“Close to Home: Homesick”
Preached Sunday, November 28, 2021
Have you ever been homesick?
As a child I went to camp every summer, would spend nights at friend's house’s and grandma’s. I did so with excitement and was fairly independent for a kid, always excited to go and have an adventure. So I never expected homesickness to hit me... until it did.
I experienced tremendous homesickness during my two study abroad experiences. In the summer before my senior year of high school I spent 6 weeks in Sapporo, Japan and then, in college, I spent a semester, 4 months, in Kyoto, Japan.
That homesickness I felt in high school almost kept me from going back again - I didn't want to feel that again. I hated the feeling of homesickness so much, that I truly debated giving up this once in a lifetime experience to not have to feel that again. But after much prayer and deliberation, I decided to go forward with it and went back to Japan again. Now, I do have to say, to this day I am so so glad I did. The experience was formative, insightful, and, in retrospect, a lot of fun. AND, it wasn't long before the homesickness settled back in - honestly, it probably settled in while I was still on the plane and I had a panic attack as we were flying over the Artic. Only this time it was worse - I was living alone instead of with a host family and that definitely exacerbated it. And on top of that I had been dating this amazing man for 8 months when I left and I thought he could be you know, The One and I didn't want to lose him - spoiler alert: that man was my now-husband Zach so that all worked out... but in general, the homesickness came and it stayed - for four months. Until my feet were back on American soil and I was in my own home with my loved ones.
While homesickness may be something of the heart and mind, it's also something of the body. Doctors say that homesickness can affect sleep, cause fatigue, make it harder to concentrate, create a lack of appetite, stomach problems, headaches...homesickness can even be a trigger for hormonal imbalances and depression. Homesickness is a sickness that affects the whole body, heart, soul, and mind.
The best way that I can explain homesickness is - if you know that home is where the heart is, then it's the constant knowledge that your heart is not where you are. And what that constant knowledge does to your body and mental state.
When I think about my brief stints w/ homesickness - cause really, what are a couple months in the span of a lifetime? But when I think about my own brief stints, my heart breaks for those who homesickness has become a part of their regular lives - immigrants and refugees, those who serve abroad - military or otherwise, and those who have homes they can never go back to - war, destruction, exile, or even a family who doesn't love and accept them as God made them to be.
Homesickness is an almost universal feeling- WebMD estimates that 50-70% of adults have experienced homesickness at some point in their lives. How many here have ever experienced homesickness? Show of hands?
Now let's put a pin in this idea of homesickness and we'll come back round to it.
Before that, first - today is the first Sunday of Advent and we're starting a new sermon and worship series called "Close to Home."
“When something hits close to home, it affects us deeply. During the Advent and Christmas season, we journey through scriptures and rituals that are tender, heavy with emotion, and vulnerable. We carry the memories and truths of this season close to our hearts. The Close to Home theme acknowledges the “already but not yet” tension of our faith: Emmanuel is with us, and yet, God’s promised day—our everlasting home—is not fully realized. It names our deep longing for God to come close to us.” ( A Sanctified Art)
And so as we explore this theme together, every Sunday we will be talking about the theme of Home - starting today, with homesickness.
So now I want to go back to this idea of homesickness and ask - are we, as a society, as Christians, even, as a congregation, are we collectively homesick? For another world? Another place? Something of the past or something not yet?
The holidays can stir feelings of homesickness. For homes we can never return to. For homes we wanted but never had. Homesick for those missing from our tables and gatherings - for a multitude of reasons: distance, death, this blasted pandemic - Are we homesick for a pre-pandemic world? Desperate for things to go back to the way they were - and even sometimes in denial of the signs that they aren't and might never go back the that pre-Covid world.
I know that I miss many of your faces - I can relate to Paul who in his letter to the Thessalonians writes, "night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face." To be clear, this is not a shaming moment for those who have not, “returned” to the sanctuary. My own family is not back to church yet. We don't feel Covid levels are safe for our unvaccinated daughter to be in a crowd this size yet. I know many families and individuals have similar concerns. I also love and celebrate our live streaming ministry and its, well, convenience! All I am saying is, and hear this in the earnestness in which it’s offered, I miss you. There is always room for you here - in this church home.
Maybe we're homesick for a time gone - nostalgic for another time that we look back on and remember it as easier, safer- whether it actually was or not.
And as Christians, we are actually meant to experience homesickness - to be homesick for our true home: God's Kingdom. For we are not meant to be citizens of this world, but citizens of God's Kingdom. We are always meant to have our hearts turned not to things of this world but toward Christ's Reign of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
In today's Gospel Lesson from Luke, Jesus is painting a picture of that day when he shall return to establish his reign in a New Heaven and a new Earth:
“"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.
Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
And then Jesus says to them - look at the Fig Trees.
And as a former camp counselor, I had a little “aha” moment
See, I have experience not just of being homesick, but as a camp counselor, walking campers through their homesickness. At Camp Asbury, we never wanted to send campers home due to homesickness if we could help it. Working through homesickness is much more rewarding and helps you learn so much about yourself than turning in the towel and going home - I have found this to be true both in a camp setting and in my own personal life.
Preached Sunday, November 28, 2021
Have you ever been homesick?
As a child I went to camp every summer, would spend nights at friend's house’s and grandma’s. I did so with excitement and was fairly independent for a kid, always excited to go and have an adventure. So I never expected homesickness to hit me... until it did.
I experienced tremendous homesickness during my two study abroad experiences. In the summer before my senior year of high school I spent 6 weeks in Sapporo, Japan and then, in college, I spent a semester, 4 months, in Kyoto, Japan.
That homesickness I felt in high school almost kept me from going back again - I didn't want to feel that again. I hated the feeling of homesickness so much, that I truly debated giving up this once in a lifetime experience to not have to feel that again. But after much prayer and deliberation, I decided to go forward with it and went back to Japan again. Now, I do have to say, to this day I am so so glad I did. The experience was formative, insightful, and, in retrospect, a lot of fun. AND, it wasn't long before the homesickness settled back in - honestly, it probably settled in while I was still on the plane and I had a panic attack as we were flying over the Artic. Only this time it was worse - I was living alone instead of with a host family and that definitely exacerbated it. And on top of that I had been dating this amazing man for 8 months when I left and I thought he could be you know, The One and I didn't want to lose him - spoiler alert: that man was my now-husband Zach so that all worked out... but in general, the homesickness came and it stayed - for four months. Until my feet were back on American soil and I was in my own home with my loved ones.
While homesickness may be something of the heart and mind, it's also something of the body. Doctors say that homesickness can affect sleep, cause fatigue, make it harder to concentrate, create a lack of appetite, stomach problems, headaches...homesickness can even be a trigger for hormonal imbalances and depression. Homesickness is a sickness that affects the whole body, heart, soul, and mind.
The best way that I can explain homesickness is - if you know that home is where the heart is, then it's the constant knowledge that your heart is not where you are. And what that constant knowledge does to your body and mental state.
When I think about my brief stints w/ homesickness - cause really, what are a couple months in the span of a lifetime? But when I think about my own brief stints, my heart breaks for those who homesickness has become a part of their regular lives - immigrants and refugees, those who serve abroad - military or otherwise, and those who have homes they can never go back to - war, destruction, exile, or even a family who doesn't love and accept them as God made them to be.
Homesickness is an almost universal feeling- WebMD estimates that 50-70% of adults have experienced homesickness at some point in their lives. How many here have ever experienced homesickness? Show of hands?
Now let's put a pin in this idea of homesickness and we'll come back round to it.
Before that, first - today is the first Sunday of Advent and we're starting a new sermon and worship series called "Close to Home."
“When something hits close to home, it affects us deeply. During the Advent and Christmas season, we journey through scriptures and rituals that are tender, heavy with emotion, and vulnerable. We carry the memories and truths of this season close to our hearts. The Close to Home theme acknowledges the “already but not yet” tension of our faith: Emmanuel is with us, and yet, God’s promised day—our everlasting home—is not fully realized. It names our deep longing for God to come close to us.” ( A Sanctified Art)
And so as we explore this theme together, every Sunday we will be talking about the theme of Home - starting today, with homesickness.
So now I want to go back to this idea of homesickness and ask - are we, as a society, as Christians, even, as a congregation, are we collectively homesick? For another world? Another place? Something of the past or something not yet?
The holidays can stir feelings of homesickness. For homes we can never return to. For homes we wanted but never had. Homesick for those missing from our tables and gatherings - for a multitude of reasons: distance, death, this blasted pandemic - Are we homesick for a pre-pandemic world? Desperate for things to go back to the way they were - and even sometimes in denial of the signs that they aren't and might never go back the that pre-Covid world.
I know that I miss many of your faces - I can relate to Paul who in his letter to the Thessalonians writes, "night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face." To be clear, this is not a shaming moment for those who have not, “returned” to the sanctuary. My own family is not back to church yet. We don't feel Covid levels are safe for our unvaccinated daughter to be in a crowd this size yet. I know many families and individuals have similar concerns. I also love and celebrate our live streaming ministry and its, well, convenience! All I am saying is, and hear this in the earnestness in which it’s offered, I miss you. There is always room for you here - in this church home.
