino. As I prepare my body, mind and spirit to begin our journey to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, I am thinking of beginnings. "In the beginning..." Everything has a beginning. The book of Genesis begins one of the many Creation stories that have circulated through the eons from every culture and people that explain how earth and life began. For every good thing we experience there is always a beginning. 

As I anticipate our journey along the El Camino, my spirit's eye sees a misty forest that reveals a path that will lead us to unexpected surprises. As we begin this journey, we begin a journey with the Spirit. For me, Spirit God will show us a path that we will follow, but we cannot know the fullness of each moment without stepping into the unknown, the mist of time. One of my guiding scriptures comes from Hebrews where it is written,  "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1. It is with this promise that we take our first step into the mystic. Where the path will lead us remains to be seen and along the way there will be 'things hoped for' and there will be 'unexpected surprises' that will remind us of the promise that Jesus leaves with his disciples, "...And remember, I am with you always..." 

For us it will be an adventure. Helen Keller writes, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." Yes, I will walk the path and enter into the mist. There will be moments of confusion and moments of clarity. There will be quiet moments and times when a symphony of God's Creation will awaken my spirit, inviting me in to the joy of the moment. There will be times when each step feels like a struggle and other times when I feel as though I am walking on air. It will be an adventure -- the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things yet to be revealed. Regardless the experience, we journey with the Spirit. 

As we leave behind the mountains and rainforests of Costa Rica, one journey ends and another begins. Soon, we'll take our first step into a mystical journey that will end at the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela, an ancient cathedral, consecrated in 1211A.D.,  and is among the  oldest congregations that is still holding weekly worship and is a place where many spiritual journeys find beginnings, endings, wholeness, beauty, and joy. Lead Holy Spirit and let the journey begin. 

The Weakest and the Best

 I normally do not remember my dreams. On a recent morning, I woke up to a hymn that was playing in my mind. I don't know if it was a real hymn or just one that was playing in my dream. The words I remember were, "What can God offer? The weakest and the best." The context of this dream was an Ordination of a colleague who was ordained before I met him and we were singing out of what I remember as the 1930, Evangelical and Reformed hymnal, or what some might remember as The Hymnal. Some may have no context for this observation. It was, for me, a point of reference for strange and peculiar dream. 

What caught my attention in the dream is the question, "What can God Offer?" Many of us have experiences of God. Some are good images of God and others are not so good. Many of our images of God reflect what we need or long for most. We see God as judge, or reconciler. We see God as male, and some see God as female. Some need a God who gives life and takes life. God can also be the one who longs for a meaningful relationship with God's people and is the one who brings justice and peace to our world. Finding myself in Costa Rica, I find the image of God as Creator, particularly poignant in my Costa Rican experience. What can God offer? The weakest and the best."

Photo by Tyler Rapp

There is no limit to God's re-creation of each new day in Costa Rica. While we were exploring our temporary home, we came across an image of new life breaking through the slow deterioration of a discarded bulldozer, once so powerful it could fell a tree, move a rock, or tons of soil in minutes, creating a path to another place. Once a powerful tool, now remains useless as it sits on the edge of a forest, slowly returning to the earth. In the meantime, a young plant makes it's forever home in the rubble of a once mighty instrument that destroyed the land that the young plant now reclaims. Here, in the rain-forest, the weakest and the best co-habitat together in God's new re-creation of a new day. 

God creates a world that is filled with contrasts, metaphors, and contradictions. Our life, each and every day is filled with the same gifts. At times illusive and at times frustrating. Yet, the weakest and the best reminds us that the work of God remains a mystery, not so much to be untangled from our human lives, but to be appreciated as something holy, something sacred, and a promise that in God's creative energy features the weakest and the best.  The cycle of life needs no explanation, but is for us, something that calls us to be present, to enjoy, and to affirm. Paul writes, "no part of the body is less important than another. All have value, purpose and work together to bring the newness of each of new day. What can God offer? the weakest and the best. 

Corn Plant (Dracanena Fragrant)

 Imagine the Possibilities!

    Having spent the last four days living in and and exploring around the Forest in the Clouds, I am aware of how common houseplants in North America are giants in the rainforest. I love to garden, but I'm usually not as passionate about houseplants. I've had them over the years and when I get them, I really do try hard to keep my houseplants healthy and growing, but houseplants that may get 2 or 3 feet tall in my house are giants in Costa Rica. 

