On the whole I’m not a collector of things. Over the years the one exception has been an assortment of nativity sets that I have gathered from my global travel. I love to bring out several (and occasionally a lot) each Advent/Christmas season. In fact, they are our only holiday decorations.
Several years ago a Peruvian creche found its way to our kitchen table and stayed…and stayed…and stayed. I loved it. The twelve days of Christmas came and went, but Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, the three wiseones, some shepherds, and a couple of barn animals remained.
As I walked past the table late in the season of Epiphany that year, I noticed something had changed. The visitors, instead of being gathered around the Christ child, were strung out in a long line, single file moving across the table and away from the manger. I paused, pondered, and then quietly asked C in my best non-anxious presence voice, “What’s happening here?” His equally quiet, non-anxious response was, “They are going home. They have paid their respect, and it is time for them to go home.” The visitors had overstayed their welcome, at least C’s welcome.
As I now box the creches on January 6, Epiphany Day, I reflect on the gift of C’s humor in our relationship as well as the nature of home going. Although the story doesn’t said so directly, my experience tells me the departure of the wiseones was impacted profoundly by their encounter with the unconditional love experienced at the manger, the love to which they paid homage. When people come to know their infinite blessedness, future journeys are forever altered. The wiseones became new people, as do we when we realize we are indeed lovable and loved.
The wiseones were also ladened with the threat and fear of violence from Herod, who sought retribution against those who might demonstrate allegiance to a king other than himself or agenda other than his own. His need for power and control threatened all who were out of compliance with his bidding. In fact they were warned in a dream to avoid the consequences of his wrath by going home by another route.
Going home…by another route. As I move into 2025, I’m preparing with the love and justice revealed in the Christmas event to go home by a different route. New occasions teach new duties.
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