Seeking

When you’re on a hunt for something of value, a treasure hunt, how do you feel? What are you experiencing emotionally?

I know that when I’m on the hunt for something of value there’s a sense of excitement, maybe some anxiety too because I might not find what I’m looking for.

Just picture yourself as one of the Magi. Think about how they must have felt when they discovered the star and in their research found that it meant a new king had been born.

Think about the talks they must have had planning, arguing, negotiating what to take, what not to take, what route to take, how many servants, all that they’d need for a journey that they had no idea how long it was or how much time it would take.

And think about all the different people and characters they’d meet. Some would be helpful and some, I’m sure, would make you fear for your life.

Think of all the people they had to trust, even King Herod. Kings can be kind of hard to read, especially Herod and his reputation for killing people he thought might be in his way.

So, we’re on a journey called life. As Christians we’re also seeking the Savior, Jesus. Sometimes it’s not so easy to find Him.

We talk to folks, we ask questions of religious people, we read books, we read the Bible, we pray, we seek, we hope.

Where do we find Jesus? Can we find him in this building? Is he out there in our community? Or…is he inside us, gently, and sometimes not so gently, pushing us to get on with the work and get out of our comfort zones? Is Jesus the one who leads us to those chance encounters with some very strange people and is he the one who turns those encounters into blessings?

If we’re on the wrong road is he the one who shows us a different way? Maybe we need to tune our hearing so that we can hear his voice as he speaks to our hearts helping us to understand and trust in him.

Maybe that’s why at this time of the season, winter, that we celebrate the birth of the Savior, to discover the real riches that Christ and Christmas brings to us. It’s a good time of the year to just be and let time and light and love penetrate the darkness and show us the way home.

Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.