When Jesus had heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulon and Naphtali.   

"I spent twenty years trying to get out of this place. I was looking for something I couldn’t replace. Who says you can’t go home. There’s only one place they call me one of their own, just a hometown boy, born a rolling stone; who says you can’t go home. Who says you can’t go back; been all around the world and as a matter of fact, there’s only one place left I want to go. It’s alright. I been there, done that, I ain’t lookin’ back. I went as far as I could, I tried to find a new face. There isn’t one of these lines that I would erase. I lived a million miles of memories on that road; with every step I take I know that I’m not alone. You take the home from the boy, but not the boy from his home. These are my streets, the only life I’ve ever known; who says you can’t go home."

Bon Jovi’s song "Who Says You Can’t Go Home," is a tribute to the hometowns where people grow up. When our first twenty years or so are over, in the song’s view, given our desires to see something new and different, generally speaking, we want to move away. But maturity often brings a new respect for where we grew up. As they sing, "You take the home from the boy, but not the boy from his home."
 
It is interesting to study Jesus’ hometown in the Scriptures. In fact, he has two of them. He began in Nazareth where he settled after he was born, and he also chose to make Capernaum his home. One gets the feeling from reading the Scriptures that Jesus felt a strong need to go to Nazareth and Capernaum at times just to settle down and spend some time praying and relaxing.
 
Why do we have a good feeling about our hometowns? In the song, Bon Jovi sings: "There’s only one place they call me one of their own." In other words, it is the place where we feel accepted. What our hometown gives us better than anything else in the whole world is the feeling that we are all connected, that we all can share, that we all somehow belong. And therefore as Jesus felt, it is a place to relax and pray.
 
The conclusion is two-fold. One, if we are away from our hometown, we should be aware that our hometown could be a haven to help us in some way. And, if we have not left our hometown yet, we should be more aware of what we have. But whether it is in our hometown or not, we all need a place to relax a little, a place where we can forget the cares of the world for a while, and spend some time in healing prayer.                    

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we all need a feeling of belonging similar to what your Son Jesus felt in his hometowns while he was with us on this earth. Thank you for giving us the chance to relax and refresh ourselves wherever it may be. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America