Examine all things; hold fast to what is good.

1.Thessalonians 5,21

My friend Michael Schicketanz had this idea. He is a local tour guide in Wittenberg. He grew up in the parsonage of Zahna (Elster). For years he upgraded buildings of the local unionist church (MDK). His task was to make them energy efficient and more sustainable. A daunting and ongoing task. Good enough for Sisyphus. As guide around town, he dresses up as Philip Melanchthon.

Well, Michael is highly organized. He lived that way all his life. Now, that he is retired, he is tiding up his living space, his legacy, his life. Moving out of the old office space in Wittenberg´s Wilhelm Weber Street, he sorted his old stuff: “Examine all things, hold fast to what is good!” (1. Thess.5,21) He´s come quite far. So, last month he hosted an evening in the church hall of his home town. This was the second of three: “Cleaning, sorting and securing!” (Aufräumen, sortieren und sichern)

Michael is a master at living in certain limits – limiting himself and within narrow borders – what is important. Like in “this is meet, right and salutary”. He is very different to me and my forebears, who are more hunter-gatherers (O.Ulf/Father EAW).

As a young pastor in Wittenberg (Mpumalanga, SA) the old farmer Arnold Hiestermann would point out time and again, that he was intent on just moving once more – and that would be the move into the small space of his wooden coffin. Pious men have had their coffins set up in their living quarters to remind them, that their days in these parts were counted. A good reason to keep up with St. Paul´s exhortation:

Examine all things, hold fast to what is good.

1.Thessalonians 5,21

Michael has set his limit for his leftovers to one banana box. That is a hot favorite for German students, when moving stuff from one place to another. It´s cheap. It´s sturdy and not too heavy either. Ok, agreed. Michael is not a wealthy president. He does not require the generous space of an entire presidential library to safeguard his legacy. His children probably struggle with space like most of us here in the narrow spaces of old Germany. Here I do not have the 400+ square meters as back home in Murrayfield, but less than a quarter of that. Once upon a time Leipzig Missions advertised their post of executive director. His living quarters were just over sixty five square meters. So, little spaces are quite common here. Nothing to cry about. Still, I am quite impressed with Michael´s resolution to limit his “left-overs” to just one box. He unpacked his box and I was impressed. He had photo albums, diaries, mementos and other keepsakes.

Remember Robinson Crusoe. He had an entire Island to himself and old Friday to salvage that marooned ship of his. Michael has only one banana box titled: “Heirloom of M.S”. For comparison moving from Erlangen to Oberursel I had more than 20 of those banana boxes filled with stuff. My uncle Ulf Pontow moved those with his faithful VW Passat – even though it nearly broke down under the load. Our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us to act wisely in this regard.

Remember his parable?

The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop,  so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself,“You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12,16ff

In the Sermon of the mount he adds this:

Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and devouring insect destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and devouring insect do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6,19ff

Today he might have pointed out, that even crypto currency can get lost. James Howell stored Bitcoin on some hard drive. This he accidentally discarded. That hard drive landed on some Welsh landfill – and is lost. That´s more than $800 million worth of bitcoin. That´s a lot of money gone with the wind. Voetsek!

Exiles, fugitives, refugees and prisoners know, that it means to just take the most important with you in a small suitcase. It´s like those fleeing from their burning home or escaping when the waters are flooding your place or Russians are bombing it again.

Here is what my list looks like – and I think, that fits nicely into that little box.

• ID/Passport; Curriculum vita – biography; my ancestry/geneology (Stammbaum)
• Photoalbum and Baptismal, confirmation and marriage certificate
  • Mementos: Owl carved by Christoph; Chocolaterie from Friederike; Cards by Detlev; Socks from Matz
  • Bible, hymnal, Catechism, BoC. Other books?
  • Ideally memories/adventures do not take up any space.

Remember our God and Lord is our good shepherd.

Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; he leads the ewes along.

Isaiah 40,11

And He ensures us with His precious word:

My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

John 10,27ff

In the end it is good to know, that when we have to let go, He, who is greater than all, will not let go, but hold us securely in his fatherly hands and carry us home. He holds us and that is the best + Amen.