In Homer’s The Odyssey the hero returns home after fighting the Trojan War for 10 years, then enduring a 10-year journey.  He was threatened by monsters and seduced by a nymph on a perfect tropical island, but his passion was always to get home to his wife and son.

When he finally arrived, he was disguised as a beggar to see if his wife was faithful to him  and to defeat her 100 suitors.

She stated she would only marry the man who could bend her husband’s bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe handles.

Odysseus passed the test, then turned the bow on the suitors, and with his son’s help, defeated the greedy suitors.

So, at last, the hero had returned home to a faithful wife and son!  The return was glorious and legendary.

Some day we’ll go home to heaven.  C.S. Lewis spoke about death and heaven and said, “Why would one be afraid to go home?”

We want to enter heaven and hear Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a few things.  I’ll make you ruler over many things.  Come and enter the joy of the master (Matthew 25:23).”  That will be a glorious homecoming!

However, we can come home to Jesus right now!  And it can be glorious!  We can rest in his grace, loving him and loving everyone through the power of his Spirit. 

Sunday we’ll talk about that as I preach on “Come Home Gloriously” from Genesis 32:1-12.  We’ll look at “Celebrate God’s Protection,” verses 1-2; “Make Things Right,” verses 3-5; and “Humbly Remind God of His Promises,” verses 6-12.  It’s the story of Jacob coming home and loving the brother whom he’d deceived.

Please join us as we learn to come home gloriously.

Thank you to all who prepared our church’s Homecoming and the homecoming of Eloise Kell.  Last weekend was truly a celebration of coming home to Jesus!

Love,

Jim Meek