Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Why I Hike Alone

Not another person in sight!
Contrary to generally accepted advice about always hitting the trail accompanied by a partner or as part of a group, I almost always day hike and backpack alone.

I often make last minute decisions about when and where to hike based on my sometimes erratic work schedule and the weather. I find it hard, weeks ahead of time, to commit to another person or group and join them on the trail. I might decide the day before or even in the morning to hit the trail for a six to eight mile day hike, and that does not give me a lot of time to find a hiking partner or others to decide whether or not to join me.  When I recently embarked on what ended up being a four day and three night backpacking trip, I did not decide what day I was going to begin my trip until the day before, and only then because I had to reserve camp sites ahead of time.

Although I am not antisocial, I am an introvert, and I like my quiet and alone time. I do not want to carry on a conversation with a hiking partner or participate in a group discussion while on the trail. Hiking alone, in silence, increases my chances of encountering and spotting wildlife. Only when I suspect that bears might be in the area will I attach a bear bell to my pack or a trekking pole, but even its little jingles are less bothersome and intrusive than an ongoing conversation with someone several feet away from me.

When I hike alone, I can hike as fast or as slow as I like and need. I do not worry about a straggler falling behind or slowing down the leader, even if the straggler or leader is just one other person. Furthermore, I can pack and prepare the food I want without taking another’s tastes or dietary restrictions into account. At night, I can snore as loudly as I want without disturbing others and without their snoring disturbing me.

Don’t get me wrong. I have indeed enjoyed hiking and backpacking with others. I have enjoyed several backpacking trips with a hiking partner and a few as part of a larger group, but in the past several years, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Since I do often hike and backpack alone, I always let someone know where I will be going, and when cell phone service is present, I use Facebook to “check in” at the beginning and end of my trek.

This post originally appeared on The Trek.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for The 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 is a further revision and refinement of my Lectionary Ruminations and Lectionary Ruminations 2.0.  Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 draws on over thirty years of pastoral experience.  Believing that the questions we ask are often more important than any answers we find, without over reliance on commentaries, I intend with sometimes pointed and sometimes snarky comments and Socratic like questions, to encourage reflection and rumination for readers preparing to lead a Bible study, draft liturgy, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged.

ISAIAH 58:1-9a (9b-12)
58:1 Last week, Micah shouted out to the mountains. This week, Isaiah shouts out to people what sounds like an indictment. This is not the sort of shout out people want to hear.
58:2 I think the two most important words in this verse are “as if”.  I think I detect some sarcasm on God’s part.  What place might sarcasm have in teaching and preaching?  Is this verse distinguishing between religiosity and praxis?
58:3 Is God mocking the religious?  How much do we serve our own interests rather than God’s interests on our Sabbath (Saturday or Sunday)?
58:4 Can you think of any religious community this verse might apply to?  What specific situation might Isaiah have had in mind?
58:5-7 I am hearing echoes of last week’s “what does the Lord require?”  Does a true fast mean giving up a portion of what the believer has to those who do not have it? These verses sound like the foundation of a Social Gospel ministry.
58:7 Truth is in order to goodness?  By their fruits you shall know them?
58:8 Who is the vindicator? What is a “rear guard” and what is their function?
58:9a Do the previous verses delineate preconditions for the LORD hearing our prayer?  It is usually the one whom the LORD calls who responds “Here I am” but in this verse it is the LORD who responds “Here I am” when the people call on the LORD.
(58:9b) What might “the pointing of the finger” refer to?
(58:10) This verses read like a restatement of 58:7-8.
(58:11) This verse offers images that suggest so many other passages, such as the vision of dry bones and the many biblical references to springs of living water.
(58:12) What ancient ruins? How might this promise of restoration serve as a vision of church renewal, revitalization and transformation, or even urban renewal?

