When did you first “leave home?” What prompted that choice? Was it work? Love? Adventure? Rebellion? Or maybe all of those together? Might that choice be the root of your call?
At a recent retreat, we were working with the idea of life as a journey toward the heart’s true home–which is how I understand God’s call in our lives. I invited people to place their shoes someplace in the room to indicate where they were in the process of leaving home and/or returning home. One older woman placed her shoes just one step away from the circular cloth that signified “home” in the center of the room. When I asked her about that, she said, “Well, I left my childhood home for marriage and my husband died this year, so I’m just starting out on my own journey.” She knew it was not too late to begin.
In our gospel reading for today*, Jesus “left home” by purposely letting his parents depart from Jerusalem for Nazareth without him. They assumed he was with his friends in the crowd, but he wasn’t. After they searched for three days, they returned to Jerusalem and found him back at the temple, debating with the rabbis.
His mother was understandably cross: “Why have you treated us this way?” No doubt they were angry and relieved. Luke tells us that his parents “didn’t understand.” But, Luke says, Mary pondered the incident, and Jesus grew “in wisdom and divine favor.” Although we don’t know the details, my guess is that Jesus found a local rabbi to talk with regularly as his call developed toward his public ministry–which apparently began some 18 years later.
Leaving the unconscious matrix of home and family seems to be necessary for living out one’s unique call. We also know that she was with the disciples after Jesus’ death (Acts 1:14), so the separation encouraged spiritual maturity for both of them. The first step on the journey might be leaving home.
–Marjory Zoet Bankson, Seekers Church
*Luke 2:41-52
- When did you first “leave home?” What prompted that choice? Was it work? Love? Adventure?
- Rebellion? Or maybe all of those together? Might that choice be the root of your call?
- Who saw your gifts before you were ready to claim them in public?
- Where are you finding your spiritual home right now?
