As I write this morning, I am amazed again at our shrinking world. In our global village, travel is easier than ever and communication is instantaneous in many places on this globe. It is hard to believe that yesterday morning we were eating breakfast in Central America and visiting with Maribel, our waitress at the restaurant. An afternoon depature from Honduras put us home by bedtime.
Today we will worship with that portion of the family of God we identify as our “home church”–other Christians we know and love. Some would say we have multiple “home churches”. It is true that we know and love (and are known and loved) by dozens of congregations around the world. But it is also true that some place is home.
Home is the place where we find refreshment and renewal, where there is comfort and encouragement. Home is not tension filled–it is a place for finding the strength to enter the marketplace again tomorrow. Home is a place of silence and reflection–connections with God and strength derived from others. It is not always easy to sabbath in the hustle and bustle of ministry and mission activity, but at home is the opportunity to escape frenetic activity and find God in the faces of others. At home is the opportunity to escape “doing” and to reflect deeply on the challenge of “being”–or more accurately, the importance of “becoming”.
It is good to be home–for the familiar surroundings that bring us comfort and memories and life’s rhythms this morning. It is good to be home–to anticipate the love and hugs and “welcome home” we will receive after being absent as we attended a week-long mission conference. It is good to be home–to process what we have learned and seen, and to think about where God is sending his people to be his presence. It is good to be home and to remind others that God calls his priesthood to intercede on behalf of the world.