A reflection on Matthew 2:1-12 for Epiphany 2013
We’re travellers, we
are. Traipsing our way across deserts and wandering in wide open spaces;
tracking our way through valleys and over treacherous mountain ranges.
How we wound up here
in Bethlehem is beyond me. I’m just the bag boy, packing camels and carting
water. The others, they’re the smart ones – the scholars. But out on the road,
out in the wilderness, we’re all travellers wandering beneath the same sky.
The sky! That’s where
their heads are – always up in the clouds, always turned toward the heavens.
These scholars – these astrologers – are forever consulting scrolls and
counting the stars and charting the skies. They can’t get enough of it! They’re
as excitable as children, and the gods know they’re grown men, old in years,
long in the tooth.
I feel like I have to
be the sensible one, telling them we need to start thinking about making camp,
the camels can’t carry on much longer and look, the light is fading. Despite
the long days, they’re up all night gazing at the lights beyond. By dawn we’re
on the move again as the sun emerges in the east.
The East. That’s
where we’ve come from, and come for what? For the dirty, dusty streets of
Bethlehem?! For the beloved City of David?! This doesn’t look like any city
I’ve ever seen before, and besides, who on earth is David?
They say they’ve come
for a king, but they saw the king when we were in the City of Jerusalem. King
Herod, King of the Jews, that’s what he told them. I’ve always wanted to see a
king; to be in the presence of a powerful ruler, to sit with them in their splendour.
Maybe I’ll get my chance on the way back. When we were there I had to wait
behind the palace with the beasts and the bags. Better luck next time, I hope.
Yet King Herod told
them to head to Bethlehem, so here we are. But this is no place for a king; no palace
to accommodate him, no placards announcing the news of his birth, no sign of
nobility…
But look a-yonder! Can
you see that star?! How could you miss it?! This is the star they’ve been
talking about all this time. Each night the men point to the sky and discuss
the stars, telling me their names and teaching me about navigation. But tonight, tonight it’s
like I’ve noticed this star for the first time, the way it blinks and beckons.
I bump into the back
of a camel and shake my eyes off the night sky. Why have we stopped? I step to
the side and see the Magi still and silenced – the wise with no words to say. It’s
quite a sight; legs astride, eyes surprised, mouths open wide. I let out a laugh
and it echoes along the empty streets. I hold my mouth with one hand and slap
my knee with the other. The men throw back their heads and their bellies shake
as their joy bursts from their bodies. How undignified, how delightful!
No one can say a word,
but we know we’ve arrived. We’ve caused such a ruckus a man comes to the door,
but instead of cursing us he calls us to come in. I follow, leaving the animals
to fend for themselves. Inside there’s a child and his mother. She’s not much
older than me, and he’s just a wee boy.
We bow to him, and
for the second time tonight I put my hand to my knee as I lower my body to the
floor. My fellow travellers bring forth their treasures; gold, frankincense,
myrrh – gifts fit for a king. King of the Jews, they say, the Messiah, the
Christ. But this is no ordinary king, not by any means. Yet I know, here in the
back of beyond, far from any palace or place of honour, I am in the presence of
a King.
His name is Jesus, she says. He will be called 'Immanuel' the Magi say, Immanuel, God with us.
I make a face and the
child grins at me. I grin back. How glorious! God is with us!
No comments:
Post a Comment