Answering the question “where are you from?” is not always a simple task. My husband, who was born in Maryland and moved before he turned one to northeast Ohio, says he’s from Maryland. I was born in Texas, and lived there until I was five – but I answer the question “Indianapolis,” which is where I was raised. There is something about place, roots, history, and identity at play in our responses to this question. Who do we say that we are? Where do we say we are from? Who do we say we are from?

Jesus and some of his brothers and sisters from Jerusalem engage with these same questions today. You know me and also know where I am from, Jesus tells them. They share a place and an identity. And yet, Jesus points us to our true home.  I am from God, he says. His words remind me that so, too, are each of us.

—Catherine Ruffing Drotleff serves as the Director of Development for the Ignatian Spirituality Project.