No Lines at 10,000 metres

During last evening's flight from Davao City, Philippines to Singapore, I asked in jest, LWR's supremely competent Asian Area Deputy Director, Joanne Fairley, to look down from her window seat. "Do you see the equator?" "Not yet," she replied. But 10 minutes later she burst out playfully, "It's right there and it's red." Of course, there are no lines at 30,000 feet (what most of the world calls 10,000 metres). In fact, there are no lines dividing nations either. Nor any maplike, color-coded countries.

I've heard a few U.S. Lutherans complain that too much focus goes internationally, that Bishop Hanson or President Kieschnick or the church bodies focus too much on world issues, "we need to take care of home first!" I guess it depends on how you define home, or how you answer Jesus' answer to the ancient inquiry, "Who is my neighbor?"

So what does neighbor mean, why does it matter that we work with Lutheran World Federation, the International Lutheran Council, Ablaze International, or Global Missions. Martin Luther has a 10,000 metre answer, "Christians live not in themselves, but in Christ and in their neighbors, or else they're not Christians. They live in Christ through faith and in their neighbors through love."

I'm a little parched with all this travel. When we land in Medan, Indonesia later this Lord's Day, I'll be looking for spiritual refreshment, for a Lutheran church where my faith can be formed and my love can be informed by the Gospel. I, for one, really hope there's been some global Lutheran focus there so that I can find one.