Strangers and Sojourners: A Reflection on the Pilgrim Life in Light of Easter
As the Church journeys through Paschaltide, the radiant joy of the Resurrection continues to illuminate the hearts of the faithful. Yet, in the liturgy of this Wednesday after the Third Sunday post Pascha, Holy Mother Church sets before us readings that bring a salutary tension: the joy of Christ’s victory alongside the trials of the Christian’s earthly pilgrimage.
In the Epistle, St. Peter exhorts:
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul…” (1 Peter 2:11)
And in the Gospel, Our Lord declares:
“A little while, and now you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see Me: because I go to the Father… Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice: and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” (John 16:16, 20)
These two passages, when prayed together in the light of the Church’s tradition, open to us a Paschal mystery: the union of joy and sorrow in the Christian life.
Strangers and Pilgrims
St. Peter reminds us that, even after the Resurrection, we remain pilgrims. The victory of Christ has been won, but the Christian remains in the world—not of it, but in it (cf. John 17:14–16). The soul’s true homeland is not here, but in Heaven. St. Augustine, meditating on this passage, affirms:
“We are wayfarers, not settlers; we are on the road, not yet at home. Let us not love the road instead of the home.”
(St. Augustine, Homily on Psalm 121)
The Apostle calls us to abstain from “fleshly lusts” because they war against the soul. The victory over sin and death does not mean the battle is over. It means the victory is assured if we persevere. The pilgrim’s journey is still marked by temptation, suffering, and misunderstanding.
St. John Chrysostom comments on this battle:
“The soul is not harmed so much by the enemy’s assault as by the corruption of its own desires. Therefore the Apostle warns us to extinguish the flame within, lest the fire without find fuel.”
(St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Peter)
Holiness is not mere external conformity but the inner ordering of the soul towards God—especially under persecution. St. Peter, writing to a suffering Church, tells us that it is a grace to suffer wrongfully. The Greek word is charis—grace, favor with God. Thus even injustice becomes a means of union with Christ.
A Little While: The Christian’s Hour of Mourning and Joy
Turning to the Gospel, we find the Apostles bewildered by Christ’s words: “A little while, and now you shall not see Me…” What is this “little while”? St. Augustine explains:
“The whole life of the present Church is a ‘little while,’ between Christ’s ascension and His return. For what is our life, if not a little while? And in this little while, we do not see Him as He is.”
(St. Augustine, Tractate 101 on John)
Christ speaks to every soul in this passage. There is a time when He seems hidden. After the Resurrection, He appeared and disappeared at will. And now, in this Sacramentum temporis, we live between Ascension and Parousia, seeing Christ not with bodily eyes but with faith.
Yet, He assures us that the sorrow of this absence is not permanent: “Your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” Here the Church Fathers are unanimous—this is not only the Resurrection, but the joy of union with Christ, whether in prayer, the sacraments, or in glory.
St. Gregory the Great beautifully writes:
“He is seen a little while when we rejoice in the taste of His sweetness. Then, when the mind falls back into itself, we no longer see Him. But our sorrow is turned into joy when that brief visitation becomes the seed of eternal desire.”
(St. Gregory the Great, Homilies on the Gospels, II.25)
The Interplay of Earthly Suffering and Paschal Joy
This is the mystery held out to us in Eastertide: we are pilgrims marked with the joy of the Resurrection, and yet still bearing the cross. The Resurrection did not end Christ’s wounds—they became glorious. Likewise, our trials are not erased, but transformed.
As the Church prays the Paschal Alleluia each day, she also remembers the martyrdom of the saints and the sufferings of her members. This liturgical coexistence is not contradiction but the true Paschal logic: through the Cross to the Light.
Practical Reflections
- Daily examine your soul as a pilgrim: Am I living as a “sojourner,” or have I become too attached to this world?
- Welcome small sufferings as a grace: As St. Peter says, suffering patiently under injustice is thankworthy before God.
- Live the “little while” in hope: In times when Christ seems absent, cling to the promise that your sorrow will become joy.
Let us end with the words of St. Bede the Venerable:
“Let us consider the sweetness of the Bridegroom even in His absence, that we may yearn for the fullness of His presence.”
(St. Bede, Commentary on 1 Peter)
May Our Lady, Star of the Sea, guide us on this earthly pilgrimage, and may our hearts remain ever joyful in the hope of beholding Christ’s face in glory.
Alleluia, alleluia! Surrexit Dominus vere!
He is truly risen!