“My father was a wandering Aramean…” (Deut. 26.5)

With this declaration the people of God entered Jerusalem on pilgrimage to the Feast of Tabernacles. Three times a year God called His people to pilgrimage from their homes to the City on the Hill. Each festival was a reminder of God’s great actions in their history. At Passover they were reminded of God delivering them from Egypt; at Pentecost they were reminded of God’s giving them the Law on Mount Sinai; and at the Festival of Tabernacles they were reminded of the wilderness wanderings.

At the heart of pilgrimage and at the center of these festivals celebrated in Jerusalem Israel was reminded of an integral part of her identity. The people of God, Israel, were marked as aliens and strangers in this world. They were a people on the move following after a God who is on the move. A people not merely rooted in this world, but a people who are a part of a larger kingdom than the geographic boundaries of Palestine could contain (or limit). A people who are to sense a greater loyalty to God’s will and way than to “citizenship in this world.”

How do we see our identity in God? Do we consider this aspect of being part of a family of wanderers?

Wandering Arameans: from Father Abraham to Ruth to our Lord Jesus, our heritage has been one of wandering from one place to another. The hallmark of our faith has been following after a God of mystery who is on the move - and we are to be found in the space between here and there (on pilgrimage). Am I too wed to place? Am I unresponsive to the movement of God and His people due to my being rooted (the security of the familiar) and unprepared to “go where He leads”? Am I mired in my surroundings to the degree that my identity is wrapped up in my place and circumstances?

How can I remind myself of my identity as a pilgrim? What practices can help me in my desire to remain pliable under God’s direction and sensitive to God’s movement?

I would love to hear your thoughts on our heritage as pilgrims.