The tag line for this blog is Life’s a journey. Travel often. Learn much. In our day and age travel is fairly convenient. We may fuss about the crowded planes, uncomfortable hotel rooms, or expensive meals, but truly we have it so much better than those who came before us.
Consider Mary and Joseph. They went on a journey, but not one they chose. They were commanded to go to their ancestral home for a census, and the timing couldn’t have been worse. Mary was near the end of her pregnancy, and this journey would just create anxiety. Despite that, they went; they had to go.
I recently read a statement that startled me. It said the Bible never says Mary rode on a donkey. The image of Mary riding a donkey to Bethlehem is so ingrained in my mind that this fact really gave me pause. The truth is we don’t know how Mary traveled. She could have walked the whole way. However, I’m sure whatever the mode of transportation, it was not easy.
And when they arrived in Bethlehem, there was no place for them except a stable. It was in that lowly place that Jesus was born at the end of an undesired journey. But with his birth came joy.
There was another journey we read about in the Christmas story. It’s the story of the magi who came to Jerusalem looking for the king of the Jews. We don’t know much about their background or why they came looking for this new king. Nor do we know how they came to this conclusion. We don’t know their social status. We only know they came looking for a king, and a star guided them.
They had followed the star for some time, but at some point they made an assumption and ended up in the wrong place, Jerusalem. This was the place they would have expected to find a newborn king, but he was not there. Discovering their error, they moved on, and the star came out to guide them again, this time to the right place, the place of Jesus.
Journeys come in many different forms. There are the actual journeys from one location to another, but there are also the journeys that move us from one point in our life to another. Some journeys are expected, others are not. Some journeys are pleasant, others are not. My journeys will be different from yours, and I will react differently than you might. We are all on a journey, however, and the question is what is guiding us on our journey.
So I encourage you to look to the star. No, not an actual star, but that which will lead you to the manger, to Jesus. That’s the place we all need to be. So whether you are on an unchosen and inconvenient journey through illness, bereavement, divorce, job loss, or other challenge; find the manger. Or perhaps you are on a journey of discovery, seeking truth, understanding, or meaning; find the manger. Find Jesus. Make that the journey of your life this Christmas.