\ntent in the land of hope. . . . You\u2019ve got my feet on the life-path, with your
\nface shining sun-joy all around.\u201d (Acts 2: 26-28 Peterson translation, \u201cThe
\nMessage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad from the inside out – ecstatic; I\u2019ve pitched my tent in the land of hope. . . . You\u2019ve got my feet on the life-path, with your face shining sun-joy all around.\u201d (Acts 2: 26-28 Peterson translation, \u201cThe Message.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad from the inside out – ecstatic; I\u2019ve pitched my
\ntent in the land of hope. . . . You\u2019ve got my feet on the life-path, with your
\nface shining sun-joy all around.\u201d (Acts 2: 26-28 Peterson translation, \u201cThe
\nMessage.\u201d<\/p>\n
We Searles are on \u201cHome Assignment,\u201d sometimes called
\n\u201cItineration Assignment.\u201d This means that we travel from congregation to
\ncongregation, host to host, to share about your partnership with the
\nEvangelical-Reformed Church in Poland. Over 120 hosts have welcomed us over the
\nnearly 20,000 miles we\u2019ve traversed since May 22, our first engagement in
\nPennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Sometimes we lose our way. Then \u201cGarmina,\u201d the disembodied
\nvoice in our (Garmin brand) GPS summons us back to the path. Most nights we
\nfind a new host, a new bed, and a new dark corridor to the facilities. Our
\ntrusty night light (that \u201cpillar of flame\u201d) keeps us from walking in on
\nunsuspecting host family members, or laying our head on somebody else\u2019s pillow.<\/p>\n
The voice. The light. Keeping us on the \u201clife-path\u201d as we
\njourney forward seeking to pitch our tent in a \u201cland of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hosts surely are our \u201cland of hope.\u201d In garrets and
\nbasements, guest rooms and guest houses, bed and breakfasts and motels, farms,
\ncity high-rises, and suburban homes, you shelter, warm and welcome, feed and
\nwater us, share your stories and listen to ours. You offer rest when we are
\nweary and encouragement when we flag. You have been Jesus Christ to us, and we
\nthank you – each one of you.<\/p>\n
Journeys weave throughout the Old and New Testaments, each
\none fueled by a call or a desire, a promise, or a conviction. So too for us.<\/p>\n
We visit congregations convinced that international outreach
\nand partnership in the name of Jesus Christ is critical to our personal and
\ncommunity faith actions and to our shared future as inhabitants of a world in
\nneed.<\/p>\n
We visit congregations convinced that cross-cultural
\npresence is critical presence. Without webs of connection and shared meaning,
\nwe lose our mooring in a chaotic sea of change.<\/p>\n
Forging circles of compassion, encouraging courage, pursuing
\nministries of justice and reconciliation, bearing witness to the experiences of
\nbrothers and sisters worlds away – this is what it means to be on the life
\npath, following in the footsteps of the one who asks: \u201cAm I not worthy of
\nfollowing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus travelled widely and summons us to journey, too. For
\nmany of us, the journey is figurative. Our faith work seems close to home.
\nOthers, itinerating missionaries for example, journey far in very concrete
\nways.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to romanticize journeying–living the itinerant
\nlife. It is romantic in the sense of anticipation and excitement: \u201cWhat\u2019s
\naround the bend?\u201d \u201cWhat does the future hold?\u201d \u201cWhom will we meet?\u201d \u201cWhat will
\nhappen next?\u201d<\/p>\n
But to journey also means carrying all of our possessions,
\nand shouldering all of our own burdens. Journeying means trudging on alone,
\ndestination sometimes unknown, overcoming fears, suffering all weathers,
\npersisting despite disappointment, trusting in the kindness of strangers,
\nseeking to love turnings or blind alleys or rocky places, walking uneven ground
\nwith pebbles in our shoes, forgiving the indifferent or the hostile, straining
\nto hear the guiding voice above the traffic, or scanning a dark horizon for the
\nleading light. <\/p>\n
Journeyers deeply appreciate the welcoming call and the
\nguiding flame. <\/p>\n
Many of you reading now have welcomed journeyers to your
\ncongregations, or will someday. Many of you reading now can imagine or remember
\nwhat it is like to wonder where you will sleep, whether you will have a warm
\nwelcome, or if you will be offered a meal. Many of you reading now stumble and
\nstruggle to \u201ckeep your feet on the life path.\u201d Sometimes there seems to be no
\nspace or even ground to \u201cpitch your tent in the land of hope.\u201d\u00a0 Roads are rocky, hills are steep, nights fall
\ncold. There are wild animals in the woods.<\/p>\n
And yet we itinerants – we travelers between worlds – were
\nmade for this. We itinerants – followers of the One whose life work traversed
\ncontinents and centuries – were created for this journey that bears witness,
\nthis journey that seeks justice, this journey that leads to reconciliation as
\nwe encounter others like and unlike us.<\/p>\n
So we:<\/p>\n
Step out with courage.
Embrace the journey of faith.
Explore new territory.
Trust the voice.
Seek the light.
Itinerate – Share what God is doing.
Keep our feet on the life path.
Pitch our tent in the land of hope.
That\u2019s where the \u201csun-joy\u201d part of the verse comes in –
\u00a0 the warmth of God\u2019s
\npresence and the joy of celebration.
Thank God for the Sun-Joy . . . . . <\/p>\n
And thank God for the welcoming call and the guiding flame
\nthat is each one of you!<\/p>\n
Liz and Doug Searles, itinerating in PA, OH, IA, SD, NE, MT,
\nOR and WA<\/p>\n