On Pilgrimage
+May my words be in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus, John the Baptist, and the people of God in the Old Testament all undertook a life-long pilgrimage. That pilgrimage journey is at the heart of both Jewish and Christian understandings of what it is to be a people of God. It is enshrined in Jewish liturgy, in particular, the feast of Passover where Jewish families the world over recall the great story of flight from Egypt. We join in with that story as part of our Easter celebrations starting on Maundy Thursday.
Jesus and his parents lived in the the time when the Temple in Jerusalem still stood. Pilgrimage was expected by all observant Jews at critical milestones in life. The first born son was one such time and Jesus’ parents took the journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem to make sure the law was fulfilled.
There were two aspects to that liturgical rite: 1. the purification rites for Mary and 2. the dedication of Jesus as the first born male, to God. Like many traditional cultures still today, Judaism practiced purification of post-partem women 40 days after the birth of a child. The feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple used to be called the feast of the Purification of Mary. Up until recently in some Christian traditions, a new mother would attend church after 3-6 weeks and process to the Sancturary holding a lit candle. She would then be ‘exorcised’ of any impurity and restored to the faithful. There has been a lot of debate about what this says about the birthing process and, more generally, women. These days the emphasis is now placed on Christ’s presentation or dedication in the Temple and, as captured in Luke, the reactions by others to that revelation of Christ as the light of the world.
One such reaction, in particular, was Simeon’s wonderful praise to God,
“Now Lord, you let your servant go in peace, your word has been fulfilled. My own eyes have seen the Salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people. A light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Isreal.”
This great song is enshrined in Evening Prayer and has been set to beautiful music time and time again. It represents the collective sigh of a nation longing for light. The long and arduous journey of wilderness, bitterness, joy and sorrow comes to a final crescendo in the form of a six-week old baby born to peasant parents from the back-blocks of Nazareth. What a delicious paradox! As we know, God loves a good paradox to keep us on our toes!
Simeon’s cry of joy and delight, of relief, is caught up in today’s psalm. The Psalmist captures that pilgrimage of longing for light beautifuly. It starts with the ways the House of God is a paradise, a refuge and joy. Yet, getting to that promised place of the restorative presence of God is often arduous, dry, sometimes barren, and occasionally very painful.
Herein lies the difference between a tourist and a pilgrim. The tourist carries a curiosity for the new, a detatched appreciation in many ways, and yet little desire to stay. The pilgrim is possessed by the journey and is held by a longing for the deeper and the greater. The pilgrim is in it, deeply immersed and has given everything over to the journey. They have a longing to see the healing light of God shining from God’s house burning deeply within. Yet, the obstacles and challenges are real and threatening. It can be forboding and desolate.
Verse six of the psalm in our prayer books uses the phrase, “…valley of dryness”, however that is a rather incipid term when compared to the Hebrew, ‘bacca’ which means weeping. Hope threatens to fade in this valley. Futility is lurking around every corner. IJust when you think you are done, another bend and more seeming unending drudgery appears ahead of you.
However, the longing for God’s presence is such that, the very tears that flow in this dry and seemingly baren place forms oases, not just for us, but more importantly, for others. The life whose path is set on God, orientated toward God’s light and life, causes the transformation of the barenness and pain into places of refreshment and encouragement. Others who follow can find relief. And as always with our gracious God, each and every one appears before God – their source and consolation. The Psalmist uses the Temple or Sanctuary as the symbol of presence.
And so, Jesus’ family too had to journey and appear before God in Zion, in the Temple, and the glory of God is revealed in the sacred words of Simeon and Anna. Both of those prophets, Simeon and Anna, had their arrival experiences on that day. The long yearning years of looking for the salvation of the nation were brought to light. They held and beheld God in flesh. What an overwhelming moment!
The journey through the valley of weeping or dryness is something almost every human being does at least once in their lifetime. I am certain all of us here have lived through such times. Jesus too had to make that journey. So, once again, we are reminded of the depth of the incarnation of Jesus into human living. While he was still a helpless baby, those great words of promise and salvation, of coming light, was pronounced over him yet, as Simeon knew, with such great promise can equally great suffering. Jesus’ valley of weeping would come in time. Light both attracts and repells. Some move toward it longing for its warmth and life, others reject it and respond violently. Jesus knew this. Embraced it. Lived through it. Overcome it. Be transformed by it. Love beyond it.
We are called to do no less, except we are not and can never be alon
In the name of Love, Amen.