Such random verses stick out to me in Gospel passages...in this reading it is this line: "but standing among you--unknown to you--is the one who is coming after me". A lot of it is because it strikes a chord with the homesick part of me right now. Whenever I'm in the chapel at the Little Sisters of the Poor on break and sit by the Nativity scene, it hits me that I can comfort Jesus in His condition and He can comfort me...so we have a good time comforting each other.
God was treated as a stranger amongst the very people He had created. He wants to find a home in the heart of every human. How homesick He must be! Just looking at the manger scene, I see the God-Head seemingly so out of place, not being in some castle but in a manger with animals giving off their heat...and I see those that recognized Him were the shepherds. I have so much to learn from the shepherds. They, in their simplicity, recognized the divinely simple God in the person of Jesus Christ. They were, after Mary and Joseph, the first to make a home for Jesus in their hearts. Not the scholars or the learned at the time, but those who truly understood love (chasing after lost sheep and putting their lives on the line against wolves and thieves out for their flock...) made room in their hearts for Love.
I never want to pass by Jesus without recognizing Him. Instead, I want to invite Him readily into my heart for Him to make His home there and fill it with His presence.
And, in making a home for Him, He does not leave us homeless...He offers us a home, and that home itself is love. I've discovered that while I'm caring for one of the residents, I can think of nothing else but that person for that time. Giving a drink, reorienting the confused, turning down the covers at bedtime. That is my love. That is home...in Love I have found my home away from home. Not that I'm not homesick for my physical home (4 more days...4 more days...), but God does take care of me in that moment and help me learn a bit of what my ultimate Home will be like. There's this wonderful part of "The Jeweler's Shop" (I finally read the original script...fantastic!) where the character Adam explains to Anna that in her experience with the Bridegroom, the Bridegroom had the face of her husband because "In the Bridegroom’s face each of us finds a similarity to the faces of those with whom love has entangled us on this side of life, of existence. They are all in him." It is so true. We find Christ in each other because, in our friendships, relationships, and kinships, there is some connection of love...and in that love we find a home.
Never let Christ pass by you unrecognized, dear readers. He is in the friend that needs to vent, the sister who wants to share a laugh, the father offering advice...when you make a ready home for Him, He will make one ready for you.
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