The Long Way Home

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Narration: Michael McGowan, Violin: Kristin McGowan

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There is something deeply human about the ancient stories that have survived across the centuries. They speak of journeys, struggles, temptation, suffering, and ultimately the search for home.

Among the greatest of these stories is Homer’s Odyssey — the tale of Odysseus and his long journey across the seas as he seeks to return to Ithaca, the home from which he has been separated for so many years.

At first glance, The Odyssey is an adventure story filled with monsters, heroes, and mythical gods. But beneath the surface lies something much deeper. It is a story about the human heart.

Odysseus is not simply trying to find a place. He is trying to find where he belongs. His journey takes him through storms and temptations. He encounters creatures and powers that represent the forces that can pull humanity away from what is good and true. He faces pride, desire, deception, and the longing to escape suffering.

The way home is not found through strength alone. It requires humility, patience, and surrender. In this way, The Odyssey reveals something every human being understands: we are all on a journey home.

When we look back at the ancient world, it is easy to focus only on what people did not know. The Greeks worshipped many gods. The ancient peoples of Ireland looked toward the sun, the seasons, and the forces of nature. Their understanding of God was incomplete. But there is another truth we must remember: God made them too.

The men and women who lived before Christ were created in His image. They carried within them the same longing that exists in every human heart. They experienced beauty and suffering, love and loss, wonder and mystery. They asked the same questions we ask today:

Why are we here?

What is the meaning of life?

Where can true peace be found?

What lies beyond this world?

Their search for truth was not different from ours. The difference was that the fullness of God’s revelation had not yet been given to them. They were reaching toward a truth they could sense but could not yet fully see. They were, in many ways, searching in the darkness for the light.

Many centuries before Christianity came to Ireland, the Apostle Paul stood in Athens, the heart of the ancient Greek world. The city was filled with temples and statues dedicated to countless gods. The Greeks had spent generations trying to understand the mysteries of existence and the divine reality beyond themselves.

Among their many altars, Paul discovered one dedicated: “To an unknown god.”

Rather than mocking their search, Paul recognized something important. He saw their hunger for God. Standing before the people at the Areopagus, Paul began with respect:

“People of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious.”
— Acts 17:22

Paul understood that beneath their many temples was a deeper longing. They were searching for the One who had created them, even though they did not yet know His name. Then he proclaimed the truth they had been seeking:

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth…”

The God they were searching for was not one more deity among many. He was the Creator of all things, the One in whom “we live and move and have our being.”

This same longing can be seen in the ancient Irish world.

Long before the arrival of Christianity, the people of Ireland looked toward the heavens and recognized that creation carried meaning. At Newgrange, built thousands of years ago, the rising sun enters the passage chamber during the winter solstice, bringing light into the darkness.

The builders of Newgrange did not know the fullness of Christian revelation. They did not know Christ. But they understood something profound: light gives life. Darkness does not have the final word. There is a rhythm and order woven into creation.

The sun became a powerful symbol because it reflected something greater than itself. It gave warmth, nourished life, and shone upon everyone — both the good and the bad. It could not be controlled or possessed.

It was a glimpse of a deeper truth. The created light pointed toward the Creator.

The ancient Irish also recognized that certain places carried a special significance.

Holy wells, rivers, mountains, and sacred landscapes became places where people encountered mystery and sought healing, blessing, and connection with the divine.

When Christianity arrived in Ireland, these places were not simply abandoned. Many ancient wells became Christian places of prayer. The landscape was not rejected; it was transformed.

The message of Christianity was not that the Irish had been searching for nothing. It was that what they had been searching for had finally been revealed. The longing was real. The answer had come.

One of the most beautiful symbols to emerge from Christian Ireland is the Celtic Cross. The circle surrounding the Cross has often been understood as a symbol of eternity, wholeness, and the created world.

Whether viewed as a meeting of ancient symbolism and Christian revelation, it beautifully expresses the heart of the Christian message:

The world is created.

The world is loved.

The Creator has entered His creation.

The sun gives light to the earth.

But Christ is the true Light.

As He said:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
— John 8:12

When St. Patrick arrived in Ireland, he did not come to a people who had no awareness of God. He came to a people who were already searching. They had looked toward the heavens. They had honored sacred places. They had sensed that life was filled with mystery and meaning.

Patrick brought them the missing piece — not simply an idea, but a person. He proclaimed that the light they had glimpsed in creation had a source. The God beyond the sun had entered His creation. The One who gave light had come into the world as Light itself.

The unknown God had revealed Himself.

This is why The Odyssey continues to speak to us.

Odysseus spends years searching for Ithaca. Every human being carries a similar longing. We search for peace. We search for belonging. We search for a home that cannot be taken away.

The ancient world had glimpses of this truth. Through stories, symbols, and sacred places, humanity reached toward God. But Christ revealed what humanity had been seeking all along. The journey ends not when we discover a place. It ends when we discover the One for whom we were made.

As St. Augustine would later write:

“Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

The Greeks searched for home. The Irish searched for the light. All humanity searches for God. And in Christ, we discover that the home we have always longed for was the home for which we were created.