FOLLOWING AN UNEXPECTED TRAIL | PART 2.2

By taking full advantage of the warm ambiance and the generous flow of the Spirit moving, I asked, “What do you think of when you hear the word, pilgrimage?” “What corresponding words immediately pop into your heart and mind?” People shared freely and honestly. Viscerally, I knew people were not simply sharing from their minds, but from their life’s own experiences. The words possessed power and grace. I then went on to play a game so I could give away my book. The winner of a short icebreaker game was none other than the master Chef Kwak. By the time the game was over, I felt like all of us have been friends for a long time.

Taking cues from corresponding words related to pilgrimage, I spontaneously went on to highlight a few sections of my book as a deeper introduction. After the introduction was over, Chef Lee took charge! It was not planned. She did not tell me ahead of time and we did not rehearse what we were going to do after my introduction. I welcomed her initiative with wide open arms and submitted to let the “river” take us wherever. She masterfully, I mean masterfully, facilitated the rest of the evening not unlike a charismatic captain of a ship sailing the magnificent river that none of us had traveled before. Under her disarming facilitative leadership, everyone went around and shared from their heart. Some shared their life stories as an open book, revealing all the dark valleys and peak experiences their paths have been on. My jaw dropped several times and by the time everyone shared, my jaw had already touched the floor and could not have been dropped any further, Chef Lee gave me the last word for the evening. I met most of the people for the first time and second time with a couple of exceptions. I kept thinking to myself, “Is this even possible?”

I came to my senses and actually do not remember all of what I said in my closing comment. I do remember telling them that I felt like I watched several well-scripted dramatic movies in one evening and that I was still crawling out of the deeply immersive movies, half intoxicated. I did not and had not experienced a bunch of strangers forming this kind of bond so fast outside the church confines. We did not use familiar religious language. We did not have to. I probably was guilty of using the most Christian language, which is a rarity, everyone else simply shared their life.

One of the brothers shared toward the end about the tallest Redwood trees in the Redwood National Park in northern California. Though they are the tallest trees in the world, they surprisingly do not have deep roots. The only way they can survive the elements is for their shallow root systems to intertwine with other redwood trees nearby to hold steady and share their resources with one another. He had likened the evening book concert to exhibit such fine qualities of sharing and supporting, as tall Coastal Redwood trees.

No man or woman is an island. We are all invariably connected to one another. The question becomes “What kind of root systems are we part of? And what kind of roots do I possess?” Just as certain root systems can give us life and growth, certain other systems can debilitate and suck us dry. I think of joy as one defining characteristic of doing life together healthily. Joy does not mean an absence of pain, suffering, or problems. It is joy in the midst of them and/or despite them. Joy as a relational emotion gets released when one is simply glad to be with someone(s). One theologian wrote about joy as one defining and lasting characteristic of the early Church which we lost over time—that they were simply glad to be together. This joy over time got replaced with dogma, beliefs, rituals, and programs. Joy was supplanted with systems, rules, and regulations. The Church has tried to “systemize” joy but the goal largely remains elusive. What the heart desired and yearned for was substituted with heady knowledge and cognitive adherence. What has become the Eucharist was an actual meal shared and eaten together, not as designated insiders or outsiders, but rather as one humanity and as equals. What has become the baptism ritual was in fact a celebration of communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Joy arises out of deep communion, be it human or divine. It is a gift of grace from God that beckons us to draw closer to God. Tonight’s book concert presented all of us with the rapturous joy that can only come from God.