“Living in a way that will make the Lord ‘feel at home!'”

(Based on Acts 14:5-18 and Jn 14:21-26 – Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter)

One evening, a little boy was helping his mother prepare the guest room.

They were expecting a relative to visit, and the boy was full of excitement.

As they fluffed the pillows and folded the blankets, he paused, then looked up and asked innocently:
“Mamma… if Jesus came to our house, where would He sleep?”

The mother smiled warmly and said, “Well, my dear boy, we’d give Him the best room, of course!”

But the boy wasn’t done. With eyes wide and voice soft, he asked: “But what if He didn’t want to leave?”

The mother was surprised at the question.

His doubt echoed in the stillness.

She sat beside him, pulled him close, and whispered: “Then, my child…
We’d change everything.

We will keep the room always ready…
We will clean the house every day…
And most of all, we’d live in a way that will make Him feel at home!”
And she added, “Because if Jesus wants to stay, then this house must become a home for God.”

The little boy smiled.

And that night, they left the guest room light on…
… just in case He came.

That child asked the question that every soul must ask: “If Jesus came, would He find a home – or just a room?”

Too often we welcome Him as a guest for Sunday…
… but forget Him by Monday.

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus throwing light on this beautiful theme of God wishing to make a home in our hearts:
“Those who love me, will keep my word, and My Father will love them and we will come and make our home with them” (Jn 14:23)

The story of the Bible is of God who longs to dwell with His people.

In the Old Testament, we see the Garden of Eden was a beautiful communion of the first parents with God.

The atmosphere was so much homely…
… so much loving.

Sin caused a rupture in this homely bonding between God and human beings.

But the Lord, still longed to dwell with His people…

He accompanied the Israelites in their journey through the desert…
… being with them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
He also established His glory among the people of Israel by dwelling in the ark of the covenant.

Every now and then, the people sinned and lost this presence of the Lord

Through the prophets, the Lord would invite the people to come back to His homely presence.

Finally, in the fullness of time, God decided to dwell with humans, when the Eternal Word became flesh…

Jn 1: 14, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us”

To perpetuate His continual presence, Jesus also gave us His Body and Blood, in Real Presence…
… when He instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper with the culmination of His Sacrifice on the Cross, and His rising from the dead.

This then, is the story of the longing of a God who yearns to dwell with His people.

Jesus re-iterates this constant longing of the Lord, by promising:
“Those who love me, will keep my word, and My Father will love them and we will come and make our home with them” (Jn 14: 23)

The Lord wishes to dwell more close to us..
He longs to have a home in our hearts…

Do we make the space for Him?

The Lord promises to come and make His home in our hearts, if we love Him and keep His Word.

Loving Him requires giving Him the highest priority and precedence in our lives

Keeping His Word requires following His teachings and commandments at all times.

Loving Him means to constantly long for Him and to have our thoughts centered on Him

Keeping His Word means to make decisions and choices based on His Gospel virtues

Loving Him means to free our hearts from undue and inordinate attachments

Keeping His Word means to go against our personal choices to preserve His Will and plans

The Acts of the Apostles gives us the account of Paul and Barnabas giving a powerful witness in Lystra…
… and demonstrating the Power of the Lord, Who was given the highest priority in their life! (Acts 14:5-18)

The Lord wants a space in our hearts, to dwell in us…

Maybe, some rooms of our heart has been rented to many unwanted habits…
Maybe, some areas of our lives are occupied by unfit tenants of sin and evil…
Maybe, some quarters of our mind are accommodated with unholy and bad thoughts…

God is knocking at our doors, seeking a home for His Son…

Let’s realise: “Holiness begins when hospitality is extended to the Holy One.”

Let us live in a way that will make the Lord ‘feel at home!’

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society

O son, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him as long as he lives
… even if he is lacking in understanding, show forbearance
… in all your strength do not despise him.

Whoever forsakes his father is like a blasphemer, and whoever angers his mother is cursed by the Lord. (CCC # 2218)