Pilgrimage Ponderings
Pitching Tent
Years ago, I heard Tex Sample speak about what John's Gospel really means when it says, "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us." He said that the actually meaning of the word translated as "dwelt" means "pitched tent."
So the Word became flesh and pitched tent in our midst.
I grew up camping with my family in a pop-out camper and later in wooden-floored tents with the Girl Scout troop. I never actually pitched a tent until I was in college.
We were on a retreat in the mountains with the college Sunday school class. The first night was great fun, although the ground was much bumpier than the wooden floor of my scouting days. The next day we went sightseeing around the Blue Ridge mountains, returning when it was nearly dark.
Soon it began to rain. My friend Leigh and I were sleeping on one side of the tent, and halfway through the night, we moved to the Toyota van because there was a river running underneath us. The tent had a floor, but the water resistance had worn off and the tent floor and our sleeping bags were soaked.
Pitching tent in my experience is a messy business. We braved the weather, the lumpy ground, and the sight of each other in the morning. But it's a great memory.
In this season of Advent, I am awestruck at the idea that the God of the Universe made the decision to get down and messy among us. To really live this life with all of the mountaintop joys and gut-wrenching sorrows. And through it all, to show us how to love. To teach us that love is more than just a feeling. It's a choice. That life is more than just what happens to us. It's a choice.
My prayer this holy season is that we all learn to embrace the choices we have. And choose life.
