Being on Pilgrimage

The stories of God’s people, ancient and contemporary, remind us that pilgrimage is a way of life. On the life journey we undertake as God’s people we do not wander aimlessly like nomads but walk toward the Holy One as pilgrims. The labyrinth is a model or metaphor for life which replicates our spiritual journey. Even though we rarely foresee its twists and turns we progress toward the eventual goal of union with God. The labyrinth is a symbolic journey towards an encounter with God.

Labyrinths provide sacred space where the inner and outer worlds can connect, providing a glimpse of other realms and other ways of seeing. Just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus walked with Jesus without realizing it, we sometimes forget that we never journey alone. In Celtic churches a fire was kept burning continually to represent God’s Spirit in the midst of the community – reminiscent to the pillar of fire by night when the Hebrew people moved through the wilderness (Exodus 13:21). They were a disparate group with diverse expectations and levels of faith. The people faced enemies, hunger, thirst and homelessness as they traveled. They doubted God’s presence and purpose for them. Yet there was God’s abundance in the midst of scarcity. God told Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:2-4). From Jacob we learn that the desert is more than a place of struggle; it is also the location of holy encounter. As we hear these stories God invites us to find our place in the narrative. Like Moses, when past failures haunt us we can we can come to realize that we stand on the holy ground of our lives, take off our shoes and worship the God who never left us.