The Trinity

I had a little work sabbatical in September and spent a glorious month in Spain.  Part of that time, I walked on The Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage dating back to the 9th century.  For people in the Middle Ages, this pilgrimage helped atone for sins and assure salvation.  While it has lost much of its religious devotion, it still holds a spiritual component for most.  Along the way, I talked to a man who said he walked the 500 miles to Santiago an atheist and walked home a Christian. 

The walk was stunning.  I walked under brilliant blue skies with billowing white clouds.  Every hour or two, small towns tucked between green hills appeared in the distance, beckoning me for a coffee or a bite to eat.  God the Creator was apparent in every direction through the majesty of the landscape.  It was easy to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, too, in the wind and the sun and the songs of the birds.  As I walked, however, I thought how Jesus was and always has been more elusive for me.  The religious depictions of him, historically, are not always compelling.  Along the way, I saw a lot of statues and paintings of a suffering Jesus, or a judging Jesus, or an aloof Jesus.  Nevertheless, on my last day of walking, I decided to try to focus on Jesus.  A few steps later, coming around a bend, there he was on the side of a hill.  This was an arms-wide-open Jesus, patiently hanging out between some trees, looking right at me with a friendly, knowing expression.  He was just there waiting in the sunshine...offering an embrace from the cross...for me, for you, for everyone.  

Jesus, help us to love everybody with arms-wide-open love.

Judy is back home, resting her feet. She is looking forward to finishing The Camino on her next trip to Spain.