Finding a home

 Ephesians 2:19-20

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

In our faith communities

it is possible to be homeless

without knowing 

that our restlessness

and our searching

that sense of not fitting in

were all signs

of homelessness

And when we discover

the way home

when we are welcomed

and embraced

shown hospitality

and invited to settle in

only then do we recognise

all that was missing

Only then can we breathe deeply

and rest in place

shrug off our big coats

step out of our walking boots

and allow our bare feet

to enjoy the feel

of sacred ground 

That is coming home.

Perspective

 Luke 13:10-14

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.”

Perspective

It’s all about perspective

Hers

and his

She had a limited field of vision

So did he

She was forced to look down

to see what others left behind

in the dust

He looked up

and over

She saw things that mattered

He focused on things that didn’t

She went home healed

He…

The Pilgrim’s backpack

 Hebrews 11:13-14

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

In the pilgrims backpack..

are not just the essentials of travel…

Like water

and a snack

spare socks

lip balm

and first aid supplies

In the pilgrims backpack..

is also the community from whence they came

those they have left behind

the ones they like to hang out with

and the ones they avoid

those who bring them joy

and those who drink deeply 

from the well of another’s compassion

and test their tolerance

They all find a way to cram themselves in

a bit like the cloud of witnesses

who jostle around the altar

every time bread is blessed and broken

The whole community gathers

carried by the pilgrim

bidden or unbidden

And, as prayer is offered

all are gathered up

into God’s embrace

for God, too, is a pilgrim