    When we arrived in Costa Rica, we were in awe of the vegetation that surrounded us. We parked at a shopping center to get some supper and parked our car and as we were getting out, I noticed the hedges that were an important part of the landscaping, water management, and setting up natural barriers between parking areas. As I looked at the hedge, I said to Aaron and Tyler, look at this hedge. In the United States it would be considered a house-plant and it might get 1 foot tall or at best 2 feet tall with good care. It would be gorgeous, but it would never really reach its potential. We looked the plant up and learned that it was called a Varigated Croton (Codiaeum). I had know idea that the plants I potted, weeded, moved, and replanted while working in a Wholsale Greenhouse during my High School years would grow to be hedge and I would one day see in Costa Rica. In awe Aaron said, "See what can happen when a plant is growing in its natural place." 

Varigated Croton (Codiaeum)

Aaron's comment made a lot of sense to me, and a testimony to his observation is captured in the photos I have posted. Neither the Corn Plant nor the Varigated Croton, common houseplants in our American homes, would get as tall, virulent, and healthy as these plants are in Costa Rica. Imagine the possibilities! 

As I think of my own life, choices I have made and choices that were made for me, I know that the times that have been most challenging, inspiring, and fulfilling to me have been the times that I have made the best of the situation The old adage, "bloom where you are planted" is good advice. When we find the things that we are most passionate about and we find that place, that niche that is perfect for us, that is when we find, what the Costa Rican's say, Pura Vida, 'pure life!' Imagine the possibilities! Where do you find yourself? As you look at your life, where you have been, and where you find yourself, where is the Spirit leading you? What more can you be, what more can you give? Pura Vida! Pure Life! Imagine the possible. 

 UNPACKING FOR THE JOURNEY 

There is a Chinese proverb that I am remembering as I pack for our pilgrimage to the Santiago, Spain. Here is the proverb, perhaps you have heard it before. It states, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  The proverb puts the long walk in perspective for me. So, I ask the Holy Spirit to bless my feet as I make this journey and am remembering Paul's beautiful analogy of the importance of every part of the body. Each part no more or no less important than another part of the body. All are God's gift and all will make the pilgrimage with my whole body and each will add to the pilgrimage of the heart. So the journey begins with the packing of the things I will need to comfortably experience that gifts and blessings that await me. 

All of us have taken many trips and all of us have had to pack our bags for the journey. You will pack comfortable shoes, hats, personal things, shirts, socks, etc. If we're traveling overseas, we may put in an electrical converter, make sure our Passport and traveling papers are ready and in order. We'll remember a camera or a book, our charging cords, and swimming suit. When traveling, packing is the easy part. At a meeting earlier this week with my Interim Ministry Support team, I was challenged to reflect on the things in my life that I need to unpack for the journey. Mm! An interesting challenge. What do I need to unpack? What should I leave behind that will keep me from experiencing all the 'The Way of St. James" can offer me? This challenge is what I'd like to reflect upon in this blog. 

So much of my adult life has revolved around the things that need to get done. On the journey through Portugal and Spain, I need to leave behind the notion that I need to complete something today. Yes, we do have to get to the next overnight stop, but the miles are not so many that there is a need to 'hurry' to get it done. Can I enjoy the journey enough to let go of a preconceived goal? Yes, this needs to be unpacked for the journey. 

I've been trained to think and read by good teachers, professors, and mentors throughout my life. I've been fortunate to be in good schools and my College and Seminary years were cap-stones to my curiosity and desire to learn. I know I can do these things. What I need to unpack is a less academic approach to the journey and let it be balm for my soul. Can I set aside thinking and knowing and just be -- just be in the presence of the Holy Spirit? Yes, I need to unpack the barriers of the mind for a little while and just be present with the Holy Spirit. 

Insecurities? Oh, yes, I have my share. Among them is experiencing something completely different. When presented with an opportunity to try something new, I am cautious, projecting that something will likely go wrong and I'll miss an opportunity to experience life in a new way. How easy it easy for Americans to travel to places, comparing our livelihood and comparing our way of life as, perhaps more superior than others. Yes, even I, who does appreciate the diversity of cultures and a different way of life, still have those moments when I want to believe that my way of life is better. How foolish of me to think this. Yes, I need to unpack my own ethnocentric tendencies and embrace the culture that is welcoming me, unconditionally. 

As I pack my bags for my journey, I am also working hard at unpacking the suitcase within me so that I can fully experience the journey that I am blessed to take. My journey is beginning. I'm still unpacking, but I'm making ready my spirit to be blessed by the beauty and culture of Costa Rica, Portugal, and Spain. So the journey begins. One beautiful step after another. 

