A few years ago I was in a pub near the Appalachian trail with some fellow pastors and a young woman came up to us and began to talk. She was hiking the trail with her boyfriend and wanted to know who we were because we were clearly not on the trail and in this little town it was a bit strange to see a group of guys together who weren't hikers. We told her who we were and she volunteered that she was a Christian and that this hike was, for her, sort of a spiritual journey. One friend asked if she had a Bible and when she said no, we offered to get one for her before we left. The same pastor had great wisdom and asked her if she understood the word "pilgrimage" as distinct from journey. That little question allowed him to offer her a true spiritual journey by explaining that the difference lies in the purpose.
Many of us are literally on a journey without a set destination, but those on a pilgrimage know where they're going and their lives are oriented by that destination. God told Abram to go to the land He would show Him. Moses knew where God was leading the people, his first promised destination was back to the mountain where he had seen the burning bush, after he had led the people out of Egypt, his second destination was one he would never reach, the Promised Land. The Magi knew by the star where they were going to see the new born king. Do we know our destination?
It is important for us as Christians to know where our journey is headed. It is important to know that we aren't leading the jourey, we are still following the One who knows the way to the Father. We are still following Jesus. I am more and more thankful each day for the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me in this pilgrim journey. The Bible is a wonderful guidebook and the Holy Spirit is both guide and companion, revealing the Word incarnate and the Word written in such a way that we are never alone and never without the ability to discern God's way forward in any situation if we will just take the time to listen and have the courage to follow.
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