Hope From Ashes

Read: Psalm 20; Exodus 40:1-15; Hebrews 10:19-25

For some time now, I have dreamt of walking the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage with several trails leading to the city of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The cathedral in the city is said to house the remains of St. James, one of the 12 disciples. The route that I would like to walk first begins in the French town of St. Jean Pied de Port. Each year, nearly 200,000 people walk this section of the Camino which requires you to walk almost 500 miles over the course of about a month. The French route of the Camino requires that pilgrims walk 12-15 miles per day as they stop in small towns along the route. The French Way also starts with a fairly difficult ascent through the Pyrenees Mountains.

I should let you know that while I was an athlete in high school and college, I am not yet an avid hiker. I have yet to hike more than a few miles at one time and have certainly not tested very difficult terrain. My experience with the Camino only comes from the stories of friends and watching many hours of YouTube clips on the subject. While I may have no idea what I am getting myself into, this journey through France and Spain calls to me.

I believe this pilgrimage could be a physical enactment of the spiritual journey of life with all of its ups and downs, twists and turns, with the need to spend time in silence, with the need to develop community through shared experience. As in our spiritual journey, often we persevere by continuing to simply put one foot in front of the other. I look forward to the challenge of the Camino soon.

Lent is a season of preparation in the church. It originally helped converts prepare for baptism. During the season, many denominations practice fasting or giving up certain comforts or distractions in order to become closer to Christ as he journeys toward the cross.

In the lesson for today from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we get some pretty solid and straightforward advice on what our next steps or response should be as we follow Jesus on the journey. In the preceding verses, we learn that Jesus has offered the perfect sacrifice. Jesus has in fact become the sacrifice, the curtain, and the priest. He is the temple. His body is the temple. The old system has been transformed into a new and living way. God is in the middle of humanity.

Verses 19-25 suggest the response or next steps for pilgrims along life’s journey. As we face uphill climbs and challenges of all sorts, we remember what Christ has done for us, and we are encouraged to persevere. The word “therefore” in the text serves as the transition point letting us know what is ours to do. We are told “let us…”. The text tells us to confidently join together to do three things.

We are told “let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” Jesus has shown us the way to be with God completely now and into eternity.

We are told “let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering.” In the hard times, we stand firm. We know who we are because we know the One we follow. We know the formation that comes in the struggle and the ultimate glory we share in at its completion.

We are told “let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deed.” In this time in our world today, it seems like most people know a lot about provoking one another. Usually, that means antagonizing others to act out in anger or rage and to hurt one another.

This text and our Christian walk call us to a different kind of provocation. We are to stir others up to love one another and to do all the good they can. That sounds like a pretty fun challenge that might require us to be a little playful and clever as we travel on in this journey.

I can’t wait to pester and prod and simply love fellow pilgrims into loving more.

Friends, let us gear up and take the next step in our discipleship journey as we follow Jesus to the cross.

Prayer:

Oh Holy God, as we journey in this season of Lent, as we journey throughout life, there will be mountains, sometimes even just as we get started. There will be twists and turns and valleys. Some days we will be tired and might even consider giving up. This text encourages us to work together to keep our eyes on you, to draw near to you, to hold on to our hope, and encourage one another to love. We thank you for the confidence we find in being your children. We thank you for providing a way in the wilderness. May our journey always take us on the path of truth and life that we find in Jesus.  Amen.