It’s the bottom of the 9th. The score is tied at 3-3. Bases are loaded with two outs. And up comes a batter- the one with the worst record, wouldn’t you know it! Sighing, you settle deeper in your seat and prepare yourself for overtime. You don’t want to leave even though it’s late. This game will determine who goes on to the playoffs. You’ve supported this team the whole season long. They need to know that you are here and rooting for them, win or lose. But a win sure would be nice.
The pitcher winds up and throws. You watch the ball and the batter – and with disbelief you hear that distinctive “crack” and the ball goes to the far outfield, just at the wall. The fielder dives but can’t quite catch it on the first bounce. And the crowd- including you- goes crazy as those on base come home- but wait, the hitter still has to round the bases and come home.
Legs pumping, the hitter runs and then begins the slide into home as the ball is thrown from far out to the catcher in hopes of making it before the runner does. Everyone is on their feet- watching, waiting. The ball gets to the catcher’s mitt, the runner slide home- but is the runner safe? Is the game over?
Home is that place where, for most of us, we are safe. We know that we are loved. We are surrounded by what is familiar, even when we move often. It’s that place we yearn for when we are far away.
Rev. Gregory Straub in his sermon on July 2nd, reminded us that “home” is one of the most powerful words in the English language.[1] We have just completed the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. For those who have been going to convention for years, it is like old home week. Familiar faces, familiar work to be done. For those for whom this was their first convention, it probably took a few days to learn the ropes. To learn where things were, who to ask for what and to settle into assigned roles such as deputy or even bishop or volunteer. To watch and to become, over the next 10 days, a member of a family- noisy, contentious, but hopefully loving and welcoming.
Each day worship offered a chance to come together and to set aside- at least for an hour- the differences in understanding of God’s will for God’s people that sometimes have threatened to tear us apart. To see ourselves, gathered in community, as being “home in the Lord.” A place where, at its best, we can argue and disagree as we strive to discern God’s will for God’s people. Even so, we still sit side-by-side in chairs and we stand side-by-side while we receive the body and blood of Christ. We are renewed as we are sent forth into the world- or at least back into committees and hearings and floor debates and votes that will help determine what we are and what we are becoming as the body of Christ.
For some, home means a particular place- a particular structure and ground. You may have heard the phrase: the old home place – a particular building, a particular address- that means home to you. Think about Scarlett in Gone with the Wind– she does whatever she can to preserve and protect Tara- her home.
For some, home is more about people regardless of location. The Episcopal Church, through the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, has authorized the sale of “815” – the building in New York City where the church headquarters has been located for many years. It no longer fits the needs of the church and, frankly, it costs too much. Where we will end up is not yet known as the sale will be undertaken when the real estate market improves. The physical building does not matter – at least to me. What matters is that we continue to gather together remembering that where your heart is, there your treasure is also. Where your heart is- there is home.
Gregory told the story about a woman walking into the parish where he served as rector. As a lay person, she had the freedom to seek a church home that felt right to her. She told Gregory that she had just moved to town and was looking for a place where she could worship. She had one criteria above all that had to be met. The church had to be sufficiently “prayed in.” She had to feel, from sitting in the pew on a weekday when no one else was around, that this was a place where people prayed – for themselves, yes, but also for the needs of the world. A place where prayer was important. Gregory wryly admitted that when this conversation happened the church had been prayed in for over 200 years! As it turned out, the woman was satisfied that the church had been adequately prayed in and she made it her church home.
Gregory reminded those of us volunteering at General Convention that “houses, whether human habitations, places of worship, or convention centers, are just empty space until we make them our own. We invest our homes, whether residence, church or convention center with our precious emotions that include memories of our past, love for the people we associate with them, and hopes for the future.” God is waiting to be asked into our home.
In Second Samuel we read about the Ark of the Covenant being returned to the people of Israel. The Ark represented the place where God was believed to live. David, the King of Israel, is rebuilding and restoring the life of Israel by bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. Jerusalem now becomes both the administrative and the religious center for the people of God. They are at home in the Lord.
Finding your home in God is worthy of celebration. David was leaping and dancing- although a king, he was also a child of God. David was not afraid to set aside the perquisites of his office to worship God. To give God praise and thanks. To shout for joy with thanksgiving that God had been returned to God’s rightful place in the hearts and minds of the people. The return of the Ark was worthy of celebration and to each David gave a cake of bread, a portion of meat and a cake of raisins. Food that many people did not normally have.
Home, at its best, is the place where we come together despite our differences. Home is the place where we can ask questions, where we can find ways to love and serve the Lord through outreach and mission. A place where sitting in the pew on a weekday you can still tell that this is a place that has been prayed in over the years. Welcome home.
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