To all of you who have signed up for an Odyssey
I had wanted to write about what has transpired this year in Odyssey and things like our meeting together but, like Jude, feel compelled to write something different around a map for our journey next year. I will address the former in another communication with you.
We are down the home straight of 2020! Looking in the rear-view mirror reveals a bumpy, windy road with wreckages on all sides. For some it has been a devastating year while others have thrived. Navigating a pandemic is something unprecedented for most of us. Added to this, 2020 has been a tumultuous year politically, economically, and socially, both on the global stage and locally.
Looking at an electoral map of results from the US elections reveals a polarising red line down the middle, flanked by a predatory sea of blue. In our backyard, red berets have exposed the increasing divide between ‘tribes’ coming from a polarised past. With so much sharpening division and exposure of injustice across the world, the idea of a United Nations working in harmony together for everyone’s wellbeing and peace remains an unattainable dream. The running battles this year in the streets of Hong Kong between students and their government is just one example of the continuing clash of ideologies and differing worldviews around democracy and socialism. What a time for the redeemed community of God’s people, made up of every tribe, tongue and nation, to shine like “a city set on a hill” (Mat. 5:14).
This metaphor of the present-day church being like a shining city is meant to reflect the heavenly City, whose ‘architect and builder is God’ (Heb. 11:10c). Which makes us pilgrims between two cities [pilgrim, noun. a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place…a traveller or wanderer, especially in a foreign place (www.dictionary.com)]. ‘Pilgrim’ can sound like an antiquated word, but its sense is captured in numerous New Testament passages and is more defined than the one given above. It is not as though we are on a journey of discovery as we already have “citizenship …in heaven” (Phil. 3:20) and are on a pilgrimage through this world (1 Pet. 2:11) to our true ‘home of righteousness’ (2 Pet. 3:13). So what are we to give ourselves to on this journey between two cities?
In Alice in Wonderland, the conversation between “the disoriented Alice and the mysterious Cheshire Cat actually went like this: "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where--" said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat. "-so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation. "Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough." "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there" is an “oft-cited but not-quite-accurate quote” * used from this exchange but it conveys well the idea of the need to have a clear Journey mapped out, “…the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1c). But where do we start?
How about if we start by asking ‘why’? Simon Sinek “may be best known for popularizing the concept of WHY in his first TED Talk in 2009. It rose to become the third most watched on TED.com, with over 40 million views and subtitled in 47 languages.” Sinek’s talk was titled, Start with ‘Why,’ and argues why some succeed where others fail. Starting with ‘why’ allows you to define the ‘how’ and ‘what’ in a compelling way as opposed to asking these same three questions in reverse. I personally found his talk inspiring and helpful. But as heavenly citizens and pilgrims, our starting question must be ‘Who’. Who is God and who am I in relationship to Him, to others and to this world? And it is why the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to “look to Jesus” (Heb. 12:2) as the mainstay for our Journey.
Every follower of Jesus must Start with Jesus because He alone defines the ‘who’ adequately, who we are-“But now in Christ Jesus” we are no more “strangers to the covenant of promise… but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:12-13, 19). Our present status of being ‘in Christ,’ being citizens of heaven, means we view all of life through this lens and live life informed by this reality. It gives supreme definition to the ‘why,’ ‘how’ and ‘what.’
Think of the results of the Fall, that moment when Adam and Eve chose to act independently of God’s interdependent relationship with them. Four things immediately resulted: (i) their relationship with God was inhibited from their side; (ii) their relationship within themselves was soured by sin; (iii) their relationship with each other was suddenly strained and (iv) their relationship to the rest of creation suffered. Jesus invites us with, “Follow me,” so that all four of these relationships can be redeemed as we journey with Him.
And that is why Odyssey is using these four terms below to explain our journey between two cities because they correlate with the four redemptive actions of God: 1. Walk with Jesus 2. Walk in Freedom 3. Walk with Others 4. Walk in Renewal. These four ideas are each like the four framing edges of a puzzle, making it easier to join the rest of the pieces. I have been working on these pieces over this year and need an uninterrupted space (14th-21st December) to complete the picture. Then I am on leave until the 10th of January, when we will start laying out the Journey for 2021.
Two of our home groups will run with some ‘maps’ (the who, why, how and what concepts) in 2021 so that we can refine them through hands on feedback. There will also be some other groups running with different ‘maps’ with the same purpose in mind. We will be using material from practitioners in the worldwide church who have proven track records in their respective fields of expertise. In other words, finding the best fit for Odyssey from the wealth of excellent resources available.
Thank you to all of you for staying the course through a tumultuous year, for not growing “weary or fainthearted” (although I am sure there were times like that, as there were for me, were you had to dig deep in God and draw on His grace for strength) and keeping your eyes fixed on the King, seated in glory at the right hand of the throne of God. I am looking forward to our continuing journey with Jesus.
Stay on course with Jesus and His community of followers
Much love
Craig McKellar