The 4 "R's"

When I wrote up my request for this sabbatical, I mentioned three "R's" as part of its purpose or goal.  They were research, rest, and renewal.  Research as I took the opportunity to make use of the fantastic Wesley archives and other resources of the John Rylands Library in Manchester, rest as I took a break from the church and the demands of ministry, and renewal as I took time to feed my spirit and soul amidst some of the most beautiful places on God's green earth. And all of those things were of great importance over the course of nearly 11 weeks of traveling with Wesley around the UK, but it rapidly became clear that I had forgotten the most important "R" of them all, relationship.  

Relationship was and is at the very heart of my sabbatical and of life itself.  As I ventured forth in places as varied as London, Epworth, and Tarbert, whether on a train or tram or on foot, and no matter how sacred or secular the setting, I encountered sisters and brothers, other amazing and unique people created in the image of God.  I made new friends everywhere I went, got reacquainted with some old ones, and even had the chance to preach at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Stornoway at the invitation of the Rev. Terry Taggart, a friend made on our last visit to the Outer Hebrides.

I made a wonderful discovery in my weeks of traveling as a stranger in a strange land. I found that the world is full of people who are kind and helpful to foreign visitors who may not look like them and certainly don't sound like them. I found that cities like London and Manchester are refusing to let fear or hatred or terrorism make them bitter.  Not surprisingly, a song by Manchester's Gallagher brothers of the band Oasis, "Don't Look Back in Anger" was one of the earworms that kept reverberating in my head as I pondered events in Charlottesville, Catalonia, and elsewhere.  I found that the more I traveled and the more I talked to different people, the more obvious it became that we have so much in common, no matter what our race or religion or country of origin happen to be.

And the risen Christ kept showing up in the middle of it all, even in people who claim not to believe in him as well as in those who do.   From the woman in the Bristol train station who shepherded me to the right bus to the man who carried my heavy luggage across Iona, from the home-cooked hospitality of the Worthingtons and Howards to the surprise birthday card and chocolates from people I met on the Oban-Castlebay ferry, there were moments of pure joy when nothing but sheer gratitude was an appropriate response. There were moments when silent tears of thankfulness were all I could offer in the face of such an overwhelming sense of God's presence. There were moments when I felt my heart would burst from the experience of so much inexpressible grace.

Please forgive me if today's musings are disjointed and incomplete. I'll continue musing on the continuing resonance of my travels with Wesley in this blog from time to time as it marinates in my heart and head, so stay tuned. The journey continues!