"BY ANOTHER ROAD"

"By Another Road"

First Sunday of Epiphany, January 6, 2019

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I love to travel, even though I have a horrible sense of direction. I have always been fascinated by maps, and now, GPS.  One of the things that amazes me is that we can sometimes get to the same destination using a number of different paths. Few places fit this description more aptly than this very town of Glenside.  Without knowing exactly how, I have discovered that there are at least a half dozen different ways to get to St. Paul’s from our home in Northeast Philadelphia.  I learned this one night in October, just before Halloween. Some of you may have your own stories about that night.

It was late afternoon on a Thursday, Kids’ Choir night. My son Noah and I headed down Glenside Avenue toward the church cutting it close and as usual, not leaving ourselves adequate time for our commute. Just as we approached Easton Road, we encountered walls of people and the street turned into a parking lot.  Traffic was at a standstill.  Unbeknownst to me, the Food Truck Festival, originally scheduled for October 11,  was rained out, so it took place a week later.  Long story short, it took us another 40 minutes to go up and around on one of the side streets, all the way over to Limekiln and Mt. Carmel, circling back to St. Paul’s the long way.  We finally arrived about 15 minutes late for Noah’s rehearsal.  I met another mom in the hallway and no words were needed to comprehend the frustration on our faces.  She broke the tension, saying, “What on earth is up with that traffic? I uttered some very UN-Christian words on the road just now!”  Didn’t we all!

Since there was no other way, we took the long way home, too, by turning right instead of left onto Mt. Carmel.  But we still got there - eventually.  And we learned a thing or two.  Things we wouldn’t have learned if it hadn’t been for that Food Truck Festival. Who knew?  It was an “Aha! moment.”  The light turned on.

Revelation. That’s what the word “Epiphany” literally means.  “Revelation,” God with us, revealed to us.   It is the twelfth day of Christmas, traditionally the day three sages followed the star to Bethlehem to visit the Christ Child and present him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh 

This is also the day that many get their homes blessed. You see it a little more in Germany or around Europe — Doorways of homes are marked in chalk:  C+M+B 2019.  Those are the names of the t
Magi — Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar — and the year 2019, with which a priest would enter the home, say a prayer to bless it, and write the initials of the kings along with the numerals of the current new year.

Epiphany happened to me as I was reading the Gospel lesson this week.  I read about those Magi, and as usual, was taken in by their grandeur.  I pictured jewel-toned robes, camels, precious stones, gold, and incense.  Great stuff.  But what more could I say about them?  I have more questions than answers. Were those their real names?  They don’t have names in the Bible.  So where did the names  come from? Who were they, exactly?  Astrologers?  Magi?  Did they really exist?  Were they really kings, or just sages?  

The Bible refers to them as “wise men from the East.” There is no proof that they were actually kings, as it is not stated in the scriptures as such.  It’s another reason why “We Three Kings” no longer appears in our latest hymnal.  It may not be biblical history, but is certainly filled with legend.

In Matthew’s account, we do know that Herod summoned these three sages (I will call them sages or Magi or wise men) and asked them to find this King of the Jews that, according to prophecy and the stars, was to have been born recently.

Herod knew that Bethlehem would be the place where this king would be born because ot was written in the Hebrew scriptures by the prophet Micah, which we read a few weeks back.  It turns out that when you search the Bible for the word “Bethlehem,” up pop almost countless references, most in the Old Testament. Based on this knowledge, and motivated by fear, Herod sends for these three Magi and learns of the exact time when the star had appeared.  You see, these wise men had been observing this star since its rising. Isaiah actually ties together our two other readings by saying, “And the Gentiles will come to your light, and Kings to the brightness of your rising.”   Having traveled through the prophecies of the Advent season, we have learned that things don’t always turn out according to HUMAN plan.  That is also the “Mystery of Christ” that the Apostle Paul talks about in his letter to the Ephesians — that Christ will come to ALL people and nations.  This is something nobody expected would happen.

“And having been warned in a dream no to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.”

“By another road.”  HERE is the verse that I would typically zone out on for most of my life.  That is, until I read it again and again — so much so, that this jumped out at me this time. I had my own Ephiphany-revelation as I pondered “by another road.”

The three wise men did not go home the same way they came. They were transformed by seeing the Christ Child. It says earlier in the reading that when they saw that the star had stopped, they were filled with JOY.  And they would never be the same again.  They knew they couldn’t go back to Herod.   King Herod sent the Magi out, motivated by fear and anger.  Filled with Joy upon seeing the Christ Child, they were transformed.  If they went back the same way, there would be trouble with Herod, and at the very least they would hit the same roadblocks again.  So they took another road. They were called back to their own country and never turned back to Herod.

We, too, face unexpected roadblocks in life.

What are some of the ways we can face them?  By trusting Jesus, who leads us through them.   By praying to be open to the ways of the Spirit, by following a new kind of light.  Yet they only seem like roadblocks until we look and listen to God’s revealing power, the “God WITH US” power demonstrated in the Epiphany.  

Throughout Advent and Christmas, we lit candles in the darkness.  It is always amazing to me how a single candle can completely change a darkened room, offering a special kind of light that reminds us of the sacred and gives us focus.  It is enclosed, protected.  When we have more than one candle, we generate light as a community and suddenly there is literally more warmth in the room, which those of you who were here at Christmas can attest to as we sang together “Silent Night.”  It was a very special moment.

Now that Christmas is winding down and the Light has come into the world, it shines even brighter. Instead of a candle, though, it’s now an “Aha!’ moment, when the light bulb suddenly turns on and we see a whole lot more than we thought there was.

Revelation can be a challenge. At times we see more than we want or expect  - a medical problem, a challenging relationship, a job loss.…  the list goes on. What do we do when forces beyond our control divert us from the path we thought we were meant to be on?

We may be called to take another direction, even at a moment’s notice. It requires faith to go down another road, but God gives it to us in abundance.  Taking that first step, that first turn in faith is often all we need.   In this imperfect world, we don’t need to wait for the stars to be perfectly aligned for this transformation.  Only a simple kernel of faith.

Listen to the words of a Christmas poem by Madeleine L’ Engle, entitled “First Coming -“

He did not wait till the world was ready, till men and nations were at peace.

He came when the Heavens were unsteady, and prisoners cried out for release.

He did not wait for the perfect time. 

He came when the need was deep and great.

He dined with sinners in all their grime, turned water into wine.

He did not wait till hearts were pure. 

In joy he came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.

To a world like ours, of anguished shame he came, and his Light would not go out.

He came to a world which did not mesh, to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.

In the mystery of the Word made Flesh, the Maker of the stars was born.

We cannot wait till the world is sane to raise our songs with joyful voice,

for to share our grief, to touch our pain, 

He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!

What comfort, what assurance there is in knowing that Jesus is our guiding Star on that road.  He is our hope.  We are never alone, even though we may often feel that way. Look up. God is here.  Follow that Star!  For THIS particular Star is different. Unlike a typical star that generates its own light, this Star reflects the light of the Son — the Son of God.  He is here for us, for you and for me. AMEN.