By the Rev. Margaret Thor
“Junk, Joy, Jesus.” These three words were the threads that tied us together and grounded us in our pilgrimage. John, our host and guide, introduced these words to us as a means to share our faith with each other. At the close of the day, we reflected on the individual “junk” we felt, the “joy” we experienced, and how we saw Jesus.
If you have been with teenagers for any length of time, you can imagine some of the “junk” voiced during the trip. Words such as “long” and “tired” were prevalent during the first couple of days. After a while, the comments became humorous. Following one hike, a pilgrim confessed that she was the one who stepped in the cow patty – yuck! However, as time went on, the phrase “no junk today” won out followed with excited descriptions of “joy.”
And there was a lot of “joy” to be shared. A long hike in mountain capped by a trip up to a waterfall. Clearly the pilgrims were awed by the power of the waterfall and the beauty of the countryside in Ireland. The hike along the rocky edge of the water by the lighthouse was another highlight. We stopped and built a “cairn”, a pile of rocks, with each rock representing something we wanted to give up that was bothering us. We then gathered around the “cairn” and offered our prayers to God. There was “joy” in exploring a ruin of an abbey that was accessed through the window – none of the adults could climb up to or fit through the window which made it that much more exciting. We took a fishing boat out to the Saltee Island and visited a bird sanctuary. Although almost all of the pilgrims were hesitant about this particular experience, I think it may have been viewed as one of the highlights of the trips. At one point we all sat on the rocks overlooking the sea observing a large flock of gannets. These large birds were noisy but peaceful (if you can imagine that) as they lived their lives playing with each other, flying in and out, and caring for their young. (And did I mention puffins? Seeing the puffins in the wild was one of my joys.)
Reflecting on the Jesus moments started out hard for some yet as our time together progressed, it became easier to express. Many of the Jesus moments tied directly to the “joys” and other times to what was observed. Watching a youth help a hiker, a stranger to us, navigate through the slippery rocks on the island was one example. Seeing the pilgrims assist each other down a difficult set of rocks; reaching up and grabbing a foot to place it on the next rock down. My Jesus moment? It was simply being with the pilgrims as they became a “squad” of friends tied together with this experience of the pilgrimage. We proclaim that Jesus is love and that is what I experienced on our pilgrimage.
Originally published in the September-October 2018 Evangelist.
