The First Baptist Church of Redlands
T A PE S T R Y
Dec 2021
Wo v e n To g e t h e r I n L o v e : C o l o s s i a n s 2 : 2
Issue No. 12
Close to Home A Message from Pastor Shawn
We know that if the tent that we live in on earth is torn down, we have a building from God. It’s a house that isn’t handmade, which is eternal and located in heaven. We groan while we live in this residence. We really want to dress ourselves with our building from heaven— since we assume that when we take off this tent, we won’t find out that we are naked. Yes, while we are in this tent we groan, because we are weighed down. We want to be dressed not undressed, so that what is dying can be swallowed up by life. Now the one who prepared us for this very thing is God, and God gave us the Spirit as a down payment for our home. 2 Corinthians 5:1-5)
One of the things that Rod and I have done many times over the years is go camping. Before we had kids we would often go backpacking. Once our kids came along we would go to campgrounds to which we could drive a car, unpack it, set up the tent, and enjoy. For many years, while living in Indiana, we would go to Green Lake, WI, and camp for a week. We would sleep in a tent. We always looked forward to going, planning our menu for cooking outside, finding little things that would make our tent and campsite just a little more comfortable. We enjoyed riding our tandem bicycle around the grounds and playing cribbage at the picnic table by lantern light at night. After a week of that, we reluctantly packed up our car and came home. The closer we got to home the more we wanted to get there. Finally, as we took the interstate off-ramp that would take us home, the relief of being close to home came over us. That first shower in our own bathroom, that first night crawling under the covers of our bed, were all in our thoughts as we got closer and closer to home. There are places that we drive not far from here where we see tents set up, tucked away behind bushes along the side of the freeway, or even on the sidewalk under an overpass. These are people for whom the tent is their home. They experience the uncertainty of everyday life without a house to live in to protect from the inclement elements—weather and more. One might ask what being “close to home” would mean to them. This Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany we will explore the meaning of “Close to Home,” as we look to the stories of people longing for God to come and act in history. It is what we experience, that sense of having a home but not really being home. We will contemplate what this “home” is like and how we have a taste of it now. But as the holidays are often a difficult time for those who are missing someone or whose life is not what one wants, we will acknowledge those realities as well. “Close to Home.” Let’s take this journey together. In the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love of the season, In Christ, Pastor Shawn