A Ramble About "Home"

 Home and family are where you feel like you belong. They're where you feel safe, and those around you can be trusted to support you just like you support them. They're where no one is left behind or forgotten.

     Over the three years Jesus' apostles, disciples, and their families were together, they became both home and family each one to the other, and Jesus Himself was not only Teacher to them all, but just as much of a brother, older or younger to them all, and even a kind of father figure to those younger than Himself. They cared about Him and He about them. They were there for Him and He was there for them. He was never aloof or distant from them, and while there were times He needed time alone, they respected that and looked out for Him all the same. He was personable, vulnerable, had an easy smile, and always kindness in His eyes. To those who were cruel, those eyes became saddened and unflinching, but no less kind, as though there was a pleading in them to turn around immediately.

     As time went on, and especially after His resurrection, they began not only addressing Him as "didaskalos" or "epistata," that is, "Teacher," but also as "kurios," "owner," or as most know it, "Lord," because of what they saw and heard from Him, and the sheer command He held over everything, though He did not lord it over anyone or anything. There was just no question as to His position in the grand scheme of things, and especially after they saw Him risen from the dead, demonstrating His power and authority over the lord of death himself. There was no better word or title to give Him. But you wouldn't know it just from interacting with Him. He was everyone's best friend, beloved older brother, and the person whom you just naturally trusted the most. When you talked to Him, He made you feel like you were the only person there other than Him, and He listened. For women, He was safe. He felt safe to be around. He never looked at anyone in a way that would make the feel unsafe from Him. He had an easy sense of humor as well, and laughed easily when they were all together.

     Jesus Christ was home for them, and He felt like home for them and for anyone who spoke with Him and got to know Him, even if they couldn't quite put their finger on it. Those who turned away from him or actively worked against Him felt it too, and were terrified by it. It was their fear that made them so antagonistic towards Him. He naturally drew people to Himself with the welcoming light of His "homeness", and this scared those who couldn't comprehend His sheer goodness so much that they saw Him as a threat to be destroyed.

     After His ascension, His disciples and apostles felt like home to each other, and to those around them because He shone through them. It was He who continued to draw people through those whom He inhabited and lived out through. And those who interacted with them noticed, and either were drawn to that home, or again tried to destroy what scared them so much.

     This is the mark of a disciple, Jesus' homeness being seen and felt through them. This is the mark of His genuine grouping of followers, whether or not those who interact with them feel like they've come home.