Throughout the film you will hear the pilgrims, or 'peregrinos,' use a phrase to encourage each other: Buen Camino! Buen Camino is a Spanish phrase meaning, literally, "good road". But it means a lot more than that. We might liken it more to the French phrase, "Bon Voyage". There's not really an English equivalent that truly captures the meaning of either of those two phrases. We might say have a good trip or a safe trip, have a nice flight, etc. but nothing really comes close. It's a phrase meant to encourage fellow pilgrims along The Way, to wish them peace and safety as well as joy and fulfillment. I guess it's easier to understand within the context of being a pilgrim because everyone on the road is there for pretty much the same purpose, even though they may not be there for the same reasons. Perhaps an equivalent English expression today might come in the form of a high-five or a fist bump. Some things are better expressed in other ways.
I've been pondering this concept of life as a journey, because I've heard it a lot lately. We hear it in the Christian recovery movement - life's a journey, we're all on a journey, he's on his own journey, she's got to walk her own journey, etc. At the church we visited this morning the pastor referred to life as a journey, as have many. Of course, one of the most famous Christian books of all times is 'The Pilgrims's Progress, ' and let's not forget Robert Frost's road less traveled in the poem "The Road Not Taken". In The Way, a character named Jack from Ireland delivers a comprehensive list of metaphors that describe life as a road: the high road, and the low, and long and winding, the lonesome, the royal, the open road and the private, the road to Hell, the tobacco road, the crooked, the straight and the narrow, on and on, including for the 'yanks,' the road to the White House.
But is it Biblical?
I'll admit that sometimes I'm not as quick as I'd like to be. I'll explain more about that in a minute. But I actually began to wonder a bit, "Is this concept Biblical?" Or is that just psycho-babble mumbo-jumbo that creaped into the church from the recovery movement or from some semi-Christian self help books designed to make us feel better about the lack of growth in certain areas of our lives? Are we really just on a journey, just passing through? Or should our focus be more fixed on this world? That's where I was really coming from. Because frankly, I'm a real pragmatic one. We should make it our goal to work quietly with our hands and mind our own business, to win the respect of outsiders and focus on what impact we can make right here and now, rather than holding our breath until this is all over. Like Yoda said of Obi-Wan, 'Never his mind of what he was doing. Hmmm? Where he was!" Forget all that, "I'm on my journey and I'm just not there yet" junk. Deal with it now. That's the pragmatic side of me.
But while I was in church today a phrase jumped into my head. This was where I began to realize how spaced-out I was. Strangers and sojourners. Strangers and sojourners. This is the verse I was looking for:
"Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul..."1 Peter 2:11 (emphasis mine)Pilgrims...I like that even better. Here's another one:
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them,* embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Hebrews 11:13Strangers and pilgrims. Without getting into a lengthy discussion about the Greek here (this is a blog not a dissertation), the words for strangers and pilgrims are also translated as sojourners, aliens, foreigners, nomads and exiles. They refer to people who don't really belong where they are and who aren't among people like themselves. I might throw in transplants, wanderers (though not aimlessly), vagabonds, or visitors. We are in the world, but not of it. The world looks at us and says, "You're not from around here, are you?" We are indeed just passing through. But, we are also commanded along the way to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil 2:12) We are also told by Jesus Christ himself:
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matthew 7:13-14 (emphasis mine).But perhaps the biggest face-palm for me came from this verse right here:
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6
Jesus. The way, the truth and the life. He is the road and the destination. The journey that leads us to itself. And we have a loving father who goes before us, behind us, and covers over us. (Psalm 139:5) I hope someday to take the Camino myself. If I ever make a bucket list, you can believe that this will be very near the top. It is one of my life's ambitions. But until then, I consider myself to be on the Camino now. I am on pilgrimage. Not just to Santiago, but to Jesus Christ himself. I hope you will join me, the journey is worth it, and begins with a single step of faith. Don't forget to enjoy it!
Buen Camino!
