A Small World

Cool Scripture Cite

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." --Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20)

Hot Internet Site

You can travel to other countries with just a few mouse clicks. Read newspapers from all over the world:

http://www.onlinenewspapers.com

Going Forth and Coming Home
Mark Sibley Jones

The search continues for pieces of the space shuttle Columbia. Like most Americans, I was stunned when I heard the news over my car radio while running errands that Saturday. A few moments later, while browsing through a bookstore, the manager announced the news for her patrons over the public address system. Not many types of news warrant the distraction of bookstore customers, but this one felt appropriate. Besides, who wasn't distracted? My wife and I could barely focus on anything else. And, throughout the day, we kept "remembering" the awful truth of what we'd heard. The following Sunday morning, I was asked to call out the names of our lost astronauts during a special time of prayer.

What is it that drives us to continue exploring our world, even at grave risk? It is certainly a human drive. But, more than that, our Judeo-Christian heritage fosters it. Abraham was called by God to be a "stranger in a strange land," to faithfully claim a new land for his descendents. True to that vision, 400 years later, Moses lead the Israelites from Egypt back to their spiritual homeland. There they were to reclaim their identity as "priest to the nations." Centuries passed and the Hebrews left their land once again during the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests. Their return a generation later only presaged the ongoing ebb and flow of their identification with their homeland.

Jesus instilled within the Christian movement an outward focus by teaching his disciples to go "to the ends of the earth." They did. Paul led the way by journeying all over the Roman world with the teachings of Christianity. That missionary spirit embedded itself in Christianity. Eventually, Christians would come to the New World--the Americas--out of their religious motivations.

Such is the spiritual journey. It is about going forth. It is also about coming home. Even in our individual journeys, we venture forth from our familiar places to discover new ways of seeing God, the world, and ourselves. In the process, we are deeply changed as we contribute to change in the world. Then, in our connections with others, we foster community. As we return to our faith community with the treasures of our sojourns, we foster change at home.

Therein lie the risks of going forth and coming home. Just as NASA's greatest tragedies have been both on lift-off and re-entry, so the dangers of our spiritual journeys are heightened during these experiences of moving out and moving in. As we explore new spiritual vistas, there are the risks of finding that our comfortable beliefs are incomplete or illusionary. Sojourning with the Spirit is a journey of personal growth and development.

Likewise, our re-entries into community entail the risks of challenging staid institutions and outgrown structures. Additionally, we owe it to ourselves and others to refine our new awarenesses with the collective wisdom of our faith community.

The Spirit of God is an exploring spirit. Will you join in the exploration?