 Catholic: Sam Clear Sam Clear, set down in Sydney for WYD just a few days ago, after making a pilgrimage around the world that would last 564 days 29,000 km, 18,000 of which would be on foot, to pray for Christian unity in December of 2006. Sam was working as Melbourne YMT (Youth Mission Team) Manager for YMT Australia for five years before he set out & when Sam wrote this testimony on YPILGRIMAGE, he was on a stopover in Paris en route to WYD. He is currently MC at Receive the Power LIVE! On the 16th of December, 2006, I began walking around the world on foot praying for the unity of Christians. In the years leading up to the 'Walk4One', I had been confronted withthe vast theological differences of Christians & the subsequent broken body of Christ, the church. I eventually sold all I had and set out on foot as both a sacrifice for the broken church and as a means of taking the invitation to pray for unity to the people, face-to-face. Each day became a pilgrimage as I set out from one town to the next and now to WYD08. From the exodus of the Jewish people through to the travels of St Peter and St Paul and our own journeys in 2008, the 'journey' has always been a pivotal element St Paul's exhortation to 'Continue to work out your faith' (Phil 2:12). Though pilgrimage often produces an image of walking, it is the journey of the heart towards Christ that defines a pilgrimage; the journey to draw closer into relationship with and into the ministry of Christ. I was often placed into unfamiliar territory where I was forced to trust God, not just in word but in action. That journey took me out of my comfort zone allowing God to be just that, God, and not just a neat little package in the corner of life. Pilgrimage almost always involves physical or emotional weariness yet in being accompanied by the desire to reach the destination we are drawn into the spiritual destination of knowing Christ. I was often vulnerable to the elements (-33degC to +47degC), to the people (mugged, bashed, assaulted, ridiculed) & illness (salmonella, typhoid, foot injuries) but it is in being vulnerable that we are more willing to find Christ in the people we meet; 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you' (Matt 7:7). My pilgrimage was an everyday decision to draw closer to Jesus; otherwise, I'd be just another tourist out for a long walk. WANT TO KNOW MORE? If you missed Receive the Power LIVE! at WYD, or you want to find out more about Sam's pilgrimage, check out: http://www.ymt.com.au/walk4one/ |
