Walking, Driving, Flying. . .
The last Sunday before I moved to Boston I attended Jacob's Well where many of my friends laid hands on me to bless my travels. During the service Mike Crawford read a letter where he discussed ideas of being a Pilgrim versus a tourist. Now, Thanksgiving isn't quite the kind of pilgrim, but as I look back at my life here I think this was a great message for me as I travelled here...in these last few days I'm focusing a bit more on these ideas, here is what Mike said:
"I looked up the definition of the words. Tourist, a person who visits places away from home for pleasure. Pilgrim, a person on a journey to a place with special significance. Am I tourist as I launch into each new day? a person who visits places away from home for pleasure? or am I a pilgrim? a person on a journey to a place of special significance? How am I seeking Jesus in my everyday life? Am I looking for trinkets and souvenirs from life or am I looking for some special significance Jesus is teaching me? Am I a tourist in the midst of this gathering even? am I looking for what I might get? What are those little souvenirs? Or am I a pilgrim? What can I give God today in worship. Not, what do I get out of it. Am I lazy in worship or am I looking? In all of this I thought embracing Ordinary Time seems extremely valuable; if I can open my heart to the process of church as spiritual formation and one step further life as spiritual formation . . . . it takes the slow ordinal week upon week plotting of ordinary time to form us in ways that make the peaks and valleys of our spiritual life more meaningful. . . . "
As you look upon your life...where you've come, where you are, where you're going - are you a pilgrim or a tourist? How so, leave a comment, I'm interested to know what you think
Psalm 98
Sing to God a brand-new song. He's made a world of wonders! He rolled up his sleeves, He set things right. God made history with salvation, He showed the world what he could do. He remembered to love us, a bonus to his dear family, Israel - indefatigable love. The whole earth comes to attention. Look - God's work for salvation! Shout praises to God, everybody! Let loose and sing! Strike up the band! Round up an orchestra to play for God, Add on a hundred-voice choir. Feature trumpets and big trombones, Fill the air with praises to King God. Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, With everything living on earch joining in. Let ocean breakers call out, "Encore!" And mountains harmonize the finale - A tribute to God when he comes, When he comes to set the earth right. He'll straighten out the whole world, He'll put the world right, and everyone in it.
posted by andebos at 10:26 PM
6 Comments:
hey tyler. thanks for the nice comment! i'm not sure the words "stud" is meant for girls either, but i'll let you use it:)
as for the substance of which you write tonight...i like it. i'm not sure how i can answer but i will try. i can say that i would hope myself to be a pilgrim but too often find myself a tourist. this has been true for much of the past two years. the same two years have been quite a desert for me, and let me assure you that the downfall into disillusion is rather severe and the hurt acute when one goes through a desert as a tourist (looking out for what's good for me). if there were ever a place to find "special significance" i imagine it to be where i am right now, in the middle of this arid land. not surprisingly, He has left me here even still, perhaps for that very reason. for too long i've been trying to figure out the blessing in the pain, the gift in the hurt, the personal gain in the suffering; trying to find my pleasure on the journey. i'm trying to give that up...and whatever's on the other side of all this will be more than worth the time in the desert...
sorry for the novel there. you asked for a comment and you got one i guess:) good questions. thanks for making me think!
Bercos~
you know this has been a very difficult idea for me to grasp let alone answer...and now your thoughts bring even newer insight. I suppose as I look upon things I've often been a "what's for me" person. I think this is reflected in the poor listener I've discovered myself to be...instead of listening to others I often find myself talking - wondering, what's in this conversation for me to contribute. Thinking of painful time though - I think there's sometimes a point where the pain maybe isn't a lesson or necessarily an obstacle but part of life. Sure, there are lessons but the thing I'm trying to remember is that a tourist is always what's for me what's for me - whereas a pilgrim is searching for that place of significance and open to it wherever it may lie - but ultimately, the pilgrim knows that the overall destination, that special place, is way past all these obstacles and lessons. The place is far down the road and is Christ. Maybe that's way off...but I'm at work while I think and write.
i hear you...you are not "way off" at all. i hope you don't think that i was trying to "answer" in the sense that i was trying to provide THE answer...just what has been true for me. in reading what you wrote, i think i was trying to say the same thing. i'm not sure if that was evident, but i definitely agree with you- there isn't always a huge lesson to the pain. sometimes it's just another thing to go through, and a place to hopefully be looking beyond yourself. like i said though, unfortunately instead of looking for significance in those moments, i find myself trying to instantly reap the harvest, to find the buried treasure. i'm learning little by little to stop doing this, but what do you think? how does one transform themselves from tourist to pilgrim? i would love to hear what you think...
i would say that i am a tourist in search of a pilgrimage... does that make any sence? allow mw a moment to expand my thought. i moved to italy, as you know, to expand my understanding of things (myself, my relationships, or lack thre of). in most situations i have a hard time getting past the tourist wall, but on those ocasions when i turn the corner down pilgrim alley i find the knowlege, insight and inspiration found there overwhelming. love ya ty, happy thanks giving.
Bercos, yes I definitely agree with you all the way and what I wrote is basically reiterating what you said. It's tough to be a pilgrim in our culture, more so - I don't think a pilgrim tells others they're wrong in the way they move through life, but rather allows his journey and story to be shared with them and out of that is created a story and pilgrimage of their own.
Searcy, Happy thanksgiving my friend - even though you can't be here with us...we think of you, we need to get the video feed working this weekend and talk. As far as you being a pilgrim - shoot dude, you headed down that path a long time ago...just thinking of you trusting, and losing hope, and then it coming through with your visa...that's a pilgrim my friend. Keep up the pilgrimage because what a story it is making for the rest of us to hear
the video is working, but my internet went down again wednesday night... i am told it will be back up on monday. i know it does us very little good as far as talking this weekend, but it will help in the future. maybe we could type eachother on ichat this weekend (i know a bar with free internet) like i said we really need to talk. love you brother. talk to you soon.
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