Day Fifteen
Fritz Wendt, Assistant Pastor
St. Paul's
Bronx, New York and
Clinical Social Worker New York, New York
Psalm 146.5-10
Ruth 1.6-18
2 Peter 3.1-10
"How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob, ... the one who made heaven and earth ... who remains forever faithful" (VV. 5-6).
On my way home to the US, I think of a phrase in the German "Rüstgebet" with which I have been familiar since childhood: At the beginning of worship, the pastor's prompt, "Unsere Hilfe steht im Namen des Herrn" (Our help is in the name of the Lord) is answered by the congregation: "der Himmel und Erde gemacht hat" (who made heaven and earth).
After warning against trusting earthly powers (whose schemes invariably end in death), the psalmist encourages people to trust in God, who faithfully fulfills his promises forever, and ceaselessly cares for those facing physical, emotional, and personal struggles: those oppressed, hungry and imprisoned, those who are blind, bent over and far away from home.
Far away from home ... that's me, as I am traveling from my Dad's home in Northern Germany to my home in New York City. As I journey between these two worlds, many feelings are stirred inside: joy over seeing my father and siblings and many relatives; happiness in conversation with them; contentment during long walks through fields and meadows; utter delight while playing the organ for service last Sunday; quiet joy over my aging father's continued good health; ongoing prayer for my loved ones, patients and colleagues in the US, ... but also, this morning, the pain of saying farewell, and regret that for another year or so we will not physically be together.
In all this, it's good to be reminded that ultimately my home is neither in Germany nor in New York but in my eternal home with my faithful, loving and extravagantly gracious God --where I came from and where I will return --and to where my mother returned three years ago. When we celebrated Mom's 90st birthday a few days ago, I strongly felt her presence -- a very personal greeting from our eternal home, where tears and pain and worry and heartache are no more.
The psalmist promises to praise "the one who made heaven and earth" for the rest of his life. That's what I plan to do. May all God’s people do likewise!
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We pray: Some bright morning when this life is over, I'll fly away, To that home on God's celestial shore I'll fly away.
I'll fly away,
oh glory, I'll fly away,
When I die hallelujah by and by,
I'll fly away.
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