PSALM 112:1-9 (10)
112:1 This verse reads like the antithesis of the Isaiah Reading.  What does it mean to “fear” the LORD?  When I read verses like this I am usually reminded of Aldous Huxley’s “mysterium tremendum” as described in his The Doors of Perception and of  Rudolph Otto’s “mystery” or “numinous” as explored in his The Idea of the Holy: An Inquiry into the Non-rational Factor in the Idea of the Divine and its Relation to the Rational.  It is one thing to obey God’s commandments, and another thing to delight in them.
112:2 The reward (like the punishment) goes to the next generation. Perhaps reconsider Isaiah 58:12.
112:3 Do verses like this fuel the health and wealth gospel?
112:4 You may want to juxtapose the light of this verse with the light of Isaiah 58:8 and 58:10
112:5 I assume the lending in this verse is a lending without interest.  How does this verse speak to Wall Street and investment bankers?
112:6 I assume this is not a reference to stubbornness.
112:7 What are evil tidings? Is your heart firm, secure in the LORD?
112:8 This sounds like a restatement of 112:7b. When is the end?
112:9 Based on this verse, this Psalm, and the First Reading, how might we define “righteousness?”  What does this verse say about our social safety net?  What is a “horn?”
112:10 Is this why some people are so opposed to Social Security, public assistance, and a general redistribution of wealth in our current context of such economic inequality?

1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-12 (13-16)
2:1 As an amateur philosopher who used to teach Introduction to Philosophy at the undergraduate level, I am getting tired of Paul bad mouthing “lofty words” and “wisdom”.  On the other hand, I like that he employs “the mystery of God” (see my comments on Psalm 112:1).  I think we need more mystery in our churches and in our lives.  What do you think?
2:2 Why does Paul seem to usually focus on Christ crucified rather than Christ resurrected?
2:3 What weakness, fear and trembling does Paul refer to? 
2:4 Is it possible teach and preach with plausible words of wisdom as well as a demonstration of Spirit and power? 
2:5 What about Anselm’s “faith seeking understanding”?  Thomas Aquinas opined “Philosophy is the handmaiden of Theology”.  Can our faith not rest on both human wisdom AND on the power of God?
2:6-7 Now Paul changes his tune!  If I did not know better, I might think he is referring to esoteric and perhaps even Gnostic teachings.  I think I smell the beginnings of a conspiracy theory novel here: “Secret and hidden teachings of Paul recently discovered and revealed!”  Dan Brown, are you reading this?  Were the Corinthians among the mature?  Are you?
2:8 When was the last time any ruler of any age got it right?  They Crucified Jesus.  They condemned Socrates.  Rulers always seek to quiet the voices of those who speak truth to power.
2:9 And what is Paul quoting, Isaiah 64:4 perhaps?  Do you think Paul was quoting from memory or from a text before his eyes? Was he quoting the Greek or the Hebrew?
2:10 Does God reveal through the Spirit today or did all revelation cease with the end of the New Testament era?  When we speak of Christ as the revelation of God, do we short change the Holy Spirit as revelatory?
2:11 Paul is starting to sound like a psychologist.  What is “the human spirit?”
2:12 Shall we compare and contrast the spirit of the world and the Spirit that is from God?  What gifts does God bestow?
(2:13) This sounds like a little Orwellian doublespeak, sort of hard to defend against let alone interpret.  Or maybe Paul is just being “spiritual” but not religious.  Is Paul contrasting human wisdom with spiritual wisdom?  Are you spiritual?
(2:14) Here is a topic for a Sunday School lesson, discussion, or sermon: “Spiritual Discernment”.
(2:15) If I have spiritually discerned everything I write here, am I therefore not subject to your or anyone else’s scrutiny! I think this verse sounds a little self-serving.
(2:16) Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Christ, maybe?  If we have the mind of Christ, do we then know the mind of God?  From what is Paul quoting?

