Think for a moment about returning home. Recall the times that you have been out and about doing this or that....and somehow crossing the threshold of your home triggers a feeling of relief and release.

I recall the times in my childhood. If something had happened in school that was upsetting, I would walk through the door, see my mom or my cat, and release all the efforts I had made to keep that stiff upper lip. Home, and particularly my room, meant safety...and a place where pretense was unnecessary.

Then in my young adulthood I lived some distance from "home". The sight of the house, the aroma of mom's spaghetti cooking were like a huge banner that read "Welcome Home! We're Glad you are here!"

And now, when I return to my own home after a long day of work (or play) I experience a different but equally profound sense of relief and release as soon as I drive into my driveway (which is quite long and winding). Coming home to the place where I can sink my roots into familar soil allows me to "settle" into familiarity. There is no need to respond to any unknown (as long as there are no household emergencies like broken water pipes) and therefore I can simply take a break from DOING. I can linger in reflecting on how things simply are. If things have been challenging, I can put myself back together....collecting my feelings and thoughts into a perspective that is sometimes obscured by the fast pace of outside activities and relationships.

Last week many of our ELCA brothers and sisters spent time at the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis as either visitors or voting members. Thousands more allocated time and mental space (as well as spiritual and emotional energy) to participate in the deliberations from a distance. Many choices were made that have set the feet of the church on the path it now will take in the months ahead.

Now, before we do anything in reaction to the decisions we either affirm or oppose, we may all need to set aside time and space to be "home" in the presence of the center of the church. As Bishop Hanson said in his pastoral comments:

We meet one another finally -- not in our agreements or our disagreements -- but at the foot of the cross, where God is faithful, where Christ is present with us, and where, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are one in Christ.

I realize that returning to that center....to the cross....may have the same kind of watershed moment that I described at the beginning of this post. Our egos and our minds may try to resist that watershed. Surrender at the cross feels, sometimes, like a loss of control. We may feel compelled to DO something in response to the Assembly's decisions. But first, let us BE at the cross. Let us bring how we ARE to Christ. The previous days have been tiring...wounding... We need to return home and dwell in the presence of the deepest healing of who we are as the people of God. Linger in the presence of the certainty of the cross. There you will find all of the others who have journeyed these difficult days with you....there you will find the open arms of Christ who is embracing ALL of us.