Lest we think a divine calling means venturing to faraway, exotic lands and living among far more interesting people, or at least finding better jobs with loftier titles, the story says it might mean simply going home.
Joseph and Mary do go back to Galilee, you know, to their own town of Nazareth, the scripture is clear to say, in case we might wonder where one goes to be duly appreciated and fully of service after being chosen of God for divine purposes.
Lest we think a divine calling means venturing to faraway, exotic lands and living among far more interesting people, or at least finding better jobs with loftier titles, the story says it might mean simply going home. Go back to where you started, back to the old stories and whispers, back to your mundane and sometimes even boring life. Change might never show up in a particular place or position; change might only show up in you.
At the temple the family makes a sacrifice of thanksgiving for this, their firstborn son. Simeon is there, as is Anna, both of whom have the clarity of sight that can come to those who journey by staying at home, never losing faith in God’s plans. They see the child, sweet little boy of God, and they see beyond the child to the wisdom journey God intends for us all.
We too are given sight beyond sight, comprehension beyond our understanding. Don’t you see how close it is, how palpable the peace we long for? See how the holy already threads through our mundane? The “same old, same old” is ever new, ever becoming, because we are. Everything that really matters is coming to an end. Everything that really matters is now beginning. Where will we see it? In us.
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