There is deep within my soul a longing for a world that I do now know but yearn to see.
It is a world where all are flourishing.
It is a world where all honor the other's dignity.
It is a world of wholeness.
I am cognitively aware that this world will not in its entirety manifest itself within my lifetime, yet I remain confident in this: It will come (Revelations 21:1-5)
The longing reverberates like a gong in my soul. Sometimes its ring is diminished by my own jargon. There are other times where the gong is crystal clear.
This is one of those seasons.
* * *
My friend was saying how he sees God most clearly in the disparity. I didn't quite understand what he meant by that, but it stuck with me throughout the next day.
I was on an hour long train ride where we traveled through the center of Philadelphia to its suburbs. I watched as rowhouses (some caving in on themselves, others renovated) transformed into vast spaces of living. I watched the signs change from advertising opportunities for benefits and low-cost phone plans shift into advertisements for colleges and schools of business. I watched as the close proximity of people in the city transformed into pockets of insulated isolation. These environments speak two different languages.
(The men on the train talked of their possessions as trophies, but their eyes spoke of a need these items did not and could not fill.)
The disparity.
* * *
I long for spaces of transformation where this flourishing world manifests as a reality.
I long for those sacred places where people, though different, step into the uncomfortable space of relationship.
I long for those spaces, for in them we can see and live into the actualization of our common humanity.
I believe that it is here that change can happen.
I believe that these are the moments where the kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.
These are the moments where the sacred and the Divine is a resounding gong in my ear:
"I am here."
* * *
I've been thinking recently about the spaces in my life that have been particularly transformative.
I've been thinking about the psych ward.
I've been thinking about South Street Ministries.
I've been thinking about Mission Year.
I've been thinking about how in these spaces I've experienced the Divine through interactions with those around me.
In these spaces, I've journeyed with people and people have journeyed with me.
We've grappled through life together, through the day to day.
We've held one another.
And I think that trust and vulnerability and "in it with you" has made all the difference.
* * *
My teammate led devotions this morning. It was beautiful to me. He began with a story about a recent situation that led him to reflect on the beauty of language as a part of culture. He then read The Lord's Prayer in Samoan (he himself identifies as Samoan.) I shut my eyes and allowed the words to wash over my being, their syllables new to me. I thought of the many times I have recited these words with my church families in Akron and Bowling Green. And then something beautiful happened.
As the sounds filled my ears, I felt deeply connected to the Body of Christ as a whole. I felt connected to this larger Church, this Body of Christ of people who confess Jesus as Lord in many tongues and nations. I thought of groups of people all around the globe who are praying this prayer and yearning for the kingdom of God to manifest in our world.
Praying for a world where all are flourishing.
Praying for a world where justice and peacemaking mend.
Praying for a world where we affirm and celebrate the gift that is one another.
Restoration to wholeness.
"Your kingdom come."
* * *
There is deep within my soul a longing for a world that I do now know but yearn to see.
(I long for You.)
