A Traveler’s Path or Pilgrim’s Progress

It’s hard to remember a time before my phone offered me the world in a “Maps” app. At a touch, I can see exactly where I am, all the places I could go, and the multitude of routes that would get me there. If I want to drive from Waco to Maine for lobster, my phone will provide detailed directions. Construction or a traffic jam? I will be re-routed. On the screen is a 10,000-foot view of the land, laid out so that I can easily see all possible roads, mine for the choosing, anything I desire along the way. I am the master of my journey. 

The pilgrimage offers a different perspective. The pilgrim didn’t follow a map. Rather, the way was laid out in the stories of those who went before her: follow this path to the great rock and turn; pray here; stay the night at this place. She didn’t examine a map and trace her preferred route with her finger, setting her own agenda for the journey. The pilgrim didn’t have that view. She traced their steps and trusted their guidance to the next waypoint. She went with fellow travelers, all directed by the rhythms of walking, resting, praying, and singing that led them to their destination.   

You will make known to me the way of life; 
In Your presence is fullness of joy; 
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

The Psalmist gave up the illusion that he was master of his journey with a map-like perspective of his life. Rather, like the pilgrim, he trusted his path to God. Whether beside still waters or through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he learned following the Shepherd for the day was enough. The way of life meant relinquishing the desire for control. 

We, too, are travelers on the journey. How do we imagine ourselves? 

Are we like those who, with maps laid before them, plan their routes to make the most of life? With careful planning, they imagine that they can hit all the sites, avoid the pitfalls, and so complete their carefully cultivated trips. If they get it right, they reach their goals, then at the end, with enough souvenirs of their journey, they’ll be happy.   

 Or, are we more like pilgrims whose feet follow paths for which we can’t see around the next bend, traveling without a map, but trusting the way of life? We move only to the next marker, seeing what is just before us, enough for this day’s journey. Yet, the Psalmist reminds us, it is God who leads us on the path of life. More, as we Advent pilgrims look to the Nativity, we remember, too, that our Way is a Person. The path of life isn’t finally a route of our own making, but a relationship. Our destination, not an achievement or accolade, but God. As the Psalmist sings: not just the end, but the whole journey in God’s presence is Joy. And isn’t that enough?