August 9, 2016

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old– and Sarah herself was barren– because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16)

I have a feeling that I haven’t posted in a week or so. Last week I helped with the logistics of the icon painting workshop at St. Gregory, mostly getting food, making copies, and helping participants feel comfortable, but I did sit in on the teacher’s, Dimitri, lectures about the theology, history, and spirituality of icon painting—it was really interesting. I like how when I volunteer to just show up and help out that I meet interesting people, learn a ton, and have fun. On Sunday, Paul preached about showing up to those things that are present in our lives and I’ve been thinking a lot about that—how do I (or do I not) show up and how can I be present.

Yesterday, my last full day in San Francisco I was a tourist, something I rarely did when I lived there and it was usually only when people were in town visiting. As a result, I lived in the Bay Area for 15 years but never rode on a cable car, which I had always wanted to do. Yesterday I was determined to make it happen, I did, and it was fun. Then the most amazing thing happened—I ran into friends from my church in Minnesota. But I’ll back up.

It all started early in the morning when I cut my finger taping up a box to ship home. After going to the Parcel Post store I backtracked 2 blocks to a little neighborhood market (with great murals btw) to buy bandages for my finger, then I needed coffee and had to drop something off at St. Gregory’s. My first destination was Grace Cathedral where I looked around and attended the noon Eucharist service before heading to Peet’s to buy coffee for Ernesto. Peet’s was a surreal experience. Every Peet’s I’ve ever been in was always a quaint little coffee shop, kind of dark like the study of an old professor and filled with people talking in hushed tones about all things important and intellectual, but this particular Peet’s was inside a bank and there were ATMs everywhere and long tables with power strips where people sat on their laptops too busy to look at the person across from them. I don’t know what they were doing, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t looking for Pokemon. And yes, there was a counter to order coffee but that didn’t seem to be the main reason that people were at Peet’s—they were there to stare at their computers. I got a complimentary cup of coffee with my purchase of beans so I decided to sit and take in the scene for a bit, but honestly it was pretty boring watching people type on their laptops. Normally I like to watch people and I can spot the couple on their first date or watch an old person interact with a child or guess what books people are reading or overhear interesting conversations. None of that was happening—boring!

But, if I hadn’t cut my finger, rode the cable car, and stopped at Peet’s, I never would have stopped by the small beach near the end of the cable car line, closed my eyes, decided it was time to go, look up and see Gretchen and John from church. That was so weird and random—what are the chances of running into someone from Minnesota on a tiny beach in San Francisco? Amazing—those are the chances.

Seeing Gretchen and John was like a beacon calling me home. Although I’ve had a more than awesome experience in San Francisco, I’ve been homesick ever since Ernesto, Elena, Benjamin, and Dreamer drove off without me to head back home, but this was different. I’ve always known that my family will be there when I get back, but seeing friends I realized that there is a whole community of people calling me home to a place I belong and to a place where I belong to people I love and hold dear—a homeland.

My first blog post before I left for my San Francisco adventure was about homeland, so it was fitting that he Epistle reading from Hebrews on Sunday mentioned homeland: They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. It was even more fitting that Mark, the worship leader, asked me right before the service to read the Epistle reading, which I did not fully comprehend until I was standing and reading and realized that homeland was one theme of the reading. And of course, faith is a huge theme of this reading and it could be interpreted in many different ways, but for me I was stuck on having faith that my homeland is promised to me and that I will know my homeland. Being apart from my family has taught me that my homeland is not a geographic place but a way of being in the world—being comfortable where ever I am and having faith that God has promised me a home and that home is where my family is. I’m so happy to returning to my family, my homeland.