Maybe we're homesick for a time gone - nostalgic for another time that we look back on and remember it as easier, safer- whether it actually was or not.
And as Christians, we are actually meant to experience homesickness - to be homesick for our true home: God's Kingdom. For we are not meant to be citizens of this world, but citizens of God's Kingdom. We are always meant to have our hearts turned not to things of this world but toward Christ's Reign of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
In today's Gospel Lesson from Luke, Jesus is painting a picture of that day when he shall return to establish his reign in a New Heaven and a new Earth:
“"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.
Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
And then Jesus says to them - look at the Fig Trees.
And as a former camp counselor, I had a little “aha” moment
See, I have experience not just of being homesick, but as a camp counselor, walking campers through their homesickness. At Camp Asbury, we never wanted to send campers home due to homesickness if we could help it. Working through homesickness is much more rewarding and helps you learn so much about yourself than turning in the towel and going home - I have found this to be true both in a camp setting and in my own personal life.
So when you have a camper with homesickness what do you do?
You give them hope. You give them something to look forward to. We didn't share the whole day or week schedule with all campers all the time because we wanted them to be present in the moment. But when there was a homesick camper, I would take them aside and give them space to cry, to share their feelings, to process away from the rest of the group and then I'd pull out the daily schedule and say, let's pick something coming up today or tomorrow that we can look forward to, that will keep us moving, that will fill us with anticipatory excitement - and see, look! We have art 3 more times this week and before you know it it's the closing picnic and you're going home. And almost every time, honestly, every time - I can’t think of a time when it didn’t work - at the end of the week, the camper was so glad they saw it through.
So Jesus says to his disciples - “Look to the Fig trees" - they sprout leaves and you know that the summer is near. So too, you will see signs of the Kingdom of God and you will know it is near.
How do we know God's Kingdom is near? We live in this Already But Not Yet time - that God has already come to earth to be with us, Emmanuel, in the form of Jesus. God has already defeated death...Already...but the not yet part is that God has not yet returned to establish his reign on Earth, to create a new Heaven and a new earth, to share the resurrection with us all.
Already but not yet - another way to say it would be close to home... and not quite home yet.
So we look for those signs that God’s Kingdom is near.
Christmas is a sign. That first Christmas and every year since. The prophet Jeremiah points to that first Christmas as a sign of hope when he says,
“The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."
And every Christmas since - wherever there is hope, peace, joy, love in this world whenever we see glimpses of God in this world - those are signs that God’s Kingdom is near.
Jesus tells us that “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." In this homesick world, Jesus invites us to make him our home. To turn to him and have hope - to look for the signs. Signs that God's Kingdom is near. And it is near! But we know it can feel far away in our homesick world.
And so, today, with the candle of hope burning, let's look forward to God’s Kingdom, let’s look for the signs, and turn our minds toward our everlasting home in Jesus.
Amen.
You give them hope. You give them something to look forward to. We didn't share the whole day or week schedule with all campers all the time because we wanted them to be present in the moment. But when there was a homesick camper, I would take them aside and give them space to cry, to share their feelings, to process away from the rest of the group and then I'd pull out the daily schedule and say, let's pick something coming up today or tomorrow that we can look forward to, that will keep us moving, that will fill us with anticipatory excitement - and see, look! We have art 3 more times this week and before you know it it's the closing picnic and you're going home. And almost every time, honestly, every time - I can’t think of a time when it didn’t work - at the end of the week, the camper was so glad they saw it through.
So Jesus says to his disciples - “Look to the Fig trees" - they sprout leaves and you know that the summer is near. So too, you will see signs of the Kingdom of God and you will know it is near.
How do we know God's Kingdom is near? We live in this Already But Not Yet time - that God has already come to earth to be with us, Emmanuel, in the form of Jesus. God has already defeated death...Already...but the not yet part is that God has not yet returned to establish his reign on Earth, to create a new Heaven and a new earth, to share the resurrection with us all.
Already but not yet - another way to say it would be close to home... and not quite home yet.
So we look for those signs that God’s Kingdom is near.
Christmas is a sign. That first Christmas and every year since. The prophet Jeremiah points to that first Christmas as a sign of hope when he says,
“The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."
And every Christmas since - wherever there is hope, peace, joy, love in this world whenever we see glimpses of God in this world - those are signs that God’s Kingdom is near.
Jesus tells us that “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." In this homesick world, Jesus invites us to make him our home. To turn to him and have hope - to look for the signs. Signs that God's Kingdom is near. And it is near! But we know it can feel far away in our homesick world.
And so, today, with the candle of hope burning, let's look forward to God’s Kingdom, let’s look for the signs, and turn our minds toward our everlasting home in Jesus.
Amen.
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