In 2005 I went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Israel and in these past few weeks I have been reliving parts of that journey. My roommate and companion during the pilgrimage is a writer and Presbyterian Minister. She had recently completed her manuscript about the pilgrimage and sent it to me for my thoughts and comments. So I was pleased to read it and remember some of the journey through her eyes and experiences. It was good for me to remember that my feet had once walked within the narrow streets of Jerusalem, had tasted a glass of pomegranate juice freshly squeezed before my eyes, had taken a plunge in the Sea of Galilee, had floated on the waters of the Dead Sea, had journeyed to the top of Masada and seen the caves where the most ancient of scrolls had been found. It was good for me to remember the places where Jesus had journeyed with his Disciples, to experience Palestine amidst its struggles with Israel, the sadness of the walls that are built to keep people apart. It was good for me to remember.
The word that kept coming to me while I was reading is vicarious. Living vicariously reminded me of the experiences we have through others rather than first hand. I could identify with the writers thoughts because I had been there but I was also conscious of seeing things through her experiences because there were differences. It’s not that having vicarious experiences are bad in some way. Every time we pick up a book or watch a movie we enter into a story and although it is someone else’s story we bring ours too and together it becomes a new but vicarious experience. We journey somewhere but we are using the power of our imaginations. Being Christian should not be a vicarious experience because we are all called to walk and see and do and be and be changed. Lent is coming and it is a time
During my pilgrimage to Israel I received a message from my spiritual director and I’d like to share it with you as you embark on your Lenten journey. “John Bunyon’s Pilgrims’s Progress told of a life journey of many encounters, periods of just walking along, and times of challenge and adventure. One of those times now waits for you. You journey to the epicenter of the people of God at war with one another in the name of God. This is about as old as Cain and Abel and as new as this morning’s Chronicle. How do peace, reconciliation, intimations of God’s Holy Reign, break into this ancient madness? You go to live peace and learn in a primary way. Recall your center Breathe your prayer. Live with not being able to fix a thing. And everywhere, find, live into, and rejoice in the palpable presence of God. Blessings on every step.”
Rev. JoAnne
1024 S. E. Cass Avenue Roseburg, Oregon 97470 541-673-4048
In 2005 I went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Israel and in these past few weeks I have been reliving parts of that journey. My roommate and companion during the pilgrimage is a writer and Presbyterian Minister. She had recently completed her manuscript about the pilgrimage and sent it to me for my thoughts and comments. So I was pleased to read it and remember some of the journey through her eyes and experiences. It was good for me to remember that my feet had once walked within the narrow streets of Jerusalem, had tasted a glass of pomegranate juice freshly squeezed before my eyes, had taken a plunge in the Sea of Galilee, had floated on the waters of the Dead Sea, had journeyed to the top of Masada and seen the caves where the most ancient of scrolls had been found. It was good for me to remember the places where Jesus had journeyed with his Disciples, to experience Palestine amidst its struggles with Israel, the sadness of the walls that are built to keep people apart. It was good for me to remember.
