(e)mergent Voyageurs

As I mentioned recently, a current writing project has me emersed in the histories, cultures, traditions, etc. of St. Francis and the Franciscans.  As an inevitable extension of this, I have also been looking at other monastic traditions, religious orders and practices of faith from these different fields, which has been incredibly rewarding.  One particular shift in perspective that has captured me is the idea of mission as pilgrimage.  Of course, this idea is by no means new, though it is new to me.  While not a comprehensive approach to mission, it does provide a powerful corrective that is needed in our context.

To be a pilgrim is to enter into a journey, where our hearts are changed along with our surroundings.  It is not- cannot be- a static reality, but a dynamic story that moves us further and deeper into the heart of God, engaging the missional vocation He has called the Church to embrace.  If we enter into this task with the prideful assumption that we have arrived, we alienate ourselves from the world and thus them from Christ.

To be a pilgrim is to longingly pursue, an acknowledgment of that we are found wanting.  Why else do we undertake this journey if not to learn, to grow and to discover?  We are not coming to the world as its saviours, but as fellow travellers we meet on the road of life, with whom we share the love we have received, not by our own merit, but by God's grace.  It is summed up in the quote by Australia Aboriginal activist, Lilla Watson, who said: "If you have come here to help me,  you are wasting your time.  But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."

To be a pilgrim is to share the road with fellow pilgrims.  Our journey of discovery and growth finds its fullest expression in the life of missional community.  Our pilgramage towards Christ is a journey in becoming more like Him.  With every step, we die to self and resurrect together into His Body, incarnationally embodying His mission as a community where we could not as individuals.

To be a pilgrim is to willing embace marginality, leaving behind the security of the freedom and affluence of our lives.  As we leave the center for the margins, we inevitably (and necessarily) identify with those on the margins.  We cannot make a missional journey towards Christ without moving in the direction of the poor.  After all, what better destination is there for pilgrimage than Jesus, who Himself taught that we would discover Him in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the prisoner (Matthew 25).

In an age where triumphalism, colonialism and individualism undermine and corrupt our missional life, embracing mission as pilgrimage can help us rediscover God's intention for us in exciting new (or old) ways.  Beyond the abstraction of these ideas, I am eager to explore the implications of this on my life and ministry.