TO
BE A PILGRIM
SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON AUGUST 5, 2007
Col 3:17 "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do
everything in the name of the Lord Jesus."
Today's gospel (Luke 12:13-21) hits us right between the eyes! It raises a scenario very familiar to us these days: the compulsion to have bigger and better things, the tendency to live it up as if pleasure is all that matters, and the emphasis on possessions and wealth.
None of us can escape these pressures…….and who amongst us hasn't been caught up in one of these things? Even if it's only a natural concern about our future and the quality of our lives.
To match the gospel nicely we have for our first reading the opening of the book of Ecclesiastes. Here the preacher tells us that everything in this life is "vanity of vanities" - even laughter.
The preacher is reminding us that to live this life without our eyes fixed on heaven, without any reference to the transcendent or the spiritual life, is a life without purpose. And this is exactly the point of today’s gospel and its parable.
When we come to the Epistle reading from Colossians 3 we see the alternative. A life focused on Jesus is full of good things. Not material possessions - but beautiful qualities like compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, forgiveness.
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" says St. Paul - and that is the secret! When we have the peace of Christ in our hearts everything falls into place. The things of this world are of little use unless they assist us spiritually and point us to heaven.
This message is as old as Christianity and we all know how true it is. And it is the reason why 10 of our parishioners are very excited today. For these 10 parishioners are flying out to England. Not to have a fun vacation (though I'm going to make sure they do) nor to see the world - but they are going on a pilgrimage. They are using what material resources they have (especially their bank accounts!) to do something spiritual – a pilgrimage. What does that conjure up in our minds? Anyone who has seen the reports of the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, or understands the passion of the Jewish saying "Next year, Jerusalem" will know that a pilgrimage is a spiritual exercise. It not only expresses one's faith, but it is also a desire to come closer to God. That is what our pilgrims from this church are about to embark on.
Christians don't think much about pilgrimages. We tend to regard them as something back in the middle ages. Certainly in the middle ages Christians went to the Holy Land, to Rome, to Compostella in Spain, and in England to Canterbury and Walsingham.
John Bunyan's "Pilgrim' s Progress" is classic English literature in which he describes a pilgrimage - with all sorts of conditions of men and women all going on pilgrimage - all seeking a spiritual dimension to their lives.
But pilgrimages are not things of the past. Pilgrimages have become very popular in Europe, and who is not familiar with pilgrimages to our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Every summer hundreds of young people follow the pilgrimage to St James’ shrine in Compostella in Spain, walking hundreds of miles. All over Europe there are places where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared - Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugore, and many other places where people have seen visions of he Blessed Mother.
Most Episcopalians are not aware that our mother Church of England has its shrine to Mary - Walsingham. Walsingham goes back to the 11th Century when the Blessed Virgin appeared to the Lady of the Manor in a small village in England. This is the destination of our pilgrimage. That appearance of Mary in Walsingham makes Walsingham quite different from all those other European shrines. Firstly Mary didn't appear to working class children, but to a respectable lady of prominence in the town. Secondly Mary spoke English. Not Spanish, not French, not Latin, but English! That is why Our Lady of Walsingham is our Lady.
I won't say much more about our Lady of Walsingham. The shrine was destroyed at the reformation along with all the other English shrines. But then in the 20th century an enthusiastic young priest came to be the Vicar of Walsingham 86 years ago - and he restored the shrine. In the process of restoring the shrine he discovered a Well - for every shrine of Mary usually has a well or spring of water that the people may drink. The symbolism is quite obvious: water is life, water is refreshment, water is renewal. So after 400 years of neglect the Holy Well was found again, and pilgrimages once again revived.
Some people find it hard to believe in visions from heaven. Or that Mary would appear on earth so long after her life here. Yet the words of Our Blessed Lord himself always prove to be true: "By their fruits you shall know them."
Today Walsingham is a center that attracts thousands of people every year. People like us: ordinary Episcopalians and Anglicans. It is a place of much prayer and joyful worship. People have their faith renewed - or discover it for the first
time. Prayers are answered and people are healed.
I could give many examples from my own knowledge and experience. One comes to mind: a woman who did not believe in prayer, and certainly not he intercession of the Blessed Virgin. An English school principal, she had not had a good night’s sleep for over 20 years. And then a friend took her to Walsingham. She went with no prayers or intentions, no expectations - yet since that visit she has never missed a good night's sleep.
I also have my own story to tell. I have much to be thankful to Walsingham for. In 1975, when I was a young man living and working in London I went to Walsingham with my Vicar in London. At that time I heard the clear call of God to become a priest. Then in May 2003, when I was still in Australia in my previous parish, I went there at the time the calling committee of All Saints’ was considering me among others as a candidate for Rector. I went there holding in my heart the question of my future. In that holy place I received a clear sign that should I be called by the calling committee I would respond and come to All Saints’. And the rest, as they say, is history!
But perhaps the best and personal testimony comes from the priest who will be joining us in London, Fr. Stephen Powers, from St Bride’s, Virginia Beach. He made his first pilgrimage to Walsingham in 2005. In his own words he says: "I fell in love with Jesus all over again."
We pilgrims are both excited and slightly nervous. And we take this parish and you, our brothers and sisters, with us to Walsingham on our pilgrimage. We will pray for you, and light candles for our needs and the needs of our community and church. And the joy we will surely experience will surely bring blessings and graces to our faith community here.
Ultimately our pilgrimage is a mirror of the pilgrimage of faith and the journey of life that we all face.
So let me finish with a quote from J. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings"
The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet,
And wither then?
I cannot say.