1-20-14 - Home

The Son of Man may have nowhere to lay his head – but who knew he had a lake house where he could hang his hat? I’ve read Matthew’s gospel numerous times, but only this year did I notice this verse: "Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake…"

I never think of Jesus having a home, once he’d left his mother’s house. And it never occurred to me that he didn't leave Nazareth right away when he began his public ministry. I guess even Jesus had to leave home in stages. But now the time has come for him to center himself somewhere, even if he is to be on the move most of the time. So Capernaum, which was also where Peter and Andrew lived, became the place he went back to when he could, the center for his new and growing community of followers.

From what we read in the Gospels, though, Jesus didn’t spend much time going back. He was on the move, forward, alive to God’s mission, making the love and justice and wholeness of God known in word and action. I wonder how much time he actually spent in Capernaum, and whether he missed it when he was on the road.

Where is home for you? Is it where it’s always been, or new? How long has it been home for you? 
Was it hard leaving your last home when you came to your current one?

And where is home for you relative to being engaged in God's mission? Is it the place you retreat to, or the place from which your ministry comes, your base of operations? My home is both.

Do you have a place for prayer or worship in your home? Consider creating one – a corner of a room, a table and chair, a seat by a window… a place where you go to pray, light a candle, read the bible, give thanks to God, invite God’s Spirit to bless you and your projects.

The letter to the Hebrews says our ultimate home is with God in the heavenly places, that the heroes of faith we read about in the Old Testament knew their homes on this earth were just rest stops on their journey to the heart of God’s love. Jesus knew the home he made in Capernaum was exceedingly temporary, more so than most of ours are. I hope he enjoyed his while he could, knowing his final rest would be in the true Home from which he came, the home he has promised to prepare for us.

So let's enjoy home – and not get so comfortable we forget where we’re headed.