MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I love that these two greetings so often occur in the same breath. Whether an accident or by some grand design that is beyond my knowledge, it sure makes for great celebration! For, as you know, Christmas is a season that spans Dec. 25 through Jan. 6, encompassing the closing of a one year and the opening of a new.
This Advent and Christmas Seasons we explored the places of the birth narratives of Jesus. Place is important, because context always matters. Not only in literary studies, but in the life of faith. Knowing where we came from, matters. Understanding what is happening around us, matters. Knowing where we’re heading, matters, even if we’re unsure of the way.
Persia is the final place of our Advent and Christmas theme, and appropriately enough, it is the place we know the least about. The Magi/Kings/Wise Ones/Zoroastrian Astrologers come to bring gifts to the newborn King. We don’t know much about them, nor where they come from, except that they are foreigners from “the East.” We think, most probably, from a land called Persia.
The thing that we DO know about the wise men, is the same thing we know of ourselves: once we’ve met the gift of Christmas, we must return home. But does that mean we must return to ‘the way things were’? Does this mean that we have to go back to ‘the way we’ve always done it before’? We certainly can, but I think that would miss the true meaning of Christmas. I think that would be to deny that the Incarnation has lit us up inside with the good things of God to pass along to the world.
The wise men, warned in a dream, returned home “by another road.” A new path. A different way. A new, and unexpected, journey lies ahead! The destination is still home. There are many things that we ‘must get back to’ after Christmas and into the New Year; however, the WAY in which we get back to them can be totally different. There’s freedom and hope in this, I think! There’s Joy to say that this Christmas has changed us. To go back to the way things have always been sounds less and less appealing for a people who admit that God is doing something new!
So what has changed for you this Christmas? What would you like to see change in the New Year? This is your chance! Return to the things that matter and try going a different route. Try a new way. You might find it to be a better way! A holy way, even! You may find that the new journey ahead of you is one of utmost importance in the grand story of God’s unfolding work in the world.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Roads!
Rev. Kenny