Going by Another Way
“Steer clear of royal welcomes/ Avoid a big to-do/ A king who would slaughter the innocents/ Will not cut a deal for you.” -James Taylor, Home by Another Way
Dear Friends,
On Tuesday we celebrated the Epiphany, when the light of the heavens led the magi to find a baby king in Bethlehem, and then a dream of heaven led them—for the sake of the child and their own—back home by another way.
The entire story unfolds “in the time of King Herod.” It is a poignant account of the conflict between powers and principalities run amok and the reign of God, which comes not by force or violence but in vulnerable love, to renew the world. (True love is always vulnerable, isn’t it?)
The magi, led by a star, come by way of Herod, who is shaken by the news of a new king and sends them on with a duplicitous hospitality. They arrive in Bethlehem, adore the child, lavish him with gifts, and prepare to make their way home. Then the dream comes and warns them: it’s not safe to travel the way you already know. Herod is hatching plans for harm and demise—for this new king and his new kind of reign. So they return by another road.
Like James Taylor sings in that soft-rock Epiphany ballad: “We got this far through a lucky star / But tomorrow is another day / We can make it another way.”
In the season after Epiphany, we are all finding our way. We’ve followed the light, welcomed God into the world, and celebrated with rejoicing. And now, changed by the light to make a difference in our walking, and working, and witnessing to what is coming true, we find new roads to travel through this dangerous world,
In this time of wannabe kings, we live with daily realities of darkness—dependent on violence, fear, and death—coming against this work and witness to God’s dream for this world. Yesterday’s shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis is the latest incident in this real and dangerous conflict.
Amidst these perils, we persist. We follow the light. And we depend on heaven-inspired resolve and resourcefulness to make our way. At times it will lead to confrontation with power; at other times we’ll take different roads to accomplish higher aims. All along the way, we’ll be deeply dependent on the wisdom and courage that come from God and from our faithful companions.
One last part of the magi’s journey that should inspire and embolden us: they do not go alone. We go together.
With you,
Scott+
The Rev. R. Scott Painter, Rector
