The road we travel on is fraught with hurt and heartache, but it can also strengthen us, and it does not have to be walked alone.

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Overview

El Camino de Santiago, otherwise known as The Way of St. James, is a pilgrimage trail that stretches across northern Spain to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Tradition maintains that the remains of the apostle James are buried there.

Today, hundreds of pilgrims hike across Europe (primarily on foot) for weeks or months to walk “The Way.” Why do they make the journey? For many it is a religious experience. Others travel for health reasons, or to experience the beautiful European countryside. Whatever the reason, it is often said that those who walk El Camino finish it for different reasons than they started it.

That’s certainly true for Tom Avery, a seasoned ophthalmologist who travels to France to pick up the remains of his son, Daniel. After learning that Daniel died while hiking El Camino, Tom decides to finish the journey in his son’s place. Along The Way, he reluctantly befriends other travelers with pain of their own, and what starts as a fulfillment of Daniel’s dream becomes a journey of self-discovery and fellowship.

This study explores the journey depicted in The Way as a metaphor for the life path we all travel. It asks us to consider why we walk, what we learn from encountering others, and what lessons we gain from our journey. We all wrestle with hurt and heartache along The Way, but we can also gain strength and insight . . . and we don’t have to walk it alone. As Daniel once told his father, “You don’t choose a life . . . you live one.”

Discussion Guide

    • Movie Summary

    • Discussing the Scenes

1. Choosing to Walk or Walking with Purpose?
((John 15:16–17; Joshua 24:15; Jeremiah 29:11–12))

We make choices every day—some big, mostly small. Choosing to play golf with the buddies seems pretty innocuous. Choosing to walk El Camino de Santiago in your son’s stead after claiming his remains is a big one! And yet, as one character in The Way puts it, no one walks The Way of St. James by accident. Tom’s walk through Spain is truly a life-changing experience. But surely choosing to walk isn’t the answer in itself. Not everyone who walks El Camino has a similarly life-changing experience, nor does everyone who chooses to stay home miss out. So how does it work? Do we have any say in the matter or is it all part of God’s plan? The simplest answer is yes.

2.Traveling Companions—Walking Together
(John 13:34–35; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 4:31–32; Proverbs 20:5)

Let’s face it: The Way wouldn’t be much of a movie if Tom had his way and walked El Camino by himself. Similarly, we’re not fully living if we try to walk through life by ourselves. “Iron sharpens iron” through fellowship, which is precisely what we see in the other characters Tom gets to know in the film. Just like people in real life, these characters are sometimes charming and sometimes annoying. And yet God brings people into our lives to help us along and for us to help them along.

3. Lessons Learned Along “The Way”
((Luke 10:25–37; Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 14:10–12))

We’ve seen that, in accordance with God’s will, it’s sometimes good to take action outside of our comfort zones and start down a path. And we’ve also seen that it’s good to walk that path in fellowship with one another, rather than alone. That doesn’t mean the path will always be easy, however. Indeed, we can expect tough times along our journey. But once we start down that path together God can truly change us for the better.