MATTHEW 5:13-20
5:13-16 Have we heard these verse so many times that we cannot hear afresh? What more can be said about salt and light?  Do these first century metaphors still speak to us today or do we to translate them into new metaphors?  
5:13 How does salt lose its taste?   
5:14 Why are cities built on hills if they cannot be hid? 
5:15-16 Is Jesus endorsing bringing attention to one’s good works?
5:17-20 The usual formula is “the Law, the Prophets and the Writings”.  Why are the Writings not mentioned here?  What does this and the following verses have to do with the verses that preceded it?  Do you sense there is no thematic unity?  What “law” or “commandments” might Jesus have had in mind, only the Torah, or all the Levitical laws?
5:19 Note that even those who break laws and teach others to break laws will still be in the kingdom of heaven.
5:20 Do you think Jesus (and/or the early church) thought the scribes and Pharisees were a little lacking when it came to righteousness?  Speaking of righteousness, you might want to revisit the First Reading and the Psalm and bring them into conversation with Matthew 

ADDENDUM
I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Interim Pastor of the Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. Sunday Worship at Richmond begins at 11:00 AM. Some of my other blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and The Trek.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for The 4th Sunday After Epiphany (Year A)

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 is a further revision and refinement of my Lectionary Ruminations and Lectionary Ruminations 2.0.  Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 draws on over thirty years of pastoral experience.  Believing that the questions we ask are often more important than any answers we find, without over reliance on commentaries, I intend with sometimes pointed and sometimes snarky comments and Socratic like questions, to encourage reflection and rumination for readers preparing to lead a Bible study, draft liturgy, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged.

Micah 6:1-8
6:1 Rather than the usual and customary “This is the word that came to Micah” we have a call to “Hear”.  How much is this opening verse influenced by, an allusion to, and/or a midrash on Deuteronomy 6:4 and similar passages?  Does it make any difference that early Judaism tends to be an aural faith? 
6:2 Are the mountains and foundations of the earth serving as witnesses?  Judges?  It is usually the people of Israel complaining to and about the LORD.  Now the LORD is complaining about the people. Is the LORD taking his people to court?
6:3 What has the LORD done?  Has the LORD wearied the people? Is the LORD really looking for an answer?
6:4 It seems God is recounting Salvation history.  I like the fact that the LORD mentions Miriam along with Moses and Aaron.   Exactly what are “the saving acts of the LORD” and how does one “know” them? How many of them are there?
6:5 What did King Balak devise?  What did Balam answer him?  What happened from Shittim to Gilgal?
6:6-7 What is a burnt offering? What is so special about calves a year old? Are the LORD’s questions rhetorical questions?
6:8 Who is speaking in this verse, Micah or the LORD?  According to my math, doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God is equal to or greater than all the genuflections, burnt offerings, sacrifices, and offerings we could possibly render, but it does not pay the bills. What is justice? What is kindness? How do we walk humbly with God?

PSALM 15
15:1 Are these rhetorical questions?  What are the expected answers? Was the Lord’s tent ever on the Lord’s holy hill? The tent reminds me of the tabernacle or tent of meeting. The Lord’s holy hill reminds me of the Jerusalem Temple on the Temple Mount.
15:2 How does one walk blamelessly? Does truth come only from the heart?
15:3 How do we slander, do evil, and take reproach?
15:4 What does it mean to fear the LORD?
15:5 There goes capitalism and the economy! May we take a bribe against the guilty? What does it mean to never be moved?
15:1-5 If taken literally, these verses seem to suggest that no one may abide in the LORD’s tent.  No one may dwell on the LORD’s holy hill.  Does bringing these verses into conversation with Micah 8 offer any additional insight?  Why are these virtues spelled out rather than appealing to the Ten Commandments?

