Homeward Bound, and homeless

Driving past the houses in a wealthy suburb of Chicago, on our way to visit a church there, we saw mansion after mansion and thought to ourselves, what are we doing here? The folks who live here are not in our league, that is, we are not in their league. I’m sure they are nice people, but my wife said it best, “We can visit today, but we don’t want to represent another socio-economic class at this church.”  Surprises abounded however, as this became our home church for the next two years while we lived in town. Castes might matter to nouveau riche, but not to these people. They welcomed us and made us feel right at home. We never left. 

I thought of that memory in the air while returning to Sydney after a very useful quick trip to the USA recently. We have been renting since we moved to Sydney many years ago, and our landlord decided to sell our residence, so we had to move out. Since I’ve now been splitting time between the US (Nashville, Tennessee) and Sydney with a half year commitment in each, we elected to put all our household goods into storage at the end of our rental period. As a result, when I returned to Sydney, I was homeless, and thus, I had mixed feelings; homeward bound, but homeless. 

 

“A house is not a home, if there’s no one there,” says the old song. And making this short stopover into Sydney that much more difficult was that my wife had already gone to Nashville the week before to help with our children and grandchildren there. That meant I was homeward bound, homeless, and alone. And a double feeling of sadness swept over me and stayed washing over me for a tangible length of time. 

 

A home is a goal, the historic Aussie dream, to own a house, safe as houses, they used to say. And with property values skyrocketing in most capital cities, the safety does not appear as sure as it was in times past. And yet, there is a safe haven, and while pondering this season of our lives, I gave my mind over to the phrase, “House of the Lord.” 

 

You might remember Psalm 23, the shepherd’s song of King David, who ended that prayer with “I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever.” I suppose if there is any safe place in the universe, it’s where God is, and where he dwells, that is, in his house. The sons of Korah wrote this as a prayer, “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” (Psalm 84.10)

 

Last year, I was visiting Queensland and participated in a synagogue service held on the Gold Coast. The rabbi had a small gathering that evening and set the session in motion with a question. “What is the one thing you would ask of God if he were listening to you just now?” Each person in turn answered mostly hoping that circumstances would tilt in their favour, whether health or finances or such.

 

I was visiting, so I hoped to remain quiet and observe, but an urgency came over me, and I found myself saying the ancient prayer of King David 

 

אַחַ֤ת ׀ שָׁאַ֣לְתִּי מֵֽאֵת־יְהוָה֮ אוֹתָ֪הּ אֲבַ֫קֵּ֥שׁ שִׁבְתִּ֣י בְּבֵית־יְ֭הוָה כָּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיַּ֑י לַחֲז֥וֹת בְּנֹֽעַם־יְ֝הוָ֗ה וּלְבַקֵּ֥ר בְּהֵיכָלֽוֹ׃

 

“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, 

to behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple.” (Psalm 27.4)

 

What is the one thing I’ve asked? The rabbi smiled and agreed with me; that itself made me smile as well. 

 

Today the question remains as I return to my homelessness and my aloneness. Do I still want to be in God’s house today? Is he my chief joy? Are other things crimping my relationship with him or threatening my connection to him? 

 

One thing I have asked… today I’m asking again. To dwell in the house of the Lord today. For my wife to dwell in the house of the Lord. For my children and grandchildren and for all my extended family and for all my friends and contacts. May you who are reading this find the house of the Lord, living in his kingdom, in his presence, to be the most satisfying and most rewarding place to be. Home is where the heart is. Where your heart is, there will your treasure be. Our soul knows no rest until we find our rest in him. 

Brooklyn the movie and finding home

On the movie's website we read, "BROOKLYN tells the profoundly moving story of Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish immigrant navigating her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother's home for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by her past, and Eilis must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within."

Yesterday in the BAFTAs in England, Brooklyn won outstanding British film of the year. It asks the question in Ireland and Brooklyn "Where do I belong? What can I make of my life?" CJ Johnson of ABC radio here in Australia writes, "[Brooklyn] lives or dies on Ronan's performance, and it definitely lives, with energy, beauty and grace. Hornby has done a brilliant job adapting Toibin's novel ... as have art departments [with] an Ireland and Brooklyn of the 1950s but also of the romantic mind."

I saw the flick last night and as the movie began with the typical introductory list of producers and film credits, I thought I was in the wrong theatre. Fox Searchlight, ok, I'm used to that. but the list included Wildgaze Films, Parallel Film Productions, the Irish Film Board, and Item 7. BBC Films was the first in the list. Wait, is this the right movie? Ireland? I thought it was going to be about Jewish people. Maybe I should have watched the trailer or read a review first. OK< I was wrong. Settle in and watch and see, Bob.

