Ash Wednesday

I Know Where I Am Going

One of the church’s hymns for Lent begins with these words, “Eternal Lord of love behold your Church / Walking once more the pilgrim way of Lent.” The pilgrim way of Lent.

I’ve mentioned before that the seasons of the church year are cumulative. We experience them sequentially, one after another. But each season teaches us something about our relationship with God that is always true. So the perspective and the message of Lent is true not just during these forty days. Lent is an ongoing part of our faithful life.

As they hymn reminds us, one of the images for Lent is a pilgrimage. During Lent we walk the pilgrim’s way. The power of this metaphor is that a pilgrimage has destination. A pilgrimage always has a destination. A pilgrimage is defined by its destination. It is different from a journey of exploration. And definitely different from a casual stroll or aimless wandering. A pilgrimage has a clear destination, often a sacred place, that draws the pilgrim forward.

The naturalist and author Loren Eiseley wrote that perhaps Jesus’ most remarkable proclamation was: I know where I am going. I have come from the father and I am going to the father. I know where I am going. Maybe this proclamation struck him particularly from the perspective of the natural world where where events may seem random, or out of control, or at best cyclical. But not intentional or directional.

Jesus said: I know where I am going.

That is the mantra of a pilgrim. I know where I am going.

As you look at your life or at the world around you, do you see aimlessness or do events feel out of control or does life seem like an endless loop, round and round over and over again?

Jesus says: I am not wandering aimlessly. I am not walking in circles. My earthly pilgrimage has a destination. I know where I am going.

And we know where we are going. Lent reminds us that we are always pilgrims. We are pilgrims Easter bound. Lent always ends in Easter. We are on a pilgrimage to Easter—to fullness of life, to freedom from all that binds or oppresses us, to eternal life shared in the nearer presence of God. We are on the road to Easter.

We know where we are going, and Lent reminds us to live our lives now mindful of the destination towards which we travel. We are called to live our daily lives always aware, always mindful, of where we are going.

We know where are going.

When we’re feeling harried or life seems out of control, we know where we are going.

When we’re crushed or immobilized with guilt or despair, we know where we are going.

When we are struggling with illness or any of life’s hardships, we know where we are going.

And when we’re about to rush past someone in need, we should stop to remember that we know where we are going.

We know where we are going.

To live always mindful of our pilgrimage’s destination changes how we live in the present. This is the important part. To live mindful that we are Easter bound sanctifies the present and transforms the way we live.

When we say, I know where I am going, it transforms how we treat one another. When we say I know where I am going, it transforms how we treat the created world around us. When we say I know where I am going, it transforms what we do with our own lives.

To think of life as a pilgrimage does not mean that our earthly lives are no more than a means to an end. Nor does it mean that we are in charge of building the highway to heaven. Jesus’ death and resurrection have opened the Easter way for us. By God’s grace, we are promised our journey’s end. We may find that our pilgrimage’s path meanders in unexpected ways, but we always know where we are going.

To live mindful of our destination transforms and sanctifies the present. That is part of Lent’s gift. To know that we are going to God opens us up to knowing God more fully here. We are “toward your presence bent,” the hymn says, “far off yet here—the goal of all desire.” God’s presence is both far off and here. And the more we bend our pilgrimage towards God, the more deeply we will know God in our lives now.

To live as pilgrims, knowing our destination, is a daily journey into holiness. Lent may seem like a trial. But really it is a reminder to us that—throughout our lives—we are always on the way to Easter.