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A Pilgrimage of Faith
So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God,
into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice,
acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.
So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out.
Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out,
not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on,
especially as we see the big Day approaching.
—Hebrews 10:19-25 (Message Version)
For four years, I lived in El Paso, on the Westside of town, where you frequently can see a mountain that overlooks the city. In 1933, a parish priest in a section of El Paso, called Smeltertown, looked out his kitchen window at that rocky hill and saw a place of pilgrimage. Today, thousands climb Mount Christo Rey every Good Friday. Some walk barefoot, come carry crosses. Church groups go together and stop to sing and pray, and often the young carry water for the old. It is a pilgrimage of faith. People who cannot walk are carried, and those who cannot see are led by hand along the trail.
We know this kind of pilgrimage in the Española Valley. Every Holy Week, pilgrims stream along the highways toward the Santuario de Chimayo, often from miles around. And such a walk is not about being the fastest or completing an athletic feat. Pilgrimage is a way of turning prayer into a journey. It is how we pray with our feet.
I see the work of McCurdy Ministries and all the partner organizations in a similar way. It can feel like a long climb where the needs are real and the days are full. The good thing is that people do not usually do pilgrimage by themselves. John Wesley described this walk as a spiritual journey where we “so walk as Christ also walked.” Jesus walked alongside people, too. That means we can walk with our neighbors and with one another.
It is still worth asking though, who on this team at McCurdy has carried water for you lately? How might you thank them this week? Who in our community needs to be carried or guided right now, and how can we walk with them rather than pressing on by ourselves? And where have you been racing to keep up when you could slow down and walk together?
Prayer:
Faithful God, You open a new and living way for us in Jesus Christ. Thank You for the companions You give us on this road. When we are tired, let us learn to lean on one another. When others stumble, make us quick to carry and slow to judge. More than anything, spur us on to a journey of love. We are thankful that You walk with us. Amen.
Rev. Josh Kouri
McCurdy Board of Trustees
From Albuquerque, New Mexico
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