1 CORINTHIANS 1:18-31
1:18 What is the message about the cross?  What is the meaning of “foolishness”
1:19 As an amateur philosopher, I find this verse a little disconcerting.  Maybe we need to deconstruct it and explore its deep structure.  By the way, where is this written?
1:20 Are these rhetorical questions?  Whom might Paul have had in mind?
1:21 So while human wisdom will be destroyed, it is alright for God to be wise? I wonder how Paul would have reacted a century later when Christian Theology was so heavily influenced by Platonic Philosophy.
1:22 So “wisdom” is being used as a metaphor or code word for “Greeks”?  What about Christians who centuries later would refer to Plato as a proto-Christian?  What sort of “signs” do Jews demand?
1:23 How is the proclamation of Christ crucified a “stumbling block” to Jews?  How is the proclamation of Christ crucified “foolishness” to Gentiles?
1:24 Here we encounter call language again.  What does it mean to equate “the power of God” and “the wisdom of God” with Christ?
1:25 How can weakness be strong?
1:26-29 This might have preached in Paul’s day, but what about white, upper middle class, Christian America?  This might preach in an economically distressed, immigrant, or even middle class congregation, but in Old First Church, filled with lawyers, bankers, and college professors?  Why does Paul seem to equate wisdom with power and nobility? Certainly there were some early Christians who were wise by human standards, powerful, and of noble birth.
1:30 Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption are not necessarily words we use in common, everyday conversation.  How can a teacher or preacher unpack them?  While Paul started out in this passage apparently antagonistic toward wisdom, he concludes by claiming that Christ Jesus is the wisdom from God.  What gives?  How might Paul’s “wisdom from God” compare and/or contrast with the Fourth Gospel’s “word/logos”? Has Paul employed any Greek rhetoric in his argument?
1:31 Where is it so written and how does that writing’s context inform this passage?

MATTHEW 5:1-12
5:1 Why is “crowds” plural?  What mountain did Jesus go up? Why did his disciples go to Jesus after he sat down? This is such a familiar passage, how can we hear it again as if for the first time? What do we call the large section of teaching which this begins?  How many sections of teaching material are there in Matthew?
5:2 And centuries later the body of Christ still teaches primarily by speaking.
5:3-12 This year, for the first time, my appreciation and interpretation of this verse is influenced and enhanced by the calligraphy and illumination of this passage in The Saint John’s Bible. "Beatitude" may mean "blessed" bust some would argue that "happy" would be a better translation. If that is the case, then I immediately start to think of songs by Bobbly McFerrin and Pharell Williams.
5:3 In this and in the following eight verses, what does it mean to be ‘blessed”? What does it mean to be poor in spirit?  Who are the poor in spirit today? What is the kingdom of God?
5:4 I wonder if mourners find this verse comforting.
5:5 What does it mean to be meek?
5:6 Might this at all inform our understanding of the Eucharist?
5:7 What does it mean to be merciful?
5:8 What does it mean to be pure in heart?  What about the prohibition about looking upon the face of God? Does this verse suggest that the heart, rather than the brain, is the primary spiritual organ?
5:9 You may want to consider “Peacemaking: The Believer’s Calling” adopted by the 1980 UPCUSA GA. http://www.pcusa.org/resource/peacemaking-believers-calling-text/
5:10 Why might “the kingdom of heaven” appear twice, here as well as in 5:3?
5:11 Note the change in form, from “blessed are the ‘whatever’”, to “blessed are you.” While 5:3-12 were indirect and hypothetical, this verse is direct and personal.
5:12 Do you rejoice? Are you glad? Would we rejoice and be glad if there were no great reward in heaven?

ADDENDUM
I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Interim Pastor of the Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. Sunday Worship at Richmond begins at 11:00 AM. Some of my other blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and The Trek.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for The 3rd Sunday After Epiphany (Year A)

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 is a further revision and refinement of my Lectionary Ruminations and Lectionary Ruminations 2.0.  Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 draws on over thirty years of pastoral experience.  Believing that the questions we ask are often more important than any answers we find, without over reliance on commentaries, I intend with sometimes pointed and sometimes snarky comments and Socratic like questions, to encourage reflection and rumination for readers preparing to lead a Bible study, draft liturgy, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged.

ISAIAH 9:1-4
9:1 Who were those in anguish?  When was the former time? Where is the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali and what is so special about these lands?  When might the latter time be? Who is “he”?  Why is the sea associated with Galilee?
9:2 Who walked in darkness and lived in a land of deep darkness? Have you ever walked in the dark? What is the nature of the great light that has shined?
9:3 Who is being addressed? What does it mean to multiply the nation? I am a little troubled by the mention of plunder.
9:4 Who is the “you” that has broken these things?  Who was the oppressor?  What happened “on the day of Midian”?

