Epiphany
So I’m getting ready to pack up my Christmas music CD’s for another year, along with the tree, wreath, and books about the season. I’m a big Dave Matthews Band fan, and believe it or not, one of the songs I like to listen to most this time of year is by them:
So I’m told, so the story goes
The people He knew were
Less than golden hearted
Gamblers and Robbers
Drinkers and Jokers, all soul searchers
Like you and me…
Christmas Song, Dave Matthews
The song reviews the life of Jesus, and makes a point to consider the types of people He spent most of his adult life with - lost souls. Or, as the song considers - searchers. Like you & me. It’s so easy to look at someone we know - a neighbor, co-worker, whoever - and judge them to be “lost”. I prefer to think of them as “searching.” God has put his law of love into each of our hearts, whether we acknowledge it or not [Jer. 31:33], and that law drives us to keep searching for truth.
The Magi we remembered yesterday on Epiphany are admirable not for finding the Christ-child, but for having the courage to set out on their journey to begin with, and for having the perseverance to continue searching. The Christmas carol, The First Noel, highlights this in verse 3:
And by the light of that same star
Three Wise men came from country far.
To seek for a King was their intent
And to follow the star wherever it went.
“Wherever it went.” The Magi had no idea where the star would lead them, or how long they would have to travel. A life lived for Christ is no different. To say “yes” to follow Christ means accepting the path He chooses for us, wherever it goes. I hope that in this new year ahead I can be more accepting of my own path and have the perseverance of the blessed Magi.
