Reunion at the Heart of Faith

Last weekend, Marcia and I had the joy of attending a low-key reunion with some of our college friends. The years had scattered us into different places in the world and set us on many paths. As with most reunions, the conversations began with stories of where life has taken us: new jobs, growing families, unexpected losses, and the smiles and challenges that fill our days. There was laughter at the memories of the past, but we also noticed the ways time has shaped us. A reunion is never simply about returning to the past; it’s about rediscovering connection in the present and imagining what the future can bring.

That same longing for reunion lies at the center of our faith. Scripture reminds us again and again that God is in the business of bringing people back together: with one another, with creation, and with God. Even in the darkest times, when the people of Judah faced exile and loss, God promised a future where the broken would be restored and the land would flourish again. The psalms sing of God as a refuge, a place where the scattered can find shelter and the weary can find rest. The early church, too, wrestled with what it meant to live faithfully in a world of distractions and temptations, urging followers of Christ to choose generosity and gentleness over the pursuit of wealth or the power of empire. And Jesus’ parables warn us that ignoring the needs of our neighbors creates not just social divides, but spiritual chasms that keep us from the fullness of life God desires.

When we gather in worship each week, we experience this reunion in real ways. Communion is not only bread and wine; it is a homecoming. We are reunited with Jesus, who gives himself to us again and again, and we are reunited with one another as the Body of Christ. Around the altar, we are reminded that we belong not because of what we’ve achieved, but because God has drawn us close in love. This is the holy reunion that sustains us, week after week.

Reunion also reshapes how we live beyond the church doors. To be reunited with God means to be attentive to the people at our gates: those in need, those overlooked, those longing for community. In the same way that my reunion with friends reminded me of the importance of showing up for one another, so our life of faith calls us to show up for neighbors, to repair broken relationships, and to extend compassion where it is most needed. Reunion is not simply a feeling of nostalgia; it is a practice of reconciliation and love.

At its center, the Christian story is one great reunion. It is the story of God gathering creation back into wholeness, healing what is fractured, and bridging every divide. We live toward that promise whenever we pray, forgive, serve, or share with each other at the Communion table. Each of these moments is a sign of God’s greater intention: that nothing, not time, not distance, not even death, can separate us from the love that binds us together in Christ.

So as we come together this Sunday, I invite you to think of worship as a reunion with God who shelters us. A reunion with one another in community. A reunion with the hope that sustains us in uncertain times. And as we go back into our daily lives, may we carry that spirit of reunion with us, building bridges where there are walls, tending friendships that need care, and noticing the neighbor who longs to be seen. Because in every act of love, every shared meal, and every moment of compassion, the reunion God desires is already beginning.

Kevin+