Reality television in Scandinvia has taken an interesting twist.  “All for Norway” and, in Sweden, “All for Sweden” is all the rage.  People are tuning in each week to watch North American contestants who give four months of their lives to learn about their heritage.  There are challenges, tests, competitions with other contestants and, at the end of the season, winners get to learn about their roots.  They get see the place of their ancestors birth.  They get to discover something of why they are who they are.  To contestants and those who tune in each week, this is great TV!

I know of this program because we recently returned from a trip to the homeland.  I also understand the show’s popularity.  Our trip was much more than just a vacation, it was an opportunity to do our own version of “All for Scandinavia”.  Seeing the home places, breaking bread with long lost relatives, standing over my great, great grandparent’s graves, rubbing my hand on the foundation of what was once their home (see the above photo) is, to say the least, a moving experience.

I now have a little better sense of why am I who I am.

Below you will find a sermon I recently preached. I hope you listen.  I hope you find something of yourself in this message.