This book by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson is difficult to categorize. This is not simply a travelogue of the author’s pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Lourdes in France, Chimayo in New Mexico, and Ogere Remo in Nigeria and other sites. Although not a book of theology, it is deeply theological, helping us to understand who God is, who we are, and the opportunity to nurture a deeper understanding of both through the act of pilgrimage. Perhaps it is primarily a memoir that calls us to a new way of seeing our Christian walk.
The title of the book comes from practice of early Celtic pilgrims. Quoting Christine Valters Paintener:
“The wandering saints set forth without destination—often getting into small boats with no oars or rudder, called coracles—and trusted themselves to ‘the currents of divine love.’ They surrendered themselves completely to elements of wind and ocean . . . In this profound practice, God becomes both destination and way, companion and guiding force.”
The author explains that our life’s pilgrim journey proceeds by three movements that move beyond the mind to the heart and body: detachment, attention, and connection. This is a new awareness that comes from letting go, observing, and discovering new connections. Part of this is becoming aware of how the Holy Spirit continues to break into our lives in unexpected ways such as healing, visions, and unexpected praise.
I was impressed by several key ideas in the book. First, Granberg-Michaelson emphasizes that pilgrimage is not about beliefs. The examples he shares come from several traditions but primarily Christian. He says, “Pilgrims walk, or dance, their way into faith. The Way is made by walking. Not simply by thinking our way into dogmatic creeds.”
Second, how hospitality is both given and received is an important part of pilgrimage. It is an example of grace. Those who share with the pilgrim are expressing God’s provision toward God’s people, a strong theme of the Hebrew Bible. The pilgrim, in turn, sees the offering of hospitality as an expression of the graceful provision of God. He writes, “On pilgrim pathways, we learn the myth of control, the wisdom of relinquishment, the promise of the unpredictable, and embodiment of grace.”
Third, he points out that pilgrimage prepares us for the ultimate pilgrimage—from this life to the next. This is symbolized in our baptism: “Baptism is both practice and promise for the journey that dies to self and rises to the embrace of new life, at life’s beginning and at its end.”
Fourth, pilgrimage is not simply for individuals. As the people of God, we are called to be a pilgrim people. When we fail to embrace that concept, our mission falters. He notes that organizations can go on a pilgrimage and, in so doing, avoid atrophy and death. As the World Council of Churches noted in 2013, “Sacred pilgrimage is a form of faith development that involves both spiritual discernment and action. As such, it is both a destination and a process.” As the people of God, we are called to be ready to let go of the things that hinder us and discover God’s way forward for us.
In a fluid and accessible writing style, the author encourages us to see life as a pilgrimage even if we do not have the resources to travel widely and visit sacred sites. Pilgrimage is not about our physical surroundings, but our perspective on the Christian life. This is expressed by an ancient prayer Granberg-Michaelson shares early in the book to help us understand the nature of pilgrimage:
You call us from our settled ways, O God,
out of old habits and rutted traditions.
You call us into the land of promise,
to new life and new possibilities.
Make us strong to travel the road ahead.
Deliver us from false security and comfort,
desire for ease and uninvolved days.
Let your Word and Spirit dwell in us
that your will may be fulfilled in us
for the well-being and shalom of all. Amen.
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