05-13-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 13, 2025
I have used the line more than once, “Not all those who wander are lost.” Just recently, in an email blast from Sojourner Magazine, I was reminded that it was J.R.R. Tolkien, in the book The Fellowship of the Ring, who first coined the phrase. In Genesis 12, Abram and Sarai (later known as Abraham and Sarah) follow the call of God to leave behind everything they had known and go to a land that God would show them. In the ancient world, leaving behind your family and place of origin was beyond frightening. And though they had no idea where their journey would take them, and it probably fell under the definition of wandering, they were clearly not lost. I sort of believe that faithful people, those truly open to the Spirit of God, will be wandering in life, but because they are allowing the Spirit to guide, they are truly not lost.

Through the power of your grace to guide, Lord God, we seek the capacity to trust that grace even when the destination remains undefined. In such moments, let your amazing grace continue to beckon us forward. Amen.