Most people travel a little in their work and when they do it is often a treat. Nothing like a couple of days of room service and clean sheets to revitalise the soul.
On the other hand, there are a few people like me who travel a lot. Once, years back, I did 200,000 miles in a year. It is not easy to do that, but I did it. Don’t ever need to do it again but, unfortunately, this year might be close. I know what you are thinking, poor, poor you. Suck it up. Fair enough.
So last week I spent a couple of days in Hungary specifically in Budapest and in Segzed (where the local oil activity is). Hungary is right slap bang in the centre of Europe and in the centuries before the Soviets took over after world war two it was at the heart of a lot of European history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary For example, Hungary has been invaded by barbarians twice, three times if you include the Soviets. It has survived regional and world wars and gone from being a great power to a country at the outside of European success. One thing that survives throughout is the ancient Christian faith. I visited the church in Segzed (that’s the picture above) and was again awed at how simple faith outlasts the vagaries of history. During the history of this particular church the country was invaded by the Ottomans and Islam was imposed on the country. Today Islam is barely represented in the country - and in the church in Segzed mass was being said during my short visit. The church outlasted too the invasion of the Soviets and the imposition of their own religion, communism. Communism still is part of the political landscape in Hungary but no one is confusing it with the truth any more.
As Christians we have much to be fearful of when we look around the world. Sitting in Europe it is hard to be coonfident in the future of our faith. Compared to Budapest and Segzed everything in America seems so new and our Christian faith in America is polished and close to perfect. But in Europe it is the very ancientness of our faith that gives hope. Our church has seen it all - and survived. It survives because the Spirit of God is eternal and lives in the church and it is this fact that gives us as Christians our eternal hope.