PITCHING OUR TENTS

 [This sermonic essay was created for a Christian audience. Nevertheless, adherents of other faith traditions and of no faith tradition are also invited to read.]

We are a land of sojourners and pilgrims, migrants and immigrants. Indeed, the mass movements of peoples consume much of the history of our planet. And few, if any, of us are immune to moving from place to place. Reasons vary- some by choice- jobs, family situations, and the like. Others by necessity- violence, disease, and numerous extraordinary explanations. Whatever the reasons, movement is in our human DNA.

My own family became caught up in our own exodus of sorts. I was born in 1950 and my first brother came along in 1952. In a year or so Dad and Mom, my brother and I traveled to California to seek a better future. Our avenue of hope was the now defunct US Highway 66- Route 66- essentially the same route traveled by the fictional Joad family in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Like the Joads, we journeyed from Oklahoma to California- for us it was first Santa Monica on the southern California coast and then on to the mountains of northern California.

But California was not paradise for the Marlow family. Within two years Dad and Mom divorced and that event propelled me on many journeys. So by the time I graduated from high school I had moved 18 times. Even many of the Oklahomans (“Okies”) who did firmly settle in California did not consider it home and as they aged and faced the end they began to gradually return to their birthplaces.

Even God got into the moving business. In the Gospel of John in that wonderful poetic prologue we read, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (1:14a) The Word is the Christ and He literally “tabernacled” among us or to put it in our more vernacular God “pitched his tent” among we earthlings in the person of Christ Jesus. This tent was no mere pup tent we remember from our childhoods but a tent that knew no edges in order to cover us in grace. But even such a tent still implies temporary lodging. When I was a young Army sergeant stationed with an artillery battalion in Germany one of my responsibilities when we in the field was to set up and take down our battalion headquarters tent singlehandedly. The tent had the Army nomenclature of “GP Small” but it seemed to me the size of a circus tent, but still it was a temporary arrangement designed for movement.

God has been consistent in this regard. In the Hebrew Scriptures we read about Abraham’s journey of faith from Ur in Mesopotamia to Palestine followed by Jacob’s journey of family reunion to Egypt to be followed by Moses leading the Israelites from slavery to the Promised Land. These ancient Hebrews were nomads and tent pitchers and being nomadic they were not a people of huge temples and pyramids (unless they were forced laborers) but slowly under the kingships of David, Solomon, and royal company they did settle down and initiated a massive public works program. Yet their great gift to the world was a monotheistic faith grounded in the Ten Commandments.

But the faith of the Hebrews, despite prophetic warnings, became an empty shell so God put them on the move once again. Their bully neighbors to the east- the Babylonians- invaded and deported many Hebrews to the Babylon homeland. And then God had something up his sleeve so to speak- while many Hebrews moped around and wept for the “good ole’ days” God decreed through the prophet Jeremiah that they were to “Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you too. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.” (29:7) Back to this prophetic statement later.

The tent pitching continued on into the New Testament. After John’s prologue the infant Jesus becomes for a time a refugee in Egypt. The theme of the Church in movement is highlighted in Vernard Eller’s The Outward Bound: Caravaning As the Style of the Church.  As a caravan, the Church is faithful when it understands itself moving towards a celestial destination rather than being an institutionalized static commissary merely dispersing services. Again, tent pitching.

Tent pitching not only implies movement it also implies placement. Christians- God’s nomads- need to stop temporarily for rest, refreshment, and yes, even recreation. Is there a deeper meaning to all this? The Apostle Paul states in his letter to the Philippians, “But our citizenship is in heaven…” (3:20a) Here Paul was contrasting believers with the enemies of Christ. Yet Paul had also used his earthly Roman citizenship to his advantage when necessary to further his missionary aims.

Therefore, it is natural for us followers of Christ to rightly reckon we hold dual citizenship- an earthly political citizenship in a nation of our birth or one of choice (placement) and an eternal spiritual citizenship in heaven (movement). And citizenship gives us both rights and responsibilities. So, as we pitch our tents in various places on planet Earth- this third rock from the Sun- just what responsibilities might be expected of us?

Back to that prophetic declaration in Jeremiah- pursue the well being of our city and pray for it. In the Gospels Jesus says to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and Peter tells us to pray for the government. I think you are getting my point- pitching our tents means at least some degree of civic engagement à at the very least- pray for our governments and their leaders regardless of who’s in power, pay our taxes, and vote our values. Now many Christians have additional issues with which to be engaged. These issues range the political spectrum as they attach themselves to our interests and personalities. These engagements are to be applauded if we treat each other as sisters and brothers in Christ and if we remember that while tent pitching is placement it is still temporary. We must move on to our final destination. Heaven awaits us.