Scripture:

‘Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the days of Herod the King, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem asking ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him’.’ (Matthew 2,1-2)

Reflection:

In his famous poem ‘Journey of the Magi’ TS.Eliot describes the hard, exhausting journey of the wise men, the Magi, to find the newborn ‘King of the Jews’. They find the baby, but not where they had expected, in a palace in Jerusalem, surrounded by wealth and pomp, but in a very ordinary home in the small town of Bethlehem. They return home knowing life can never be the same for them. All their assumptions and expectations have been overturned.

In a much less known poem, ‘Epiphany’, James Harpur describes only the return journey of the travellers and their relief at being back in their comfort zone. Back with their own sort. Forget about the baby. Nothing to do with them.

To catch a glimpse of the reality of God’s presence among us, is just the beginning. We are free to ignore it, dismiss it, forget about it. Or we can allow ourselves to be changed by it. We have a choice.

Revd Rosemary