After over a year in the States, I will now finally return to Germany – however, my stay will be merely transitory, a vacation. Talk about the ever–diverging paths of life! Recently, as a part of a clergy retreat out at Cedar Valley, we talked about how our lives as Christians are “woven together” (Colossians 2:2), other translations have us being “drawn” together, “knit” together, or simply “united” – “in love”. It sure is amazing to look back and see the all the meandering threads of our lives being united to others, as they connect for a while, separate at some points, maybe to be rejoined in some distant future.
My own thread of life had been – at least physically – disconnected from most people I knew a year ago, and yet so deeply held and caught and carried by all the mingled threads of this community that pulled me into their tapestry, invited me into their patterns and frameworks and stories that I never had a chance to even miss my home – instead finding one away from what was home once.
I see these threads pulsating with life and light before my eyes, as they all join together into this crazy venture called Peace Church. We are a family, and I have been invited to join it as both a son and a father, as both a brother and a friend. The word “Welcome” constitutes the center of our mission and our theology, the Good News we proclaim boldly, that we hold ourselves accountable to.
At the same time, as any one of us, my thread comes from different, far–away places that made me into who I am. To revisit those places now will be so special, and, at times, surreal. To visit my home village, reconnect with my old parish and the wonderful people there, dive back into the big city life of Berlin even for just a few days, meet my parents and friends all over, friends that shaped my journey so deeply over the different stations of my life – all of this means following my own thread all the way back to where it began.
What is the sum of a life? We don’t get to define and quantify the answer to that question. It’s enough to know that the great weaver of life gently holds our thread through all the stains and valleys, and through the golden gloss and luster as well. In the shadow of St. Patrick’s, we may say with the Irish: “It’s in the shelter of each other that the people live” – woven together in love.
May His Peace be with you all.
Pastor Jakob