Pilgrims' Home

The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him.   They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?”   And they said many other insulting things to him. (Luke 22:63-65) I am not a prisoner in my home these days of quarantine. I am free to be with my family; to read; to connect with students, friends, and former parishioners (albeit mostly by video). I am free even if my options may be limited economically and commercially.  But it’s (Good) Friday, oddly named. Tonight and tomorrow we remember that Jesus Christ lost his freedom and became a prisoner - a prisoner of religious leaders; a prisoner of the State; a prisoner of death. It becomes Good only because we know how it ends. But if we hold this day, this night, and all of tomorrow in Christ and with Christ, we remember the prisoners, the captives, and the ones who remain in bondage. For the many captives, it may simply be Friday. The Friday captives are on my mind tonight as...

When Twitter took off this past weekend and was trending #GoHome and tagging both John MacArthur and Beth Moore, I desired playful optimism that this was a tragic-comedy where they died together and spent a reconciling 90 minutes in heaven before coming back to earth to tweet about it. in actuality, I suspected this was a spectacle of pain and misery of him against her. I was worried this would be one more stain of uncivil speech by Christians given over to the world-wide-interweb.  I admit that I was also hoping this was some Twitter-user drudging up old things MacArthur had said or an old video of a debate between the two of them. It wasn’t; it was a current video less than 12 hours old baiting MacArthur to say something outlandish about a sister-in-Christ. What is worse is that this was an event supposedly celebrating 50 years of MacArthur’s ministry as a preacher of the reconciling message of Jesus Christ. MacArthur is the man who led the radio program,  Grace to...

As a father has compassion for his children,    so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. For God knows how we were made;    the LORD remembers that we are dust. As for mortals, their days are like grass;    they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,    and its place knows it no more. We slowly walked to the front of the sanctuary and Sue began the invitation to the imposition of ashes. Christians have been doing this since the ninth century, so this is not the first ash-rodeo of Christianity. It became complicated today, and it is unclear if human or holy hands were at work. Sue didn’t attempt the trite words often offered on Ash Wednesday but instead gave us thoughtful, theological words that recognized the gravity of sin and the promise of grace. Hers were a poetic summation of the Heidelberg invitation to die to the old and rise in the new. She was ...

I am home now. It has been one week since leaving Spain, and I thought I would be settled already. The lessons of going slow have yet to come home with me. I am far from settled in. At least the sun and moon have found their normal rhythm in me this side of the Atlantic.  No longer am I waking at 4am and making coffee. Also, I am no longer falling asleep in my dinner at 6pm. But my nighttimes are something spectacular. I dream the Camino. I dream of walking the countryside in Spain. I have no idea whether or not the places I dream are actual places in Spain, but the rolling hills, the agrarian scapes, the cafes, and the church-centered villages populate my deep sleep. One of these past few nights I awoke delirious of my surroundings. I wondered if I was in a monastery or private albergue; If I was in a top bunk or on the bottom. I couldn’t figure out what town I was in. I wasn’t scared but delighted. The idea that I was still there - could it be? I shifted and regained...

I promised that I would write regarding my experiment of the enneagram on the Camino. The days found themselves full, and the technology found itself frustrating. I delayed posting and am now editing the postings and placing them on my blog. The following links will take you to the pages which include my reflections on the enneagram via The Camino. I did this to grow in my compassion for others. I sought to understand the world, as much as one can, from the perspective of others. This is simply an experiment but one I hope provides encouragement to its readers. These became a gift to me as I thought about so many people in my own life, and I pray that for those who carry the energies reflected in these writings, you will also find encouragement and love by way of reading. I welcome your comments. They will be most helpful to other readers.  Peace to you, Kyle image borrowed from https://www.contigolifecoach.com/2016/09/16/infj-3w2-gemini/ Enneagram 9 : Lover's ...

It has been several days since i have written. This is partly due to ignoring the journaling practice and avoiding what is alive in me. It is also because i have been well connected to a group of friends that prefer to process together around a small table and wine. These friends: Manuela (Austria),  Lukas (USA-NYC), Livio (Italy or Southern Europe as he often says), Laura (USA-Memphis), Dulce (Mexico), and Teagan (Australia) have become good friends over the past few days. The relationship began back in Sahagun but solidified several days later when we gathered at an Casa de Camino, an albergue in Valverde la de Virgen. Casa de Camino is sadly located on the highway but joyfully included a hammock circle for tired pilgrims. There were no supermarkets nearby, so we could only enjoy what was available from her albergue, which was pretty much wine, water, and cheese. The hospitalero at Casa de Camino is Carol, and she is a lover of life. Her albergue invited others to ...

The elevation of the Camino begins in such a way as to invite slowness, pacing, and presence. The middle section is called the meseta. It is rightly located. By the middle of the journey, the pilgrim (me) is more attentive to slowness and growing in wisdom to the problems of going fast. Each step is its own, and arrival isn't the goal. The high elevations provides shade and a breeze. The flat meseta provides nothing but unadulterated sunshine. Each step invites a life of trust, love, openness, and presence.  Maps/Images from  Pilgrim Santiago

Last night ended so joyfully. Six of us took a rest day and ended the evening lounging in the hammocks with the other peregrinos. The social nature of The Camino is so joy-filled; there are so little expectations, few if any judgments, and ongoing openness to one another. Everyone is a pilgrim so everyone is looking for connection. Maybe not everyone, but when this happens, we sense it and let the pilgrim go alone.  This morning the alarm went off at 5am, and the six of us rose in unison to begin the day. I have been walking for 20 days and occasionally pilgrims will wake together and leave within minutes of one another. The staggering gives the feeling of being Alone Together. Today, however, we woke up as a group, dressed as a group, and left as a group. Everyone stood outside and waited for the last pilgrim to exit the albergue before taking our first step. It didn’t seem needy but collective and joy-filled and loving.It was a true Camino Family moment. I walked 21km to...

I woke up late today and was committed to doing very little. Several of us woke up in Leon with an eagerness to eat a shared breakfast at El Patio. So I packed my bag, walked the streets of Leon and enjoyed my first and second breakfast in the same place. The breakfast was the best. El patio in Leon had a breakfast special of espresso and tortilla (omelette) for 1,40 euro. I had breakfast twice, and we joked about being Hobbits on the way.  I left at 930 and expected to walk alone to Valverde, but Manuela and Livio walked with me. I am always surprised when we can walk together since pacing is so unique. Sometimes we talked about food, other times, spirituality, and other times enjoyed silence side-by-side. Sometimes i think the exchange between people in silence is more profound than exchanges while talking. Talking is so empty; silence is deep. That’s a bad cliche but true nonetheless. Four of us arrived to Valverde together. Valverde is a tiny village located on a busy ...