The Greatest Road Trip

 

“Lift up your eyes and look around;

they all gather together; they come to you;

your sons shall come from far away,

and your daughters shall be carried in their nurses’ arms.

Then you shall see and be radiant;

your heart shall thrill and rejoice,

because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you;

the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

A multitude of camels shall cover you,

the young camels of Midian and Ephah;

all those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense

and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.”

Isaiah 60: 4-6

 

Don’t you just love a good Old Testament prophecy? Isaiah describes the gifts and the Three Wise Men who come to visit and worship baby Jesus. I am sure many of us love little manger scenes and the various representations of what artists believe this may have looked like, yet I would like to reflect on the travelers.

 

I wonder what the families and friends of these Wise Men thought of this trip. Not only was travel difficult in this time but also dangerous, traveling with such precious items as were the gifts being brought to the child Messiah, following the star to an unknown exact location and encountering unknown traveling troubles along the way.

 

Thinking about our own time, I think some of these questions by the families and friends of the wise men are similar to the questions non-church folk might have for us. Why do we drive from near or far to St. Martin’s on Sundays and other holidays? What do we do at church? While these questions might strike you as simple, as more of the society around us becomes less familiar with our Christian tradition, these questions become more common.

 

The concluding thought I want to share is this: give grace to those who have traveled to worship with us. When we are in worship, whether in Family Table Riverway or a Traditional service, we may see someone or a family whom we have not seen before struggling to know when to sit, stand, kneel or respond verbally with the congregation. I hope we can welcome them and their gift of presence, whether from near or far, and help them worship Christ the King.


This coming Sunday, be on the lookout for our fellow travelers and say a good word to welcome them. 

The Rev. Gregory W. Cross

Curate

If you would like to reply to this devotional, please email

the Rev. Gregory Cross at gcross@smec.org.