Gifts Given and Received

At the beginning of our voyage, just after Epiphany, I pondered what gifts we might bring to the Christ child we found in the people of Nebraska.

Reflecting upon our trip, I am confident that gifts we brought to them were: a gift of open mindedness; a willingness to learn, to hear their stories, to understand their way of life and their relationships with each other, their land, and God. An extension of this gift is that we will bring this understanding back to the city with us, to share with our families, friends, and future congregations this experience of rural life that is so often misunderstood by those who have not been there.

The magi who brought gifts to the child Jesus in turn were given a gift to bring home with them: the gift of having experienced God incarnate, the ultimate expression of love in the person of a little boy.

Like the magi, we also return with an unanticipated gift to ourselves from Nebraska. Pastor Mike asked us over our last two days in Nebraska, “Where have you seen God at work among these people?” The answer was challenging, only because it was hard to think of times when we did not experience God in the people we met. We experienced God in their hospitality: in sharing their homes and lives with us, we were welcomed. It was Matthew 25:35 personified: they welcomed us as they would have welcomed Christ. We experienced God in their relationships: in the responsibility they feel towards their families, friends and neighbors, the closeness of the community, the pride in their work, the respect for the land, the dedication to their church, and the devotion to God that is inherent in each of these. God is love, and if the ultimate example of relationship is love, then the people whose lives we were blessed to share in embodied the love of God. I am certain we received the greater gift.

Bearing gifts we traversed afar… and like the magi, we also experienced God incarnate: in the remarkable people and beautiful countryside of an unexpected Promised Land… Nebraska.

Many thanks to all of you who have followed our adventures on this blog. It honors and humbles me to have been the teller of our tales. I wish you all Godspeed. Until we meet again…