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

 Endless Pilgrimage of the Heart

“Faith is not the clinging to a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heart.” Abraham Joshua Heschel

“…An endless pilgrimage of the heart” is a phrase that stirs my imagination. In the context of Heschel’s quote, he draws a distinction between ‘pilgrimage’ as a physical destination with a presumed ending and a ‘pilgrimage’ that sets one’s heart on a never-ending journey of faith. It is the walk of the heart. Our walk of the heart will begin in Porto, Portugal  and continue to Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica located in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The pilgrimage that we will be on is called the El Camino (Tr. The Way). The walk of the heart will happen for us throughout the month of April and during the most holy times of the Christian Church, Lent, and Easter. Although our journey ends at the traditional burial place of Saint James, more importantly, Carly and I see this pilgrimage as part of the continuing journey of our hearts to a deeper, more spiritual connection with our Christian faith.  We believe this pilgrimage reflects our calling, our baptism, and the Christian values and beliefs that continue to shape us even now. 

In the Bible, James is referred to as a disciple of Jesus who left his trade as fisherman to follow him. The Bible tells us little about James except that he requested to be seated at right hand of Jesus in heaven and was present at important events like the Transfiguration and Jesus weeping and praying in the garden. “Teacher!” said James, “…We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” The passage goes on to say, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Mark 10:35, 37. Yes, even Jesus’ best disciples ‘cling to shrines’, a place of comfort and glory. Nonetheless, according to oral tradition, James is identified as the patron saint of Portugal and Spain – the one who brought the Christian faith to these countries. 

God continues to reveal more truth and life in a multitude of ways. As I journey with Carly, as I travel the road that has been ‘the way’ for Christian pilgrims since the 11^th century, I will open my heart to a deeper, even more fulfilling faith than what sustains me today. Jesus asks, “…Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” I pray, with God’s help, I am! 

Hillbilly Elegy, Inferno and a Call to Spiritual Action

I finished three books on a two-week cruise through the Panama Canal. With time, space from work, the familiar, and the ever-present schedule of the day, I could set aside time to enjoy a book or two, or three. In the book Hillbilly Elegy and in Dan Brown’s book, Inferno, each reflected a moral crisis that looms dark and heavy over our own nation, our own time that is breaking our hearts and shattering our hopes and dreams for our nation, our world, and its people. Although neither of the books were particularly religious, they do challenge us to be introspective about our own spiritual journey and the values that shape our faith and our response to the problems that we are facing as a nation and as a people.

Vance, in his book, Hillbilly Elegy, makes this stunning revelation to me about his ‘hillbilly culture’. He writes this about his culture, “We choose not to work when we should be looking for jobs. We’ll get fired for tardiness, or for stealing merchandise and selling it on eBay, or for having a customer complain about the smell of alcohol on our breath, or for taking five thirty-minute restroom breaks per shift. We talk about the value of hard work but tell others that the reason we’re not working some perceived unfairness: Obama shut down the coal mines, or all the jobs went to the Chinese. These are the lies we tell ourselves to solve the cognitive dissonance – the broken connection between the world we see and the values we preach.” In the ‘hillbilly’ culture that shaped J.D. Vance they preach hard work and the importance of performing well in a job, but when they have a job, there is a feeling that it won’t last and so they live into another story – a story of scarcity, excuses, and blame. They are living lies that explain their poor behavior and the choices they make.

Such are the lies that are shaping our time. The lies we are hearing today is that America is the world’s policeman and we’ve got to stop, pull back and disconnect from the world because it isn’t serving America’s interest. The lies we hear today is about how dangerous immigrants are, and how we must close our borders. The lie that we are living is that the Christian faith is the only acceptable religion. We are living a lie that believes that some Americans are more worthy than others.  There is a cognitive dissonance in our nation today – an incomplete story that chooses fear over joy,  darkness over light, despair over hope, and blame over responsibility. We are living in a time of moral crisis. All of this leads to inaction and inaction is not the way of my faith and is certainly not the values that have shaped 240 plus years of the American dream.

I recall a particularly poignant point that Dan Brown made toward the end of his novel, Inferno. He writes, “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” He goes on to write, ‘In dangerous times, there is no sin greater than inaction.’ I don’t believe there could be a greater explanation and challenge in our nation today. We are living in dangerous times and the breach between the world we see and the world we preach must be repaired. In such a time as this, we are called to spiritual action. Where will the journey lead you?