Marathons for Religion

Marathon Monk.  That is what they called Genshin Fujinami.  He completed a seven year, 24,800 mile journey for spiritual enlightenment.  Fujinami is a Buddhist priest who began his pilgrimage this way - the first three years, he had to rise at midnight for 100 consecutive days to pray and run 18 miles per day, stopping 250 times to pray along the way.  Then the next two years he had to up the same routine for 200 consecutive days.  For the fifth year, following this prescibed pilgrimage to enlightenment, he had to sit and chant mantras for nine days with out food, water or sleep in a trial called, "entering the temple."  Year six - he had to walk 37.5 miles every day for 100 days.  The seventh and final year, he had to run 52.5 miles for 100 days, 18 miles for another 100 days and then complete a 234 mile trek back to home.

The Associated Press article did not say if Fujinami found enlightenment.  That would seem to be pretty important after all that but no word on the outcome, just a lot of words about the effort.  The article did say this about the prescribed pilgrimage, "Once a monk starts the journey he must finish or kill himself."  Talk about religion by works!

I am so glad that there is no such pilgrimage to get to God in Christianity.  I would never get to God because I am not able to make that kind of effort.  It seems that in religion the effort can become more important than what it is supposed to bring about.  How odd to go through all that and nothing is said about what is really accomplished.  Did he find what he was looking for or were his efforts in vain?

We look again this week at how no effort of ours can reach God, but God made and even greater sacrifice than the Marathon Monk to reach us.  I hope you will join me Sunday.  You can just drive to church.

For the journey...