Fun fact you should know… each year about 150 million Christians go on pilgrimages.  Roughly 7% of the world’s Christian population, get up and go from their homes to see and experience some religious landmark.  I personally have had the good fortune to see a couple of these places in my life.  I did not travel to these places out of a sense of religious call or duty I simply went there because I was on vacation; touring near by and the guide book suggested I check it out.  Frankly a lot of it was lost on me.  Sure it was neat to see these things; in the case of some, beautiful structures have been erected to mark the spot and for the faithful to worship, but I didn’t get much more than that out of it.  I may have had a sense of wonder about the place and I may have had a sense of curiosity about the people who went to great lengths to travel there as their destination and not just a side trip but it was obvious being there was much more moving and meaningful for the pilgrims than it was for me.  My guess is very few of the 150 million pilgrims this past year, that is those people who traveled to a certain religious destination searching for a deepened sense of spirituality, were Presbyterians.  Most Protestants in fact do not make a big deal about making pilgrimages to various holly places, we may vacation there, and take in the sites but we are not likely to take it much beyond that.  While we may not put a lot of emphasis on traveling to these religious landmarks that is not to say we don’t take spiritual journeys.  We may not believe or feel God calling us to these places but we do believe God calls us, loudly at times, to set out in a new direction, to embark on a spiritual journey, or to go someplace and make a difference there.  The season of Lent is considered by many to be a spiritual journey and as we contemplate this 40 day pilgrimage and what it means for us let us look at the example of Abraham and the journey God called him to take. 

           God definitely calls Abram to a journey, but there’s no mention of religious landmarks at all. In fact the divine instruction that comes to Abram is not so much about where to go as it is about where to leave.  “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house,” the Lord says to Abram, “to the land that I will show you.”   Not much of an itinerary if you ask me.  “Leave here, leave the security of home, of family and possession, and don’t concern yourself with where you’re going. You’ll find out in due time.”   We know also that it’s not that the biblical narrator here in Genesis simply left the destination detail out of the story; Abram really wasn’t told. The New Testament writer of Hebrews must have noticed that, because, centuries later, when that writer referred back to this story as an example of faith, he said this: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going”  The key point here is that Abraham with no GPS or other navigational device other than God’s voice set out from his home at Haran and went trusting God to show him the way.  So for Abraham this journey is not so much about the final destination as it is about leaving and following God’s call to go. 

             I don’t know about you but I think I might put up a little more fuss than Abraham should God call me to go on such a trip. Just think about all the things Abraham was called to leave behind, a home, family and most of all the safety and security these things provide not to mention the familiarity with his present surroundings.  Not only are these things being left behind but the details of what Abraham is going to are kind of sketchy.  God promises Abraham he will be the beginning of a great nation and we all know to have a nation you need people and you need land and leaving his home behind Abraham would have neither.  Abraham has no way of knowing what land God has in mind for him to occupy, who knows if it will be suitable.  There is another problem with God’s plan to bring about this nation; Abraham and his wife Sarah have no children and are both very old so children seem to be out of the question and having a people to have a nation doesn’t seem likely.  But trusting in God’s promise of making Abraham the father of a great nation, and trusting God’s promise of blessing, Abraham sets out into the unknown.  There is a lot at stake for Abraham and we are not told for sure how he felt about all of this whether he was scared, angry, happy, sad, all we know is he did it.  That is the mark of faith.  Abraham put one foot in front of another heading for a place he had never seen and a promise he surely had to doubt could be possible but he did it.  Not seeing not knowing what lay ahead Abraham trusted God enough to follow God’s lead and embark on this journey. 

            I think the question for us then is how do we respond to God’s call to go on a journey?  It is said that the African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall.  Faith is being able to trust what we cannot see, not knowing where our feet will fall but trusting God and jumping anyway.  Chances are we are not capable of jumping a height of 10 feet or covering a distance of greater than 30 feet like the impala but we each have our own gifts, each of us has some strength, some talent, some God given ability, and all of us have the ability to follow God if we so choose.  The question is will we use it?  Will we follow without always having the benefit of seeing what is on the other side of the wall like Abraham did?  Will we follow where God leads us in our lives or will we allow some small wall, the fear of the unknown to keep us from moving in the direction God calls us?

              God doesn’t call us necessarily to go on religious sight seeing tours but God does call us to be pilgrims to follow faithfully where God leads us.  Much of the time when God calls us like Abraham the destination is unknown.  It is not unusual for God’s call to involve leaving something behind.  For Abraham it was his home and his family but who knows what it may be for us.  God’s call may involve going places where we would rather not go.  Following God’s call may even be scary.  John Wayne once said “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”  I think something similar could be said for faith.  Following God can be a pretty risky and scary proposition at times but faith is about saddling up anyway, putting our trust in God and leaving Haran anyway, whatever Haran may be for us. 

           From 1979 to 1991, Bruce Kennedy was chairman and chief executive of Alaska Airlines. During his tenure, he expanded the company’s routes into Southern California and to Mexico and Russia. Under his leadership, annual revenue rose from $234.5 million in 1982 to $1.1 billion in 1991.

           In 1991, at age 52, Kennedy made a move that has all the marks of a pilgrimage like Abraham’s. Kennedy left the company to pursue humanitarian goals. With his wife, he traveled to China to teach English with the Christian group Educational Services International. Later, as volunteers with World Relief, they sheltered dozens of refugee families in their home.   He also took a leadership role with Mission Aviation Fellowship, which operates a fleet of light aircraft that fly aid to remote and conflicted parts of the world. Further, he became chairman for Quest Aircraft Co. of Sandpoint,

           Kennedy heard a call to leave where he was, a place where he was pretty well off, and go to a place God would show him, and he went, he left things behind and followed.  This is a great example of how we can be faithful followers when God calls us.  The only difference being not many of us are going to have the resources of a Bruce Kennedy. But faithfulness is not a matter of great resources faithfulness is about using what we have to follow.   Jesus found a talent pool with some fishermen as we read a few weeks ago. The occupation and the size of the bank account are things God is not particularly interested in.  But don’t think God isn’t going to call you to move out of your comfort zone just because you’re not some big shot. 

            We may not feel called to take pilgrimages around the world to various religious landmarks but God does call each of us to be pilgrims, to follow God’s lead like Abraham.  During this season of Lent may we continue faithfully along this spiritual journey.  The important part of the journey isn’t necessarily where we end up the important thing is that we get up and go, that we put one foot in front of the other and follow where God leads us.  Amen.