Hymn #278 in Celebrating Grace Hymnal — “We Are Travelers on a Journey”
We are travelers on a journey, fellow pilgrims on the road;
We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.
I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.
The image of life being a journey, with us as travelers, is a common one. If that was all this hymn addressed, it would be a good hymn. What elevates this text, in my mind, is its clear call to our interconnectedness and mutual responsibility. We are ‘fellow pilgrims’, not wandering strangers or lone wolves. On this road, we are responsible to each other, and for each other. We are to hold the Christ-light for each other when then darkness gets to be too much. I need to be ready to do this for you. And you? You need to be watching, aware, closely-related enough to my life to notice when fear is overcoming me. This life is no time for letting each other down.
Will we be there for each other?