Noel’s Reviews > 3000 Miles to Jesus > Status Update

‘Whatever physical surroundings we find ourselves in, perhaps we can think of our heart as a chapel to which we travel when we pray. The way is mountainous, perilous, sometimes heavily defended. Yet our perseverance and our faith allow us to finally reach this sacred space. Alone with God, our longed-for destination finally before us, we sink to the ground and rest. We drink in divine grace. And we are changed.’

‘Our truest enemies are not in the landscape "out there." They aren't people on differing political or religious spectrums or those of differing beliefs. They are likely not, in fact, people at all. For religious pilgrims, the greatest foes are the infidels of our own hearts.'

'Standing naked before the cross, with nothing on our back and nothing in our sack, we learn the lesson of every destitute pilgrim. To journey to Jerusalem is to arrive with nothing so that Jesus can give us everything.'

"When we finally stagger into Jerusalem, poor and spent, it is likely we will not have enough to pay the entrance fee. We must rely on Jesus to pay the toll for us. This he does, giving us what we cannot supply ourselves: merit, forgiveness, grace, and all the treasures of heaven.'

'Coming empty to the cross, we begin to trust God to give us what we need. We are filled with God's spirit rather than our own false resources or our lack.'

'Only by accepting and then embracing our poverty will we reach our destination. Standing before God with nothing, not even the clothes on our back, we have not failed; we have finally and fully arrived.'

‘The world tells us to accrue more and more as we go along in life. Even on our spiritual journey, we’re supposed to acquire more: more answers, more wisdom, more faith, more (spiritual) wealth. The pilgrim’s way, by contrast, is a way of letting go.'

'Yet Hilton and other mystics seem to think that Jesus will not want our spiritual baggage. Travel poor, the mystics urge. Go all the way to Jesus, upend your sack, and show him there is nothing inside. No self-justifications. No shiny good works to pay the entrance fee. Don't hide behind your bulging sacks. Stand exposed. Naked. Needy.'

'My pack sags with the weight of all my possessions, but it is almost unthinkable to set off without them. Jesus will want to see these valuable spiritual items, I reason. He will want to see my good works; I will want him to see my excuses for the times I failed to perform them.'

'Nakedness means being willing for God to see us for who we really are. It means acknowledging our own nothingness before God. It means making ourselves bare of ulterior motives and reaching out to God with no expectations of material blessings or "good feelings" in return.'