Mystery and Longing . . .

     On Monday, May 21^st, Peter Harris and I will wake up early, re-pack our packs from the nights stay in Irum, say a brief prayer and cast off into the devotion to mystery and longing that is my Camino.  I had dreamed of this morning for three years.  With great and good intention, I cast myself into a rather daunting unknown: a 500 mile walk across northern Spain.  For the next 40 days I’ll wake every morning and set out looking to match steps, to fall into line with, the One who says “I am the Way”.  The gospel writer John recounts that after encountering  Jesus, Philip looked for his friend Nathanael and said, “Come and see.”  The stories of the Camino I have read so endlessly for the last three years have too beckoned me to “Come and see.”  In my fears about the physical strain, the language barriers, living so closely with a companion for 40 days, I take comfort from the story.  When Nathanael finally meets Jesus, Jesus says, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”  I go to meet One who already knows me, who has been shaping me through family, wife, friends, church, and synagogue for many long years, who has been preparing me for this very time.  I just hope I recognize the moment when it comes . . .