Traveling Home

By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! (Psalm 137:1-6 ESV). We have been very fortunate to have had many “homes” over the years. These were not geographical locations as much as they were the places our family had settled for a time. Today Mary and I are traveling from Tennessee to Texas for the holidays. It won’t be long until we make that trip for one last time and relocate to Texas. Of course we are looking forward to being in that area because of the close proximity it will provide to our children and grandchildren. When we move back to Texas, all but our youngest son, Aaron will be within minutes of our house. Grandma and Grandpa will have lots of opportunity to be with Faith, Logan, and Maggie! However, even then, we will not be “home.” Our home is in heaven. This is the real backdrop of our reading today. The Babylonians had forced exiled Jews to sing the hymns of their homeland. “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” they taunted. What a painful, humiliating ordeal. “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” asks the psalmist. It was a cruel taunt because they didn’t really understand yet that their real home was not Jerusalem, but heaven. This is the message of Christmas. There is another issue however. We ought to ask ourselves whether we can sing happy songs when you’re feeling down; or, when circumstances change, does our faith go with us and support us in new circumstances; or, does our faith dry up and die when circumstances change for the worse? It doesn’t have to. God has shown us a better way to deal with all the challenges of life. Maybe you have been exiled to a “foreign land.” It may have been the loss of a spouse, or a child; it may have been an illness or injury. You may still live in the same house on the same street, but everything is different. Your circumstances may have changed, but God hasn’t changed. Even in our times of frustration and failure, God is leading us still. Even in our times of suffering and pain God still loves us the same. It is hard to sing the Lord’s song in our exile. However, the key is to remember that God has shown us the way by the birth of Jesus. Remember, He came to us. We did not need to travel to him. God sent his only begotten Son that we could know how to get home. No wonder Jesus encourages his disciples at the supper by telling them not to be upset. He is going to go and prepare their place with him and come again to take them home once and for all!