Jerusalem Bound. Rodney Aist

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СКАЧАТЬ a land of conflict. Long-distance walking models the virtue of perseverance for tired pilgrims. The template of the earthly life envisions New Jerusalem as our spiritual destination, creating a reflective juxtaposition with the present-day city.

      Elements

      Elements are the parts of pilgrimage that, on their own, do not comprise a complete expression of the pilgrim life, such as departure and arrival, home and holy places, prayer and journaling, baggage and souvenirs. Elements include almost anything associated with an act of pilgrimage: God, self, and the Other; time, place, and journey; logistical details, local context, and pilgrim companions.

      Images

      Images, like elements, refer to virtually any aspect of pilgrimage with one imposed distinction: images may be independent of actual expressions. A case in point are scriptural images, such as Jesus as the alpha and the omega, that relate to time, place, and journey. Jesus is the way, the gate, and the good shepherd. He is the light of the world, the bread from heaven, and the water of life. Christological images offer pilgrims standalone content that can resource religious travel in significant ways.

      Virtues and Values

      Virtues are the principles that guide pilgrim behavior. They are the “what” that pilgrims always do. While pilgrims pursue the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–23; Col 3:12; 1 Tim 6:11), pilgrimage has particular associations with certain virtues, such as hope, patience, and perseverance; hospitality is its constant companion. Pilgrim theology claims the virtues of compassion, respect, self-awareness, and personal responsibility. Pilgrimage also espouses a number of secondary or relative values that are not operative in every situation. Pilgrims navigate between intentionality and spontaneity, austerity and extravagance, confidence and humility, boldness and caution, which underscores the importance of context, discernment, and decision-making in pilgrim spirituality.

      Lived Experience

      Lived experience is the currency of pilgrimage. It is the actual content of the journey, the events, emotions, and episodes that we interpret and reflect upon. Pilgrimage is embodied, first-person experience, or the actuality of lived experience in time and place.

      Adages and Aphorisms

Pilgrims are constantly translating lived experience into short interpretative phrases that express the wisdom of religious travel. They are the quotable quotes and shareable sayings concerning life and faith that emerge throughout a pilgrimage, which we will collectively refer to as adages and aphorisms.12 God is in the facts; life is a journey of losing things along the way; the journey is never over. Forged from experience or borrowed from others, they are concentrated verbal tools for perceiving, exploring, and interpreting the pilgrim life. They are the lessons of the road, rules to live by, which help us size up situations and readjust our thoughts and behavior. They remind us of who we are, where we are, what to do, and where to go, charting the course we need to take and projecting the ideals we seek to obtain. They incite and inspire.

      While conveying insight and wisdom, adages are not necessarily—or always—true. They are assertive statements that are perspectival in function, emphasizing points of view that may not pertain to every situation. “The journey is more important than the destination” offers a valuable perspective; it is, at best, a half-truth. But that’s the point: adages are not truth claims per se but verbal tools for probing reality and focusing our attention. The Holy Land pilgrim is alert to the quotable sayings, group mantras, and personal mottos that emerge throughout the experience, noting how accumulated wisdom and short interpretive sayings frame the ongoing journey.

      Moving Forward

      The aim of the book is to enhance Holy Land travel through a comprehensive approach to the pilgrim life that offers pilgrims a spectrum of ideas and perspectives for exploring the Jerusalem experience. Holy Land pilgrimage is more than walking in the footsteps of Jesus, visiting the holy places, and following the traditions of ancient travelers. It is being a stranger in a strange land, following God in a foreign country, and receiving hospitality from others. It is an exercise in engaging the Other, listening to voices that are not our own, valuing ecumenical and interreligious relations, sharing in the hopes and struggles of the Living Stones, and promoting peace and reconciliation. Holy Land travel is an incarnational journey in time and place. It is about personal narrative, collective memory, and shared experience. The Jerusalem pilgrim embraces the mystery of life: walking into the unknown, receiving revelation as the journey unfolds, and celebrating the sanctity of the present moment.

      Focusing on God, self, and the Other through time, place, journey, and people gives purpose, direction, and structure to the Holy Land experience. The Jerusalem-bound traveler uses the experience as an exercise in Christian formation, which forms the basis for a pilgrim-themed spirituality back home. With an eye towards the future, Holy Land pilgrims seek long-term transformation. They return from the Holy Land shaped by the lessons of the journey and with new understandings of scripture, the life of Christ, and the kingdom of God. Seeds take root upon return, resourcing a lifelong journey of faith. Whether at home or in the Holy Land, the object of the pilgrim life remains the same: the union of God, self, and the Other.

      7. The quote is a standard description of Wittgenstein’s theory. See, for instance, Sussman, Substance and Behavioral Addictions, 29, 317. Wittgenstein himself indicates, “we see a complicated network of similarities overlapping and criss-crossing.” Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, paragraph 66. Also see paragraphs 65–67. The idea of applying the family resemblance theory to pilgrimage comes from Michael McGhee, personal communication.

      8. Niebuhr, “Pilgrims and Pioneers,” 7.

      9. On Renan’s idea that the land of the Gospels reveals the person of Jesus, see chapter 5, “The Fifth Gospel.”

      10. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis, 13.22; Paulinus of Nola, Letter, 49.14.

      11. Soskice, Metaphor and Religious Language, 15.

      12. The pilgrim life is full of short, quotable sayings that go by a number of names, including axioms, adages, aphorisms, bromides, dictums, epigrams, maxims, mottoes, parables, platitudes, precepts, proverbs, quips, quotations, slogans, truisms, and witticisms (the list is courtesy of Geary, The World in a Phrase, 8). While the terms may differ slightly—and a statement about God may function differently from one about life in general—we will refer to the concise sayings of pilgrim wisdom as adages and aphorisms.

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      Biblical Expressions

      The following chapter resources Holy Land travelers through a survey of biblical images that speak to our experience of God, self, and the Other through time, place, journey, and people. Scripture departs from Eden, traverses Calvary, and arrives in New Jerusalem. Exile and return are central themes of the Old Testament: Egypt to the promised land, Babylon to Jerusalem. The New Testament also contains a collection of journeys: the arrival of the magi, the flight to Egypt, the prodigal son, the road to Emmaus. Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem provides the climax to the Synoptic Gospels, while missionary journeys spread news of the risen Christ. Pilgrimage is about place as much as journey, and the scriptures are set upon a religious topography of centers, points, and edges, pathways and intersections, boundaries and borders, profane and СКАЧАТЬ