Homecoming Part 2

September 9, 2026

Homecoming does not always mean returning to the home one once knew. Sometimes the old home is gone, and in more ways than one. Sometimes that home is no longer safe, even if it once seemed so. In these instances, homecoming takes many forms.

Some of us cannot come home. We may be exiled or estranged. Others of us long for a home but have never had the circumstances necessary to create one. Therefore, we cannot come home. Some may have left their home to seek refuge from oppression or danger. Some are away from home because their work takes them away. Some have lost their homes because of calamity or a loss of resources. 

And think of all the people stationed away from loved ones and the familiar. Then there are the people who, for one reason or another, are banned from their families—their beginnings—the people from whom they first learned what “home” was supposed to mean. Because of their beliefs, politics, values, identity, orientation, choices, or way of life, the door they once called home is closed to them. 

Then some have a physical shelter, but through circumstances beyond their control, they have no family to surround them with love and care, they have no one to come home to. It could be said that they too do not have a true home-place. 

What would it take for those among us who do not have a home to come home? 

*The exiled, when granted mercy and a way to be included again, can come home. Until then, they must dwell in the homes of their hearts. This is Holy Hope. 

*The estranged can come home when the power of love heals the trauma. Until then, they can find love and sojourn with those who accept them. This is Holy Love. 

*Those who, for some reason, have not had the circumstances to make a home of their own and who yearn for one, can come home when they are seen, uplifted, and assisted in making a place to call home. This is Sacred Compassionate Benevolence.

*Those whose work takes them far from home can discover ways of carrying home with them—in memory, relationship, ritual, prayer, and love—until they can return. This is Holy Perfection. 

*Those who have lost their homes and their loved ones due to calamity may return home when their brothers and sisters become their family and help find them a new home. When a community says, You belong with us, another kind of homecoming begins. This is Sacred Kinship. 

*Those who couldn’t keep their home because of some sort of failure, but who with the support from others take Sacred Action to reestablish their home.

*Those who withdrew from the world and lost touch with themselves and the real world, so their home collapsed on them. But rising from the ashes with Sacred Power, they built a home in which others were welcomed.

*Those who have fallen into the illness of addiction and lost their home, but who with Sacred Wisdom came into great self-understanding.

*Those who cannot come home because they are stationed away from home can come home every day by returning to the home within their hearts. Their Holy Origin never goes away. 

*Those who are rejected by those at home because of their values, politics, or orientation can come home when they create a new home, when the spirit creates Holy Harmony. 

Dear souls who have shelter but no one waiting for them need more than a house need relationship, affection, companionship, and belonging. Their homecoming can begin when someone notices their loneliness and enters their life. Those with shelter but no one to love them can also come home when they pray for souls to come to them as their family. This is Holy Will and Holy Freedom. 

As we see, homecoming is not always returning to our place of origin; it is also about belonging, anchoring, and support as we move into the future. And maybe one of the most sacred things we can ever do is to help someone else find their way to that place. 

Spiritual Practice

How are you home now, and how may you not be at home? 

Inquiry

What does coming home mean to you when returning to your place of origin is neither possible nor desirable?

Prayer

Dear God,

For all of us who need refuge and support, belonging and love, I pray for Your help to return us home, wherever home may be.

Amen