Longest night

Christmas is supposed to be the 'most wonderful time of the year,' but for many people, this is not the case.  Instead, Christmas is a time of longing and sorrow.  Longing for loved ones who are no longer with us.  Longing for relationships to be healed.  Longing for the angst of life to disappear. 

In Matthew 2:1-6, we read:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

As we read this familiar story of the wise men, we realize that they also experienced longing in their lives.  Their search also led them into unchartered territory.  They did not know what the future held, but they did know is that they must follow the star. 

 

Their longing to follow this mysterious star in the east was so strong that it drove them to leave their homeland.  It drove them to leave their families and all that gave them comfort and a sense of stability.  It drove them into the path of King Herod who wanted them silenced. 

 

They took these risks not for a king in a royal palace, but for a helpless baby who was born to parents of no consequence.  And how did they know that they would find what they were looking for?  Would this baby really be the King of the Jews?  Would he truly be the shepherd of God’s people?  The wise men looked up into the heavens and God revealed to them these truths through the mysteries of the night sky.  And so they went in search of a king. 

 

We are also in search of this king.  When we grieve, we are desperately searching for something – or someone - to hold onto in the darkness.  Someone who is real and true and will carry us when we have no strength left.  Someone who will guide us when we forget to how to put one foot in front of the other. We long for God’s healing presence in our midst because we realize that none of the world’s ‘fixes’ will do the trick.  The world has nothing to offer that can truly heal the pain that we feel. 

And so we journey with the wise men in search of the star because we long for the same thing that they were searching for over 2000 years ago.  We long for the Messiah.  The Prince of Peace.  The One whose love has the power to give us comfort and to heal our broken hearts. 

 

May we experience the hope of the wise men that points to Jesus Christ, who is our saviour, redeemer, and friend.  May we experience the perseverance of the wise men to continue on our journey of grief and healing even when we enter unchartered territory.  May we find the courage of the wise men to travel with them and seek out the babe in the manger. Amen.