A Penitent Blogger
Worried about losing the house
He had a decent house and a good job.
But there was a threat on the horizon: if he continued on the same path, he might lose all his customers, lose his business, and perhaps even lose his house.
He decided to go ahead and to take Mary into that house as his wife, as we hear in today’s Gospel (Matthew 1:18-25).
Housing and financial markets, of course, were very different in that time and place, but even the future foster father of Christ was not immune to worries about shelter and livelihood.
Such worries were also deeply ingrained in his ancestral memory, because his ancestors were dramatically evicted not only from their homes but even from their own country, as we heard in the references to the Babylonian Exile as a key point in yesterday’s genealogy.
Today’s first reading (Jeremiah 23:5-8) is a prophecy from that very time, with God's promises to those who had been dragged away from their homes: they shall again live on their own land.
Many people today are fearful of losing their homes, especially in places where the “bubble” of housing prices has burst and adjustable rate mortgages have exploded.
Losing a home, of course, is not simply the loss of something to shelter us from the elements: a home is a place where we can rest at the end of the day, a point of stability and solidity amid the chaos of our daily lives.
Ultimately, however, no house is secure: even the greatest mansions may be taken away by fire, mudslides, and foreclosure.
Ultimately, the only true and lasting home we have – the only place where we can feel totally secure and at rest – is being prepared for us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in his Father’s house.
In the meantime, as we continue the work that God gives us in this world, we need to be prudent regarding the practicalities of livelihood and shelter, especially if we are responsible for the shelter and wellbeing of others, and we need to do what we can to help the helpless with such things, but we also need to remember that we will have no perfect home here on this earth.
The perfect home is in heaven, awaiting God’s faithful ones.
By his grace, may we be faithful to God in this world, so that when he calls us, we may rest peacefully in Him in our eternal home.
But there was a threat on the horizon: if he continued on the same path, he might lose all his customers, lose his business, and perhaps even lose his house.
He decided to go ahead and to take Mary into that house as his wife, as we hear in today’s Gospel (Matthew 1:18-25).
Housing and financial markets, of course, were very different in that time and place, but even the future foster father of Christ was not immune to worries about shelter and livelihood.
Such worries were also deeply ingrained in his ancestral memory, because his ancestors were dramatically evicted not only from their homes but even from their own country, as we heard in the references to the Babylonian Exile as a key point in yesterday’s genealogy.
Today’s first reading (Jeremiah 23:5-8) is a prophecy from that very time, with God's promises to those who had been dragged away from their homes: they shall again live on their own land.
Many people today are fearful of losing their homes, especially in places where the “bubble” of housing prices has burst and adjustable rate mortgages have exploded.
Losing a home, of course, is not simply the loss of something to shelter us from the elements: a home is a place where we can rest at the end of the day, a point of stability and solidity amid the chaos of our daily lives.
Ultimately, however, no house is secure: even the greatest mansions may be taken away by fire, mudslides, and foreclosure.
Ultimately, the only true and lasting home we have – the only place where we can feel totally secure and at rest – is being prepared for us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in his Father’s house.
In the meantime, as we continue the work that God gives us in this world, we need to be prudent regarding the practicalities of livelihood and shelter, especially if we are responsible for the shelter and wellbeing of others, and we need to do what we can to help the helpless with such things, but we also need to remember that we will have no perfect home here on this earth.
The perfect home is in heaven, awaiting God’s faithful ones.
By his grace, may we be faithful to God in this world, so that when he calls us, we may rest peacefully in Him in our eternal home.
posted by Penitens | 8:00 AM
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