The contrast of homes is a continual theme in the movie. The Italian spaghetti-twirling home of Tony, the boarding house of Mrs Kehoe, the quiet village of Enniscorthy and the Lacey home itself, along with the contrast of churches and jobs in the two settings add such great color to the film. But I cannot get away from home vs home as a central theme.

Tony and Eilis encounter each other at an Irish dance at the parish church, and Tony admits to liking Irish girls better than Italian girls. They fall in love as would be predicted and I won't spoil the show for you about their relationship's continuity and ending. It's actually worth watching. Tony wants to marry Eilis especially before she goes back to Ireland for a quick visit. Here's the actual script:
TONY
You want to go home, I guess.
EILIS
Yes. But I don’t know if I can.
TONY
If it’s money, then we can all help. I mean, the whole family. (Eilis blinks back more tears.)
EILIS
And how would it be for you if I did go home?
(Tony shrugs, and then says, simply and sincerely)
TONY
I’d be afraid, every single day.
EILIS
Afraid that I wouldn’t come back?
TONY Yeah. Home is home.
EILIS I’m not sure I have a home anymore.

That's the continual driving question in this brave young immigrant's mind. It's what makes me as an immigrant to Australia think. Where is home for me?

And what about you? I know friends who are selling house and shifting 200 km from the place they've lived for 35 years. I know people who have never left their neighbourhood and who now are moving to another state for whatever reasons. Tony said, "Yeah. Home is home." But for you, where is home?

Jim Farrell's home with his parents is contrasted with Mrs Kelly's home and the way they see what lies ahead is seriously in contrast.

On Christmas day in the movie, many Irish immigrants who had built the bridges and tunnels around NYC gathered as homeless and sad-faced men in the church to have a festive meal together. One lad sang a Gaelic song which brought tears to everyone from Enniscorthy, Dublin, Cork, and even this Kansas man. Where homeless people find home, that's home, no matter where we were born. No matter with whom we share it.

I love these verses from the Scripture: Isaiah 32:18 Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;

2 Kings 13:5 The LORD gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly.

Psalm 127:1-2 Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Proverbs 3:33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

Find rest in Yeshua. Find life with God your father. Find eternity and the things of earth will grow strangely dim. Yeshua said, "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14.2) Heaven then, and heavenly people today... that's home for me.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24.15)

There's a place for us

This week's parsha (the weekly portion of Torah which is read in synagogues worldwide) speaks to me of finding a place.

The tribes of Reuben and Gad (later joined by half of the tribe of Manasseh) ask for the lands east of the Jordan as their portion in the Promised Land. Why do they do this? They have a lot of cattle and the property on the 'wrong' side looks very good to the leadership.  Moses is initially angered by the request, but subsequently agrees on the condition that they first join, and lead, in Israel’s conquest of the lands west of the Jordan. And they do so, as we read later in the Bible. For a video of the parsha, see Mattot.

The forty-two journeys and encampments of Israel are listed, from the Exodus to their encampment on the plains of Moab across the river from the land of Canaan. The boundaries of the Promised Land are given, and cities of refuge are designated as havens and places of exile for inadvertent murderers. The daughters of Zelophehad marry within their own tribe of Manasseh, so that the estate which they inherit from their father should not pass to the province of another tribe. In an earlier episode, the daughters had requested their own possession of land even though they have no brothers. Moses took their request to the Almighty and He allowed their inheritance. (actual passage below)

For me the story is about going home or finding home or longing for a home. I remember ET wanted to phone home.  In Homer's Iliad, Odysseus wanted to get home. Even in the movie with George Clooney, "O Brother where art thou?" the synopsis says, "Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) is having difficulty adjusting to his hard-labor sentence in Mississippi. He scams his way off the chain gang with simple Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and maladjusted Pete (John Turturro), then the trio sets out to pursue freedom and the promise of a fortune in buried treasure. With nothing to lose and still in shackles, their hasty run takes them on an incredible journey of awesome experiences and colorful characters."

There is something within us that longs to go home.

I believe God wants us to be encouraged that whether it's where we imagine ourselves to be, or somewhere else altogether, He has a place for us.

Of course the Bible makes it clear "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Saviour, the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah;  (Philippians 3.20). Home is where we long to be. Home is where Messiah rules. Home is where we will live eternally.


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"The daughters of Zelophehad stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the leaders and all the congregation, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, saying, “Our father died in the wilderness, yet he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.” So Moses brought their case before the LORD.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “The daughters of Zelophehad are right in their statements. You shall surely give them a hereditary possession among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them. Further, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.  (Numbers 27.1-8)