Where is my true home?

Undertaking international travel helps us to see our world differently. We are called to open our hearts to new people and fresh experiences. We notice that when we travel we are welcomed as visitors. This helps us to notice how we can receive rather than demand hospitality. We trust ourselves to the generosity of our hosts who seek to share what is precious to them.

We see this in the readings for this weekend. Do we see ourselves as residents seeking to welcome others or as visitors in a foreign land. I believe this will shape how we seek to live our lives. Do we seek to possess the gifts entrusted to us by God or do we seek to share them. I feel that our sacred authors call us to see how our lives are shaped by these attitudes. Do we see ourselves as pilgrims or tourists?

As pilgrims we travel the way together and welcome the people who share their time with us. As tourists there can be a temptation to hoard experiences that seeks to contain our world to a privatised sense of self where we are entitled to consume these events. As pilgrims we are transformed where as tourists we are limited to our last experience. 

I feel that this is the challenge for our Church today. Do we seek to become pilgrims who accompany others or are we tourists consuming the Holy for ourselves?