by Rev Douglas Brauner

Our journey home.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Bobbie lived a short life, but his life was full of more adventure than most people. Bobbie was born in 1921, and made a trip with his family from Silverton, Oregon to Indiana in 1923. When in Indiana, he was chased by other dogs and the family thought they had lost him forever.

Silverton, Oregon

Six months later, Bobbie showed up at his owners home having made the 2,500 mile journey back home. It’s one thing to make this journey in the summer, but something else to survive the winter. His journey has been told by people who befriended Bobbie on his journey.

When he arrived home he was skinny, his paws were worn out, and he needed special care. It might have been as a result of this journey that he only lived six years, dying in 1927, but he was home.

Although All Saints Day was last Thursday, many of our churches are celebrating the faith of those who died in Christ today. The names of some of these saints are on banners that grace our sanctuary at Holy Cross, and family members will parade these banners into the place of worship that fed their faith.

These saints are home.

They came bloodied and beaten by the battle of life, but they remained faithful. Their wounds are healed, their pain is over, and sin no longer pummels their lives.

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7:13 English Standard Version

We, the saints in the Church Militant, are still on the journey. We are still in the midst of the great tribulation where we wrestle with sin, struggle with pain, and experience the wounds of a broken relationship with God.

May the example of the “Bobbies” in our lives, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, remind us that the day is coming when we too will be home, covered in the white garments of Jesus’ righteousness.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado