Walking together in faith, the pilgrim journey takes us to the core of human dignity where injustices cannot be ignored, where love is the only antidote for hatred and war.
By John Haren
The invitation had been long standing. Not rejected, just not activated. To get to the Greek island of Kalymnos requires some planning. It’s not on the tourist trail. Its ruins do not have a high profile. It’s not a party island. It is a place of historical importance even if its archaeological exploration was halted by the Global Financial Crisis. It is where St Nicholas, claimed to be the antecedent of Father Christmas, was a much-loved bishop.
Our residence is separated from the church named in the saint’s honour by a set of stairs ascended and descended by faithful parishioners. Each morning the bells toll, as a reminder. A reminder of the presence of the church, a reminder that we are alive, a reminder that we are invited into the humanity of our world.
Each Sunday, incantations permeate the airwaves. An invitation to pause, to contemplate, to use this time to generate hope-filled reflections about our lives, the world and our God.
Our balcony overlooks the harbour where people go about their lives quietly, methodically and generously. Parishioners emerge from the Sunday liturgy with bread they share with us as they pass. It’s an invitation and a welcome into their community of love, even if for a fleeting moment.
They do not know us, and we do not know them. And yet we do, as fellow travellers, journeying together on the quest for life, new hope, new ways of being. As bystanders in this temporal space, in this temporary home, resting from the sometimes wearying reality of everyday life, but attuned to a call to be more present. Being called into a spiritually nourishing and nurturing state.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
The one thing all mindful beings have in common is our humanity. We are thinking, feeling, acting creatures made to be in connection with each other. Our ability to cooperate, socially organise, develop economic and political structures, is testament to our sense of who and what we are.
On the other hand, conflict, war, discrimination are a blight on our humanity. Faith points us in the direction of what it is to be truly human. Walking, traversing and transforming require energy. Energy that at first glimpse, at first sight, we may not have.
And yet, in faith we can be more truly human through love, hope and compassion. To view a world where difference can be used for healing. Where hateful conflict can be replaced by hopeful compromise. Where we invest in each other’s personhood regardless of colour, creed, ethnicity, gender or sexuality.
Walking together, in faith, is the modus operandi of the pilgrim. We cannot discover our humanity in isolation. We cannot deepen our spiritual journey without engaging with fellow travellers. This pilgrimage enfolds us in each other’s story. Links us in ways that take us beyond individualism to a state of being that seeks human dignity in each person, transcends what we can discover as a personal pursuit. A journey that takes us to the core of human dignity where injustices cannot be ignored, where love is the only antidote for hatred and war. Where the stranger becomes our neighbour.
“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).
Strangers can also be pilgrims, fellow travellers. Strangers in our midst offer a new sense of our own humanity. The refugee redefines freedom. The migrant inspires opportunity. The person with a disability, reveals alternative ways of expressing humanity. The woman escaping domestic violence, a way of releasing the bonds of a brutal life. The war veteran, a new perspective on human conflict and peace.
Pilgrims include all of humanity who are engaged in the project of developing a better world, because they understand that the stranger, the neighbour, the prisoner and even the adversary have a shared humanity. The pilgrim is driven to understand the path that each person takes towards living a truly human life.
The pilgrim cannot ignore the pain that this exposure to a broader humanity elicits. The deep empathy for the suffering of Gazans, bereft of a home, grieving for deceased loved ones. Israelis whose family members have been killed or wrenched away as hostages. The Ukrainian soldier saying goodbye to family before venturing to the frontline.
The sight of a homeless person constructing a cardboard shelter for the night. The psychotic person on the street arguing with a health worker trying to provide care. These are the images, the stories that touch the soul of the pilgrim. Stories that shape our own experience of what it is to live, to be on the road together.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality” (Romans 12: 12-13).
For the pilgrim who is committed to the search for meaning, the deepest insights into self come from immersing ourselves in the company of others, strangers and friends alike.
Rejoicing in participating in the citizenship ceremony for a boat person who has patiently waited 12 years for this moment. Sharing the joy of childbirth with a mother after a particularly taxing pregnancy. Being captivated by nature while walking through a native rainforest. Allowing the cool running waters of a mountain stream to wash over our hands and feet.
These moments are the hope that pilgrims draw on to be signs to the people around them, the broader community, and the world, that we can be co-creators of a better, more just, and peaceful world.
As the parishioners pass our balcony on Kalymnos, we are the strangers, the outsiders. Yet we are welcomed into a space inhabited by pilgrims on a journey of hope. It is a stairway of hope that men, women and children navigate on their way to and from the Church of St Nicholas.
We cannot but respond to the invitation to be hope-filled pilgrims continuing the quest for a better world for all. We are on this balcony observing and engaging in the world around us because of an invitation from fellow travellers. Eventually we responded, joining all pilgrims on the journey of hope.
