John 8

"⁵³Then each went to his own home. ¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. "


At first no verses jumped out at me when I read this chapter. Then I reread it several days later and noticed the last verse of chapter 7 coupled with the first verse of chapter 8. The contrast caught my eye.

Here it said that 'each went to his own home'. Yet, where did Jesus go? Mount of Olives. Home is a place where people return to at the end of the day, it is a place of comfort with family, with people whom you can trust and rely upon. It is where you can talk about the day's troubles and share the day's joy. It is a place where people can withdraw to for privacy and meditation away from the day's toils.

However, this verse seem to suggest that Jesus lacked a 'home'. In the eyes of the world, that may be true. But Jesus had said Himself that He is "not of this world" (Jn 17:16) and that His "kingdom is not of this world" (Jn 18:36). Therefore, from the eyes of this physical world, how can Jesus have a place to call 'home'? 'Home' to Jesus is the same as to us, except the being who he returns to at the end of the day, who He finds comfort in, who He shares His troubles and joys with, a place where he comes for privacy and meditation is with His Father. His 'home' has a deeper meaning than that of the physical world. It is where he talks to His disciples of the things to come. It is where He prayed in tears to His Father to take that bitter cup away. It is where Jesus begins His journey to the cross.

Like Jesus, we should also have a place for God to be our 'Mount Olive'. Whether it be a physical place or a place in our heart. A place where we focus on the things of God, and where we can find comfort in God, share our burdens and joys with God. A place where we can transcend our earthly 'home' and remember that we have a better 'home' elsewhere. That our 'home' is not of this world, but with God.

The mention of 'home' caught my eye, because for a long time now, since moving to the USA, I do not have a physical place where I can call 'home'. I had lived in my aunts' house, and then rented apartments, and then moved around. There is not a steady, physical place where 'home' is. 'Home' became wherever I lived. Usually for other people, home is the house where their parents live or if you are married, where your family lives. Since my parents do not own a place in USA and I am not married, there isn't a physical place of 'home'. At times, I feel awkward telling people I'm going 'home', because there really isn't a 'home' there waiting for me. In this sense, I can relate to Jesus. Therefore, 'home' became where I attend church., a place where God is. Even though the relationship and intimacy with brothers and sisters isn't the same as with the immediately family, the brothers and sisters became the family I had. But most importantly, God is what I always have. Even when feeling all alone amidst the crowd, I knew that at least God is there for me, and that is where 'home' is supposed to be.