PSALM 27:1, 4-9
27:1 Who shall you fear and of whom shall you be afraid?  In my experience, fear can be a crippling and paralyzing experience for congregations facing an uncertain future and needing to change.  The “light” of this verse explains why this psalm was paired with the Isaiah reading (See Isaiah 9:2).  When read together, how does this Psalm enter into dialogue with the First Reading and vice versa? Why does this verse remind me of Taizé?
27:4 A worthy petition, don’t you think?  Does living in the house of the LORD mean living in the Jerusalem temple?Does this verse not express the desire of all Christian mystics?
27:5 What might qualify as a “day of trouble”?  Being concealed under the cover of a tent and being set high on a rock (for all to see) seem like a mixed metaphor.  As a backpacker, I really like the tent imagery, and as a rock climber I like the rock imagery.
27:6 What does it mean to have your head lifted up above your enemies? Does the “tent” in this verse and in Psalm 27:5 allude back to the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting before the Temple was constructed?
27:7 This verse could be used as a response in bidding prayer or as the opening petition in a prayer.
27:8  What can happen to people who see the face of God?  What does it mean to seek God’s face?  What does God’s face represent?
27:9 Why might God ever hide the divine face, turn the servant away, and cast the servant off, and forsake the servant?

1 CORINTHIANS 1:10-18
One problem with this passage might be that we are too familiar with it and our preconceived notions of what it says and means might get in the way of fresh interpretations.  On the other hand, readers may want to review Is Christ Divided: A Report Approved by the 200th General Assembly (1988), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as a lens through which to view and interpret this passage.
1:10 How does Paul strengthen his appeal?  Has he played the “Christ” card? Would Paul be making these statements if there were not disagreements and divisions?
1:11 Who is Chloe and Chloe’s people? Has Paul already taken sides by acting on a report from Chloe’s people? Has Paul been triangulated?
1:12 Who was Apollos?  Who was Cephas? Have you ever heard talk in your particular church approximating what Paul is describing here?
1:13 Are these rhetorical questions presuming the answer “No”?
1:14-15 I think Paul, in another letter, claimed to never have baptized.  Even in this verse, Paul does not seem to totally trust his own memory. Who were Crispis and Gaius?  
1:16 Why the parenthesis? Who was Stephanas?  What is the meaning of “household?”  Might this household have included children and infants?
1:17 On what basis is Paul arguing that eloquent wisdom might empty the cross of Christ of its power?  Is Paul simply feigning humility? For generations after Paul, Philosophy was considered the handmaiden to Theology.  Where would the Gospel be without philosophical reflection?
1:18 what do you make of the juxtaposition of foolishness and the power of God?

MATTHEW 4:12-23
After an excursion into the Gospel According to John, we are now back to a somewhat lectio continua reading of Matthew.
4:12 Why did Jesus withdraw to Galilee upon learning that John had been arrested.  From where did Jesus withdraw?
4:13 Apparently, Jesus withdrew from Nazareth.  What, if any, is the significance of Capernaum?  Are Zebulun and Naphtali the only reasons why the Isaiah 9:1-4 Reading appears in today’s Lectionary Readings?
4:14-16 Other than the fulfillment of prophecy (See Isaiah 9:1-4), is there any other significance to Capernaum?  Does it sometimes seem like Matthew goes out of the way to document fulfillment of prophecy?  Why does Matthew 4:15-16 differ slightly from Isaiah 9:2 in the NRSV?  Does it matter?
4:17 Have fun unpacking Jesus’ proclamation.  How has the Kingdom of heaven come near?
4:18-19 How does this version of the call of Simon and Andrew differ from last week’s account in the reading from John 1:29-42?  Why the difference?  
4:20 Note the word “immediately”.  What is the meaning (or meanings) of “followed”?
4:21 Why might Jesus’ first four disciples have been two sets of brothers?
4:22 Note another appearance of “immediately.” What more do John and James leave behind compared to what Simon and Peter left behind?  What are we called to leave behind when we follow Jesus?
4:23 Should we assume that Simon, Andrew, James and John were “following” Jesus as he went through Galilee. What is the “good news of the kingdom” and does it differ from “the Gospel”? Is “every disease and every sickness” hyperbole?

