“…our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 3:20

I attended seminary in Canada. I wanted an experience that was both international and interdenominational in scope. To be completely honest, it was also much more affordable than our American counterparts. I didn’t have the fear or trepidation I might have had if I had gone to seminary in Germany (where I could not speak the language), but I was still very much aware that I was a guest in a foreign land. I drove a beat-up old Datsun automobile that didn’t include metric speed markings on the speedometer, so I had to learn to convert the miles-per-hour (mph) scale to the metric scale used by our northern cousins. Fortunately, I learned quickly that the key figure is “6.” Multiply the kilometers-per-hour (kmph) speed limit by 6, drop the zero, and that’s roughly the mph (e.g. 80 kmph = 6×80 = 480, drop the 0, so 48 (or 50) mph).

St. Paul tells us “our citizenship is in heaven,” and (for me) the good news is that not only do we “eagerly await a savior,” but that we have a Savior who just as eagerly awaits for us. It doesn’t matter what scale is being used, for Jesus IS the scale. We don’t have to do any converting; Jesus is the One who converts US! Isn’t that amazing? And so it is well with my soul.

God, there is so much in life that can throw us for a loop. We strive to do good, to be good, to do right, to be right. Sometimes, though, we know well that we are out of our element; we live in a world that is increasingly foreign. We can fake it ‘til we make it, but I’ll feel so much better when I cross that border and find you are there to receive me, for then it will be truly well with my soul. Amen.
– Fr. Keith Axberg