The Faith We Travel By

"When we lift our pack and go, when we seek another country, moving far from all we know, when we long to journey free - God is in the other place, God is in another's face, in the faith we travel by, God is in the other place."

This hymn has been in my heart today as I drive across the flat fields of Kansas, headed back to my home in California. Many of the people I care about are traveling today too, making the long journey home after a spirit-filled World Conference. We are moving away from all we have known of our time together - the songs sung, the laughter shared, and the community celebrated. In a brief span of time, we glimpsed what it would mean to build the kin-dom of God. We immersed ourselves in our diversity of culture, language, and opinion. We heard many voices - made space at God's expansive table.

And yesterday, we heard Steve Veazey (President/Prophet of Community of Christ) give us the challenge to take our packs and go. He called for a mass exodus of people living in poverty and suffering. He called on us to stand up to politicians and systems of oppression and say with courage, "Let God's people go!" If ever there was a sermon that our weary church body needed to hear, this was it.

All of this took place just a day before the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida. Many of us have still been lingering in the insulated space of our worship and songs of peace.

"Through the loneliness of night, through the sky's uncharted spaces, not a sparrow falls in flight, but a loving God will care - God is in the other place, God is in another's face, in the faith we travel by, God is in the other place."

I'm not sure what to feel anymore. I read the reports from Orlando to my traveling companions in the car and a hush fell over us. My immediate reaction was to get very still. I wanted to find myself rooted in God, to somehow get back to the holy encounter I'd felt just yesterday. Maybe my stillness was just paralyzing helplessness.

I think back to Apostle Mareva Arnaud Tchong's sermon last Thursday night. She was preaching on the parable of the Good Samaritan and to convey the brokenness of the man in the story - the brokenness of our world - she actually broke glass wrapped in a cloth on the stage. She held up a piece of the shattered glass, asking, "In this bruised, broken, and battered life - what is the call of Jesus? What is your response?"

"Sons and daughters must depart, friends will go on other journeys, only constant is the heart that can trust its God to be - God is in the other place, God is in another's face, in the faith we travel by, God is in the other place."

What is this faith we travel by? What is it that compels us to take our packs and go into a world that aches, that shudders, that yearns for peace? If we feel trapped, paralyzed by fear, apathy, and helplessness, I'm convinced the only way to move is to trust that God is already moving. God is woven tightly into everything that is - weeping with families in Orlando, weeping with communities that feel marginalized and that live in fear. God is in the other place, and the call is always take your packs and go.