Postcards of love

The Rev Ruth Kennedy highlights the role of Sanctuary First in meeting travellers.

GET packing! Summer is here! Honestly, regardless of the weather, it is the season of summer. A season when many get packing for picnics, adventure and holidays, setting off on these types of travels.

These journeys are usually voluntarily undertaken with happy and hopeful faces, where often the only pressure is in managing expectations and bursting cases or meeting a specific departure time. It leads me to think about travels which are in the Bible. The multiple adventures and pilgrimages Jesus made, the needs-led journeys of Naomi and Ruth, the forty years of wilderness travels the Israelites took. Thinking about just these few examples we see there are some times when we get packing with excitement, but not always.

Famine, war, oppression, injustice, abuse, slavery. Climate changes. Poverty of finance and opportunities. Perhaps you know more, it isn’t an exhaustive list. Isn’t it heartwrenching to reflect on them, even more so to live through. When our hearts are wrenched, when we are moved with compassion for those on these types of journeys, it must move us to action for that Spirit-stirring in our hearts is God ready to move.

Jesus spoke about caring and loving people on journeys. We know it as the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. Jesus is explaining in more detail how to inherit eternal life; ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And love your neighbour as yourself.’ He possibly perceives in the heart of the questioner a coldness towards another community. So highlights the ridiculous discompassion of religious leaders compared to the lifesaving compassion of an ordinary person to a traveller whose journey took an unexpected change. Whether geographical travels or the metaphorical travels of life, we can experience unexpected changes. Sometimes, like the traveller in the parable of Jesus, it is an unwanted change and can set us on a different trajectory in life.

How do we compassionately respond to travellers on an unexpected direction in life? Who find themselves unable to physically travel to church, whose personal or family demands and capacity mean gathering for worship and fellowship aren’t possible or tolerable.

One such way lies in digital ministry. Not just livestreaming services but going a further compassionate step by putting up comments and chat and responding to those engaging with us digitally, bringing our worship into the travellers’ home. And doing so even when there is no response, perhaps they need carried by us for a while as we let them know we are stopping to say hello, we see them, we value them. Many of those fleeing or whose life direction has changed might remain anonymous through fear, necessity or with diminished hope, but Jesus still sees them and loves them. So we do too.

We can message, share posts or encouraging words, the daily worship from Sanctuary First is a super resource for us to use like this. We do it directly with people we know and love, and more widely and openly, letting our unknown neighbours know we see them, we care, just as Jesus sees them and cares for them.

If you are packing a bag this month, for any type of journey, put in the compassion of Jesus and share it as you go, practically and meaningfully. I guess that’s like leaving postcards of love.

The Rev Ruth Kennedy is Digital Ministries Advisor for the Church of Scotland and minister with Sanctuary First.