Sacred Connections: Home
Many of us have spent a lot of time at home this past year. Our homes may feel so familiar that we take them for granted – the place we’ve been staying safe in, the place we return to each day, the place where we eat and sleep and catch the latest shows on our computer and television screens. For some of us, being home may remind us of every task that we haven’t quite accomplished, every repair that we’ve delayed, and every room that might benefit from some cleaning or reorganizing a bit.
When we think of home, we may be thinking of taxes or mortgage payments or refinancing, or leases and rent that are due. We may be needing to find new housing or temporary shelter or friends or family to welcome us in. We may be making decisions to move based on anticipation of future needs or concerns. There are so many aspects of home.
Earlier this week, in a Zoom call with friends, we started sharing stories about finding our present homes. And our language of “home” began taking a different tone. One couple who had down-sized spoke of entering their new space for the first time and knowing this would be their future home. The property had been on the market for years without offers, but it was perfect for them. Another spoke of his recent move into what he felt was his “forever home”—a place that met both his work and personal needs and could be adapted as necessary when those needs might change.
I shared about receiving an email regarding what would become my future home. I was half-way around the world at the time and would be heading back the next day. I had looked at this condo months earlier but had felt it was something I couldn’t afford. Now the owner had reduced the price and was reaching out again. I went directly from the airport to the condo for another look; sitting on the patio beneath a magnificent tree I knew I had found my new home.
For all of us on that call, “home” is a place where we experience our bodies relax, our spirits feel at ease. In quiet moments, there is a clear sense of being in peace. Beyond all the comings and goings and lists and doings, the undercurrent is of feeling at home and at peace.
In March, Liz Tassone was our Second Half Second Sunday Speaker, and she shared her experience of creating a retreat in her own home. Liz talked about the gift of realizing we do not have to go to a special destination to experience the sacred in our most familiar territory. In spiritual direction, I’ll frequently encourage folks to find that quiet place within their own homes for reflection, study and prayer. Our homes have met so many of our needs this past year – and they continue to nurture us still.
Even if we’re not particularly happy with our current living arrangements, we may have an inner sense of what home might feel like, what it might have felt like in the past, or what we might long for it to be. On pilgrimage we experience the gift of separation from the familiar, the absence of the comfortable aspects of home, and yet there are ways we carry our home in our backpacks or find a home for the night along the road.
Many of us experience Church of the Redeemer as “home”. For those of us who have associated that feeling with the church building, this year of being away from the physical structure has been very hard. We haven’t been able to sit in our favorite pews, amidst familiar beloved faces, and just check-in with each other each week. We haven’t been able to hear our full choir in person or share greetings in the narthex over coffee or tea.
In a way, we have all been on pilgrimage together, away from the familiar and our comfort zones. On this journey, we’ve been able to experience peace and connectedness and perhaps a deeper level of gratitude for our church home. We understand on an experiential level that the Church of the Redeemer is not defined by a building but experienced as a community of faith, connection and love.
The classic song title, “Home Is Where the Heart Is” expresses a heartfelt truth. Sometimes an Easter pansy delivered to a doorstep is a profound symbol of hope, love and home.
