The wise men “left for their own country by another road.” It mustn’t have been easy for those seasoned travelers to find their way home by another road. We have apps on our phones and vehicles that patiently recalibrate and reroute us when we disobey their first order. The wise men, no doubt exhausted despite their joy at finding the Christ-child, just wanted to get home, the road previously traveled being the surest route. That must’ve been a persuasive dream they shared, to risk disorientation and delay on their return journey west. I presume they found their way.
I expect even if they had taken the same familiar road home, while managing to avoid King Herod the Malignant, spiritually their journey would have been different. They had encountered God-made-man, the Messiah, the newborn king. This meeting changed everything.
I expect the same holds true for us. Something led you here today to find the Christ-child you seek. Likely not a star stopped atop our church-roof, but something. Curiosity. Desire. Devotion. Joy. Pain. Habit. Obligation. Guilt. No matter. You’re here, and that’s good.
And soon enough you’ll return home, likely by the same street or sidewalk, unless you have an after-Mass errand to run. But spiritually your journey will be different. You will have delivered the gifts you brought to Jesus: your very selves and whatever burdens and blessings are in your hearts. And you will have received even greater gifts from Jesus: the grace of his Real Presence in the Sacrament of the Altar, of his Living Word revealed in the sacred scriptures, of his indwelling in you and in those around you, old friends and strangers alike made kin with each other by his humble birth.
That’s how much God loves you, and this meeting changes everything. Merry Christmas and a Happy Epiphany!
Fr. Daniel S.J. Scheid, SCP
Epiphany Sunday C – January 5, 2025
All Saints’ Episcopal Church, San Francisco
“This meeting changes everything”