Hasta luego Pilgrims

Our Camino Pilgrims have left and we are wishing Fr John, Debbie and Cindy a safe journey as they trek the 100 or so kilometres to Santiago de Compostela. When I heard their plans I almost felt envy but then I remembered walking between Little Addington and Great Addington on Palm Sunday and that feeling just went away! In all seriousness though this journey that Fr John et al have undertaken brings into sharp focus not only what we learnt on our lent course but also about the courage and determination that faith can give us in times of adversity.

Rev Mich who drove them to airport said

“The Irthlingbourough three were safely dropped off at Stansted Airport for their 5 am check in to start their Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. And we pray that they feel God close to them watching over them and that they have a wonderful experience.”

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday and we will be thinking about not only the subject of the Trinity one God made of three persons, but also about our Gospel reading from John 3. In the reading Nicodemus a wise and knowledgeable Jewish leader is having a conversation with Jesus about where he has come from and Nicodemus is trying to understand the being of Christ. It is one of the few instances where Jesus himself describing how he is the Christ. At the climax of the reading is one of the most famous and well quoted bits of scripture. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” A question for us to think about, is this verse (John 3.16) the very essence of the Gospel? Something to chew over as we look at this passage in more depth tomorrow.

And so as I sign off for this week I will leave you with this image of Fr John, Debbie and Cindy having arrived in Santiago before heading out to their starting point. I didn’t know Fr John had any shirts other than clergy shirts, what a surprise! May they know many journey mercies on their travels.

With Love and Prayers