In the Christmas story the Wise Ones were the last to make it to the stable. In the church calendar we celebrate this arrival on January 6. It seems to me that most often the focus of this part of the story is around the gifts that the wise ones bring when, in fact , the gifts are only secondary.
No Guarantees
The story of the wise ones is rich in imagery and has many layers. These were foreigners who had heard the prophecies, they dreamed a dream and searched for a sign that something amazing would happen. When they saw, what they believed to be a sign, they set out to discover where it would lead. They had no guarantees about where the journey would take them and they did not know what they would encounter on the way. Despite the uncertainty they set out following the signs and continuing to dream the dream.
A New Dream – A New Direction
Along the way they encountered many people and made a variety of stops. They had conversations and asked questions about the prophesies. Our sacred story records one of these encounters – the one they had with Herod. As a result of this when they arrived at the stable they had a message for the holy family that would, in the end, save their lives. After reaching the stable they left again and traveled home by another road, continuing their journey and now dreaming a new dream, heading in a new direction.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote
“Life is a Journey, not a destination”.
This I think is the message of the story of the wise ones. As individuals, families, communities of faith, we are on a journey that begins with dreaming a dream and searching for the signs. We then must decide whether we are able to set out without a road map, without guarantees, and discover where it will take us. Once we get there, it begins all over again. Our dream changes because of our experiences and the things that we learn along the way. We do not stay the same and our beings are transformed if we have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Do We Dare
We have made the journey to the stable. If we have truly knelt to the child, experienced the mystery, and heard the story then we will travel by another road, dream a new dream and head in a new direction.
Anthony Robbins wrote
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin”
With the road stretched out before us, we begin a new journey.
Do we dare to dream a dream?
Do we dare to search for the signs?
Do we dare to travel by a new way, in a new direction?
Do we dare…..? or,
is ours the impossible journey?
Blessings
Valerie
© Rev. Valerie Peyton Kingsbury. All rights reserved.