Now What?

The wrapping paper lays crumpled and thrown haphazardly about. Bows and ribbons are stacked on the arm of the couch. Boxes left opened. It’s hard to walk through the room. The dishes still dirty on the table. The food has just been put away. Everyone is tired. It’s a moment to sit down and relax, look at the glorious mess and smile, reminisce. Take a nap.

 You’ve been there. Whether it’s Christmas or a birthday, you know what this looks like, feels like.

 Perhaps that’s how it feels after a glorious Easter grand opening at Salem. We’ve been waiting and watching, anticipating, and working—not just for months but for years. And then our moment came. It was powerful, meaningful, beautiful. A new facility. 369 people! Lots of new people with more coming regularly.

 Now the downtime. The glorious mess. The need to sit down or take a nap.

 Is that it? Now what?

 Our bishop will be with us on May 17 to consecrate, to set apart our new facility for the worship and service of God. As we’ve talked about all along this journey, this new building is a tool for a much bigger purpose: to train us as disciples of Jesus to go out into the world and make a difference.

 Our oldest daughter, Kaitlyn, is just finishing her second year in college. She was to leave this Wednesday on a mission trip to Nepal. But this powerful and tragic earthquake that struck Nepal and the surrounding area has changed that. They are not able to go now. Nepal is a disaster zone. Thousands dead. Thousands injured. Even more homeless and scared. There’s not enough food or water or shelter or medical aid. They’re digging for survivors in the rubble. More than 8 million people have been affected.

 The leader of Kaitlyn’s mission trip is a missionary from Iowa who lived in Nepal. He continues to receive messages from people he knows in Nepal, especially in more rural areas. The messages are the same: “Please come. We need help. Send help.” But they cannot go. There’s no way for them to get there.

 But they will go. The trip isn’t canceled, just postponed. In a couple of months when travel is re-established, they’ll join another group and be trained to provide relief aid.

 That’s our world. We have beautiful, meaningful moments, but the world, the object of God’s love, still suffers brokenness. And that’s why the Church exists. God invites us to step up and be a part of God’s mission to renew Creation, to make it good once again. We are the instrument of God’s love, blessing the earth as Abraham and Sarah were called to do, showing the world what it means to be the world that God intended in creation.

 So we’re a little tired. Maybe we need a nap. A little downtime is good. Reminisce. But not for long. Get up! We gather at a new facility, not to celebrate a new building, but to be trained as disciples of Jesus to go out into the world and make a difference, connecting people, building community, and transforming lives through Jesus.

 Here we go!

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