People of The Way. Or why the Camino might be more like church than church.

At church on Sunday, the sermon series called Windows on Community continued with a focus on the role of confession. The early church, also known as People of The Way (not unlike the pilgrims walking the Camino today), was encouraged by James to confess to one another. Confession in Greek means to "say out loud what is common to us".  Ian preached that in confession there is a breakthrough to true community. Sin shuns the light and isolates us from one another and God. In confession the light breaks into the darkness. By confessing our failures we promote authenticity, we invite and create room in our lives for God to heal us and for us to receive God's forgiveness and moves us to intercede in prayer for others.

It seems like there are so many benefits and blessings for ourselves and our communities in confession. So, why are we often so reluctant to share and confess honestly within our church community? What would make us feel motivated and safe to do so? Why do we feel the pressure to be viewed as having it all together and not reveal ourselves as the broken people that we all are?

I have written repeatedly about the relational aspect of the Camino and how quickly friendships and intimacy developed. I think that a huge part of that is due to the frequency of confession that people engage in as they walk together on their way to Santiago. There is a mutual understanding that as pilgrims we all are broken in ways and seeking a deeper experience of life. People are often eager to share with their fellow pilgrims the struggles in their lives. By naming their pain and shame and struggles out loud they are opening themselves up to healing and forgiveness and clarity. Whatever your issues are, the Camino often has a way of highlighting them and forcing you to examine them.  The acceptance the pilgrims  feel allows them the freedom to be honest, transparent. As pilgrims, we all have value and a place just as we are on The Way. Nobody has many belongings, the less that you can carry the better. Anyone can get blisters, tendinitis, twisted ankles, bed bug bites- everybody experiences some physical pain or discomfort. We are sharing our sleeping space, our bathrooms and our dining places together, submitting to humble conditions and very aware that our actions affect everyone else's comfort. I think this leveling of economic status and need to depend closely on one another also helps people to feel free  from pretending to be other than who they are. The fact that most of the other people will only be in one's life while they are on the Camino might help people with feeling like it is safe to reveal their authentic selves because what they say won't follow them back into their lives at home. It's the "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" freedom. But, I think the Camino actually becomes transformative for people when they have their true selves accepted. Having a taste of that on the Camino can lead them to want to experience that at home as well. They often realize how much their brokenness is universal and that by opening themselves up to others they create a safe place for others to be authentic too. This is something that we should be doing regularly in our church communities. If we want to encourage one another and draw people to Jesus, we can perhaps best do that by sharing our weaknesses and sins and pain with each other. God's grace and love and forgiveness will be able to flood into us and our community.