We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. – 2 CORINTHIANS 5:8

Paul, battered, persecuted and torn by the needs of his new communities, is looking forward to his final rest. He uses the lovely image of being “at home” with the Lord to express this. Jesus has come into our world to be at home with us and one day we will finally be at home with Him. Full circle! Let us reflect this day on the phrase “at home with the Lord.”

“If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” –ACTS 16:15

Lydia warmly offers hospitality to Paul with these words, but they could so easily be our invitation to Jesus in prayer. They do carry a condition – “If you have judged me to be faithful” – but that is really our everyday challenge, isn’t it? “Come and stay at my home.” Let us invite Jesus with Lydia’s warmth.

Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. – JOHN 14:3

In all the busyness of these weeks, here are words to warm our often distracted souls. Jesus is looking to make a home in the hearts of any who love Him and prove it by keeping His word. Which of His teachings do we have the greatest difficulty incorporating into our lives?

Choose your favorite word of Jesus to be your companion for this day.

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. –LUKE 10:38

What a gift to be able to welcome Jesus into one’s home. Like Martha, that is really what we are about this Advent, making those little changes so that Jesus will feel at home when Christmas comes.

Let us listen for anyone who knocks at our soul’s door today. Can we welcome them?

“Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” –MARK 5:19

Here is an apostle in the making since this man is told to spread the good news. And look at what he is to say: how much the Lord has done and what mercy – what life-giving grace – has come to him. What a powerful message!

Recount the blessings of the Lord to you in prayer this day.

“I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” –MARK 2:11

As a cripple and so a sinner, this young man might not have been welcomed home in a long time. Jesus is sending him back to mend those ties and to bring joy to others who might have been shunned by their neighbors. This is a day for rejoicing in the truth that seeing with new light is always possible.

What new eyes do we need to develop this day to welcome someone?

“Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” – JOHN 7:42

It is so easy to forget. These objectors in Jerusalem have no idea where Jesus was born. For them He originates where they think He came from, a backward area to the north where one’s accent betrays one’s place of birth. How sure and how wrong they are!

Have we some equally inaccurate judgments that we are holding against others?