We are all ‘pilgrims and sojourners’ …….
It was the exodus of the Old Testament that earned the ancient Israelites the description of “pilgrims and sojourners.” They were a semi-nomadic people moving from place to place. Even their “church” was a tent that had to be pitched and taken down repeatedly as they followed the lead of God in the wilderness.
Tent
This image figures prominently in the New Testament portrayal of the Incarnation. In John’s Gospel, it is written that the Logos, the divine Word, was “with God” and “was God” from the beginning, and “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The word that is translated here as dwelt literally means “tabernacled” or “pitched His tent” among us.
In this sense, it is Messiah Jesus who is the ultimate Pilgrim. His Incarnation is the supreme and timeless sojourn. Messaih Jesus left His heavenly home to enter into our pilgrimage in our behalf. He did this in solidarity with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
I love my homeland. Every time I travel abroad, I am happy to return to my own country. But my country is merely an inn, a resting place in the midst of a higher journey, a road-stop on the way to my true home.
Reflect on this glorious truth: God pitched His tent among us. Passages for further study: John 1:4–5 and John 1:14
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