Things change in our lives. The perfect example is the adage that we can never go home. Of course, we are free to travel where we like in this country. Returning to our hometowns is not restricted. However, what we encounter in the places where we grew up is change. The house where we grew up may have been painted, relandscaped, or remodeled. The folks living there have grown older. People move away, and new folks move in. And our memories of growing up in the neighborhood just don’t seem the same.
In our gospel lesson this Sunday, Jesus has returned to his hometown of Nazareth. He enters the synagogue, picks up the scroll of Isaiah, reads the scripture, and sits down to teach. Everything is going fine until someone asks, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” It would seem that even Jesus cannot get away from hometown memories of acts of his childhood. Maybe Jesus, as a child, acted out during worship?! Whatever the case may be, all of Jesus’ ministry experience is washed away with the simple question, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
I was asked to officiate a funeral service in my home church. IT was wonderful to be back in the sanctuary (it seemed so much smaller than I remembered). The faces in the pews, although older and grayer, were the same smiling faces I remembered from my youth. The service was wonderful. The people were fantastic. And yet, I was more nervous being in that space and leading that congregation than I ever remember in my years of officiating funerals. For me, returning home was wrought with memories of the giants that tool their place in the pulpit each Sunday. And in my mind, I would never be able to stand that tall or speak that commandingly.
It must have been hard for Jesus to return home and encounter a crowd that wanted to hurl him from a cliff! For most of us, Jesus included, we can never return home. We can begin anew with a God who wants us to return to Him. So, returning home to God is a place we can return repeatedly. For us, we serve a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And we are always welcome to return to the God who loves us…just as we are.
Fr. Michael+
This article orginally appeared in the James Journal, the weekly newsletter of St. James Episcopal Church, Dallas, Texas. To add yourself to the newsletter click here.