Pete Greig's Blog: Scrambled Greig, page 2

A sort of holy loneliness

Surveying the hysteria of contemporary culture and particularly the crisis of leadership in the church, I am convinced that the quiet, remote disciplines of prayer and pilgrimage, silence and solitude far from being extraneous to modern life are urgently, startlingly essential for anyone aspiring to live prophetically and consistently within such turbulent times.

Nothing but our hidden lives in Christ can lend our public witness for Christ the necessary credibility of dissonance and depth.

Our loveliness amidst the ugliness flowers only from a sort of holy loneliness.

Somehow the simple, time-worn practice of private prayer - merely the maintenance of a personal devotional life - has become an act of outright defiance against the contemporary cult of narcissistic expediency.

Shouldn’t we sometimes arise from our knees a little taller? What if we walked out of the wilderness into the world eyes afire, fists swinging, senses sharpened, saying: ‘Watch out world, I am here with questions for your answers, I have breathed immortal air, alone with All That Matters!’?

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“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” ~ Luke 4:14

“But this kind goeth not out save by prayer and fasting.” ~ Matthew 17:21

“But they, O my God and my life, will see and experience your mild touch, who withdraw from the world and become mild, bringing the mild into harmony with the mild, thus enabling themselves to experience and enjoy you.”

— St. John of the Cross

Day 21: Holy Isle of Lindisfarne

- sadly our final episode of #thepilgrimpodcast, in which we explore Holy Island, and try to process all that happened over the past three weeks walking from Iona to Lindisfarne in the footsteps of Saint Aidan.

Day 20: Crossing to Lindisfarne

- after almost 3 weeks walking I’m crossing the sands to Lindisfarne at low tide on the old pilgrim trail. It’s an exhilarating moment, captured in a final, powerful song by Rich Dawson

Day 19: St Cuthbert's Cave (Cuthbert's Way)

- in which we shelter from the rain in St Cuthbert’s Cave, discuss unfulfilled prophecy and, um, Elton John, while Rich Dawson knocks out another stunning song inspired by #AidansWay written and released on the road. #ThePilgrimPodcast #lectio365

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*[errata - Cuthbert’s gospel, found in his coffin, was that of John not Mark. The number of monks who carried his coffin has been variously depicted as six, seven, or twelve.)

Day 18: Yeavering Bell (Cuthbert's Way)

- in which we cross from Scotland into England , Rich Dawson gets a bit too Celtic, and we stumble upon a little-known place where a baptism service once lasted all day, dawn to dusk, and didn’t stop for more than a month.

Day 17: Scottish Borders (Cuthbert's Way)

- in which we attempt to burn a cowpat, acknowledge rogue emotions and discuss the power of contemplative prayer while Rich Dawson tries to play a song without breathing.

Day 16: Maxton (Cuthbert's Way)

… in which Rich makes a shocking confession as we sit around in a graveyard discussing death as the ultimate pilgrimage - and other cheery subjects.

Day 15: Melrose (Cuthbert's Way)

… in which we finally make it to Melrose Abbey, discuss the amazing life of #Cuthbert, ‘canny-ness’, the burning priority of prayer, the heart of healthy leadership, and the wonderful world of work.

Day 14: St. Ronan's Well, Innerleithen (Cross Borders Drove Road)

- in which we discuss the enneagram and spiritual warfare during a thunderstorm and Rich nearly poisons himself drinking holy water

Day 13: Neidpath Castle, Peebles (Cross Borders Drove Road)

- in which we just kinda hang out at a castle discussing today’s #lectio365 while Rich Dawson premieres his best song yet, accompanied by a barking dog and a (particularly gifted) blackbird