Day 26 on the Camino Way

Theology Discussed on the Way

It’s interesting to me that this sign came up the day after I wrote the piece about pain. In case you can’t read it, here’s what it says: ”Camino injuries are God’s messages. Listen to you body.” Then in red there was this rebuttal: ”No they are not!”

The sovereignty of God debate on a sign post. You have to love the Camino.

Encounter Number 1

This is Jennifer from Australia. She was waiting on a corner near a Camino shell sign—one pointing the way to go. As we walked by she joined us and asked: ”May I walk with the two of you?”

We said, ”Of course.”

There were quick introductions and then she said, ”I promised my daad (that’s Australian for dad) that I would not walk in the dark.”

Sally and I gave her the parent look. You know, the one that says, but it’s dark. She added, ”So I don’t want to lie to my daad so I’m going to tell him that I walked in the dark but with a lovely couple from America.”

I said, ”Older couple, of course.”

To which she replied, Well, yeah, but I didn’t want to offend you.”

It would seem that Sally and I are safe.

Encounter Number 2

Jennifer left us at a coffee bar just after sun up. As we walked along a 40 something German woman walked along side. She was wearing a Yankee ball cap. I recognized her from before. I ventured, ”I remember someone asking you if you were a Yankee fan. You said, ‘No,’ I just like the hat.”

She laughed and said, ”I get that all the time.” You Americans like your teams. We Europeans like the way some of them look. I have a Cubs hat too. I know nothing about baseball.”

That was an introduction to a deeper unplanned conversation. I told her that Germany was a place Sally and I wanted to visit. ”My father was there toward the end of the war, at Nuremberg and Dachau. Is it okay that I mention the war?”

She immediately dropped back and came along side of me as Sally walked ahead. ”Yes,” she emphatically said. ”This was not my generation. And most Germans hate what happened. We want to talk about it.”

And she did. For the next mile—20 minutes—she and I, mostly she, talked about the 1930s and the rise of Hitler. Because I’m not wanting this to be a political blog thread I’m not going to detail this conversation. I’m only going to include one element—the Christian role in the rise of Hitler. Earlier we’d talked about our professions. She is a pediatric nurse. I am/was a pastor.

“You’re a Christian.”

“Yes, I am.”

“You know that Christians supported Hitler?”

”Yes,” I said, ”I know that. But not all, many stood up against him too. Bonhoeffer for one.”

“Yes, she said, ”we know about him. He was good. But some was not enough, was it?”

No, some was not enough.

Like Jennifer, Alex, that’s her name, hadn’t had breakfast so she stopped at the next coffee bar. We went on.

Encounter Number 3

When we arrived at our hotel, Sally rested. She has a stomach bug. The good news is that she’s doing much better. I went to the town square to find something to eat. I grabbed a table, the only one available. It was big enough for four.

An Italian woman asked if she could join me. In proper Camino protocol, I said, “Of course.” She was in her late 70s I’d say, tallish and thin. We introduced ourselves. No name here. No photo either. You’ll see why.

She lost her husband to COVID. They had planned to walk the Camino together. So she is doing it for the two of them, she told me. She has severe hip and knee pain. So each day she walks as far as she can and then she calls a taxi to bring her the rest of that day’s journey. “People tell me I’m cheating,” she told me. ”I knew I’d cry on this trip,” she said, ”but not because of that.”

I think she’s brave and courageous and entitled to walk the Camino however she is able. Now I tear up easily so no surprise I teared up then and am now as well. There’s more to be said here I suppose, but I don’t know how to say it anymore.

The rest of our meal together was wonderful, by the way. She is a delightful woman with a great laugh and stories about her kids and grandkids, each of whom is cheering her on every day. And now she has one more fan and maybe Sally and I will see her on the road tomorrow. If we do, and we probably won’t because we are leaving before light-but if we do, she gets the hug I didn’t give at the cafe. Because I need it!

Buen Camino!