ADDENDUM
I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Interim Pastor of the Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. Sunday Worship at Richmond begins at 11:00 AM. Some of my other blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and The Trek.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Calligraphy Caim


A good friend gave me a Sheaffer Maxi Calligraphy Kit and a fifty sheet Calligraphy Paper Pad for Christmas. The Sheaffer Kit included a small instruction book. I have been learning and practicing calligraphy ever since.

This above is a scanned copy of my latest creation after several failed attempts. The words to the Celtic Caim are not original and slightly different from the traditional. The lettering, my attempt to employ "The Uncial Hand," which according to the instruction book "is often called an 'early Christian' alphabet, as it was used during the 4th and 5th centuries for scriptural texts and sacred writings," and coloring was all done by hand with the exception of the Celtic Cross. I used a rubber stamp and ink pad for the cross and then shaded it with a green colored pencil. The finished piece is 8 x 10.

My renewed interest in calligraphy and illuminated manuscripts has been in part piqued by recently reading about and studying the calligraphy and illuminations of The Saint John's Bible, especially the Gospels and Acts volume. My studying and reading is in preparation for a four day continuing education event called "Illuminating the Text," which will focus, in part, on the Gospels and Acts volume of The Saint John's Bible.

The above illuminated calligraphy also betrays my interest in Celtic Christianity and Celtic Christian illuminated manuscripts, especially The Book of Kells and The Lindisfarne Gospels, both of which I have had the opportunity to see with my own eyes.

Morning Mystic

Sitting at the kitchen table
Meditating
Helios rises above a snow blanketed hillside
His morning rays parting winter clouds
Now shining through frosted pains

Eyes closed
I am mindful that my façade is illuminated
My inner gaze transfigured
My awareness heightened
Basking in this warming radiance

Optics, physics, and celestial mechanics explain the miracle
This coincidental transcendent experience I must ponder
Bathed in the intuitive brilliance of mystical union
An encounter some seekers would envy
"Lord Jesus Christ, Have Mercy on me"

                                                                               JEH 2017

Review of Belden Lane's "Backpacking with the Saints"

Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice. By Belden C. Lane. Oxford University Press, 2015. 266 pp. $24.95

I am not the first person to experience, reflect on, and write about the spiritual dimension of wilderness. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and John Muir are just three writers in that genre that come immediately to my mind. After reading Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice, I will add Belden C. Lane’s name to that list.

A 266 page hardback is not a book most would want to carry in their pack. For those heading out into the wilderness searching for and expecting a spiritual experience, this is a book to be read before heading out. For those who unexpectedly experience something spiritual while in the wilderness, this is a book to be read after you return home to help you debrief.

Belden Lane is Professor Emeritus of Theological Studies, American Religion, and History of Spirituality at Saint Louis University and an ordained Minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). His writing immediately betrays his academic credentials as well as his own spiritual and mystical experiences in the wilderness. Each chapter pairs reflections from one of his hiking, backpacking, or kayaking adventures with reflections upon his reading of a saint’s writings during that trip. The narrative is spiced with enough tidbits about Leave No Trace, boots, blisters, stoves, tents, packs, Backpacker Magazine, and trail descriptions and lore to satisfy any hiking or backpacking enthusiast.

Even though Lane writes from a Christian perspective, he unapologetically also draws from Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and Muslim spiritual and mystical sources as well secular writers such as Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, John Muir, Wendell Berry, Edward Abbey, Anne Lamott, and Barbara Kingsolver. When Lane backpacked into Missouri’s Moonshine Hollow, for instance, he carried with him and reflected on the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh. When he journeyed to Missouri’s Taum Sauk Mountain, he took with him and reflected on writings by Jelaluddin Rumi.

While not preachy, the chapters are organized according to a classic understanding of the spiritual journey interpreted through a backpacking metaphor. I think anyone who considers himself or herself “spiritual” or “religious” will relish in the open mindedness of this work along with enough meat to chew on to engage their heart and mind regardless of their religious or spiritual tradition or lack thereof.


I think Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice can inform all whose wilderness wanderings and trips include a spiritual dimension.

A slightly longer of this review originally appeared on The Trek.