The final gift builds off the story of the three wise men, and the fact that after meeting Jesus they have to go home following a different route.
A few thoughts on the text:
1. Sometimes going a different route opens us up to new opportunities.
2. Powerful poem from T. S. Eliot -- below is the final stanza.
“The
Journey of the Magi,” T. S.
Eliot writes:
All this was a long time ago, I
remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.
3. God gave the wise men new direction to protect them. How do new directions protect/save us? I'm thinking about interactive GPS that reroute us around traffic accidents.
4. An encounter with the Christ-child forced new directions -- the T.S. Eliot poem notes the uneasiness of the wise men as they returned to their lives and see things differently.
5. What does it mean to our lives that we Christ has been born?
6. Paul certainly builds on the image of being changed by an encounter with Christ. In fact, his life experience indicates radical change takes place when we encounter Christ.
Peace,
Richard
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