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Good Morning,

And so, it seems football has finally, joyously, come home. But now that it has returned to its place of origin, its country of birth, I wonder: have the words of that nostalgic song been fulfilled? Do the decades of hurt end here? Will the yearning cease? Or will we continue to long for some other distant goal?

Meanwhile, this weekend, not far from Wembley, on a dusty recreation ground in Harlow, another game of football will be played by a group of refugees and migrants from Africa and the Middle East. Changing Lives FC is both football team and support group for those who have had to leave their homeland and make a long and painful journey to get here. For these young people trying to settle in this country, football is literally a way of trying to find home.

I reflected on all this whilst standing in my living room, surrounded by packing boxes and gaffer tape, as we get ready to leave our home of 20 years to live abroad. And I’ve had to think again about what home is.

It has something to do with a space where one can dwell, as Isaiah says, ‘secure in undisturbed places of rest.’ But a house is not always a safe space and most of us instinctively know that home is about more than bricks and mortar.

I think it has a great deal to do with belonging. As an army child I learned this first hand, as we moved house so often– indeed, for the first ten years of my life we changed address ten times. It meant I had to be quick at adapting to new surroundings. The key to this, once the boxes were unpacked, was to go out and find some people to play with. The sooner I made friends the sooner I felt at home.

The gospel accounts make it clear that Jesus owned no real estate, had few possessions, and packed little for the journey. If he had a hat, he had nowhere to hang it, ‘For the son of man had nowhere to lay his head.’ The only home he talked about living in was ‘people’. As The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians, ‘Christ will make his home in our hearts.’ Which gives new substance to the phrase ‘home is where the heart is.’

I am older now, but I am going to have to remember some of these lessons. And take inspiration from those who have journeyed hard and far to try and reach a better place. It means risking making friends with strangers, travelling light, and making a home amongst those who speak a different language. But if you can find a people with whom you can play, laugh, pray and break bread, it makes it much easier to settle in – indeed, you’ll almost be home.

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