To be a Pilgrim

"A pilgrim is someone who sees life as a sacred journey, who sees the Earth as a sacred home, who sees the universe as a process."

Satish Kumar

At school we loved singing this traditional classic Christian hymn of praise and worship:

He who would valiant be ’gainst all disaster, Let him in constancy follow the Master. There’s no discouragement shall make him once relent His first avowed intent to be a pilgrim.

Who so beset him round with dismal stories
Do but themselves confound - his strength the more is.
No foes shall stay his might; though he with giants fight,
He will make good his right to be a pilgrim.

Since, Lord, Thou dost defend us with Thy Spirit,
We know we at the end, shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away! I’ll fear not what men say,
I’ll labor night and day to be a pilgrim.

Whilst writing so much about pilgrimage over the last week or so I am reminded of two more relevant books:

Firstly Satish Kumar's lovely inspirational volume Earth Pilgrim, written with his usual directness and simplicity. Read it to be inspired and enriched.

Then there is the one I am currently reading, that I will be reviewing on Amazon shortly; Charles Foster, The Sacred Journey, written from the Christian perspective. Jesus was, he reminds us, himself a homeless itinerant preacher, a pilgrim, appealing most to the edges of society. And that is where we find God most, he tells us - at those edges. Who said being a Christian would ever be easy. Foster writes with a light style, often with wry humour, and I find his books immensely readable (see also for example The Selfless Gene, and Wired for God). He tells us we are all travellers at heart - this is our norm - (he himself is a great traveller) and I am sure he means this in the sense of travelling as a pilgrim rather than in the sense of the aimless tourist travel much derided by Satish Kumar et al.

I rather like Foster's idea that a new word is needed for Christian, as it now has too many negative connotations. How about "Jesus Freak" he suggests. OK perhaps not. Then how about "Jesus Wanderer" or "Jesus Follower." Maybe.