Getting lost in Galilee, Israel. Hiking 20 miles on a 90 degree day. Climbing mountains. Exploring caves. Studying the birthplace of the largest religion in the world. Investigating ancient ruins. Moving beneath Jerusalem through underground tunnels. Walking through thistles and thorns. Communicating with people of different cultures and languages. Spending a night at an organic goat farm. Braving tight crowds for a second-long encounter with God at His Son's empty tomb. Investing your savings on a two-week pilgrimage. Not a tour. Not a vacation. A pilgrimage. I've just returned from my adventure to the Holy Land (aka Israel). It was a hiking pilgrimage for young adults who wished to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Now, when I talk about a pilgrimage, I'm talking about authenticity and sacrifice. It wasn't just a trip to goof off. Sure, there were times we goofed off and we had tons of fun, but if we wanted to walk the path that Jesus walked, suffering would be included. For me, I hardly knew any of my fellow pilgrims prior to the trip. For all of us, we got blisters on our feet and scratches on our legs. There were times that our mouths longed for water and days we were craving sleep. The sun would burn. We'd wait in lines (that were really unorganized clusters). Our group even strayed from the hiking trail and backtracked. Why all this? Why spend my money on a trip of suffering? Perhaps that is something the first disciples of Jesus were asked. They walked a path of suffering and sacrifice. Why did they give up family, home, and work to travel around Israel? Why did they get rid of their previous ways? Their wealth and name? Why? Well, a man they didn't even know approached them and said, "Follow me." Who was this man? The one and only Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God. I don't know about you, but following a poor man who claims to be God is kind of sketchy. Perhaps. What if this poor man, claiming to be God actually is God? According to C.S. Lewis, Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. He couldn't just be a great moral teacher. He either tricked all of His disciples and pretended to be God, He was a crazy person Who just thought that He was God, or He was telling the absolute truth and was the Son of God (See Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis). The first disciples saw that Jesus was a great teacher, but this teacher claimed to be God. A truly great teacher would not lie and would not simply "think" he was God when he wasn't God. The disciples realized that Jesus was exactly Who He claimed to be. Just as we Christians realize it today. Jesus is God: wind and sea obey Him, evil is subject to Him, illness is cast away by Him, truth is found in Him, the epitome of love is in Him, all power and knowledge is His, and He is the fullness of divinity and perfection. That, my friends, is the reason I went on that pilgrimage. That is why I spent money on a trip of suffering and not one of leisure. Jesus is God, and as a human, I was made to belong to God and be fully satisfied in Him. Just like the first disciples, I went on that trip because Jesus told me to follow Him. Since it was Jesus I followed, the suffering was nothing compared to the wonders I was a part of. I got to see the birthplace of my faith, grow close to my companions as Jesus dwells in them, experience thirst because I truly thirst for the living God, see the bible come to life, and ultimately, grow closer to Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God.
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AuthorJacqueline St. Clare: I spent six months in a cloistered convent, and now I'm a college student! Archives
April 2021
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