30th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 

Jer 31.7-9; 

Ps 125; 

Heb 5.1-6; 

Mark 10.46-52

 

OUR HOME IS IN HEAVEN 

The discussions surrounding the Middle East, particularly between Israel and the Palestinian people, are frequently in the news. Following the Second World War, the establishment of the State of Israel marked a return for many Jews to their historic land after being scattered for nineteen centuries. This experience is not new in Jewish history. The people of Israel endured exile and slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh, but they were led back to the Promised Land by Moses. 

In today's Old Testament reading, the prophet Jeremiah addresses Jews who find themselves in exile, this time in Babylon during the sixth century BC. He envisions a procession returning to Israel: “the blind and the lame, women with child, women in labor, a great company returning here… I will guide them to streams of water, by a smooth path where they will not stumble.”

The psalmist captures this feeling of hope in today’s responsorial psalm with the words: “Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage / as streams in dry land / those who are sowing in tears / will sing when they reap.” The return from exile to Israel holds great significance for the Jewish people, as only in the Promised Land do they feel truly at home. While prayers can be offered by the rivers of Babylon, the restoration of their Temple can only happen in Jerusalem. The offering of sacrifice and the High Priesthood can only function on the land given to them by God.

The people of Israel understood the feeling of exile and the experience of alienation—an emotional state of not belonging and a desire to return home. Throughout the Old Testament, Jews are urged to be considerate to “the stranger in their midst” and to show kindness to foreigners. Why? Because they, as a people, knew what it felt like to be strangers in a foreign land. Many of us may resonate with this feeling, at least to some degree. If you've worked away from home—whether in another part of the country or abroad—you might have experienced that sense of alienation, longing to return home. Those who have endured years of political or religious exile understand this sentiment all too well.

What does this mean for Christians? Here, we must prepare to shift our entire perspective. In Christianity, geography holds limited importance. As Saint Paul teaches, “Our home is in heaven.” While we may cherish our hometowns or countries and have holy sites that resonate with us—like Rome, Jerusalem, Lourdes, Fatima, these are merely places we visit to feel closer to God. Our true belonging is with the Lord, and our ultimate home is in heaven.

To fully grasp this concept, we must recognize that the places we inhabit—our homes and countries—are not our final destinations; they are merely waypoints on our journey to heaven. The human instinct for home-making prompts us to invest time and resources into making our earthly homes comfortable and beautiful. Shows like "Changing Rooms," DIY stores, and garden centers reinforce the idea of creating our little heaven on earth. However, our lasting happiness can only be found in God.

In the second reading at Mass today, the writer to the Hebrews reflects on Christ as the true High Priest. The early Christian Church took time to rethink the old Jewish concepts of the Temple and Priesthood, as these were tied to a specific place and land; Christianity, however, is universal. The old system looked back to the past, while Christianity looks forward, both in this world and the next. Thus, Christ, the High Priest, embodies universality. His priesthood is exercised within the Church by all the Baptized and in a special way by those ordained to the Ministerial Priesthood. The forgiveness of sins through Baptism and Absolution, as well as the celebration of Mass, prepares us for our ultimate goal: eternal life with God.

In today's reading from the Gospel according to Saint Mark, the blind man is healed, and his sight is restored: “And immediately his sight returned, and he followed [Jesus] along the road.” As we gather for Mass today in this sacred space, experiencing the joy of closeness to Our Lord and perhaps a sense of being at home with Him, let us remember that He calls us to follow Him, aiming for a place with Him in heaven, where He reigns in glory. We must not become trapped in our beautiful earthly homes or even in this Church; instead, we should recognize that we stand at the gate of heaven, leading us to our true home.