All Are Tied Together Somehow

COLUMNIST WISHES EPIPHANY BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOURS

The journey of the Magi, observed liturgically the Sunday of Epiphany, always puts me in mind of geocaching and other forms of high tech recreational travel. I imagine the wise men traveling to Jerusalem using some form of celestial navigation to find the “child who has been born king of Jews.” (Matthew 2:1) Celestial navigation is using “sights,” angular measurements between a celestial body and the visible horizon. Today, with satellites orbiting around the globe, many of us accomplish a similar task with GPS devices.

In my imagination, the search for the child Messiah was the mother of all geocaching trips. However, the wise men used the star to help them know the time of the birth of the child, but not the location. For the location, the wise men had available to them the same prophetic books as the Jews, and even Herod himself.

They read the prophecy to Herod, “‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” (Matthew 2:6)

At this point in the Epiphany story, the star becomes a guide. Herod sends the wise men to Bethlehem. “When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.” (Matthew 2:9-10) So my version is not totally corrupted. The wise men are wise beyond wise. They use an ancient text (theHebrew scriptures) together with modern techniques (astronavigation following a moving star) to make their way to Bethlehem.

It’s quite the drama, really. It’s inspiring.

New technology comes with new times. Last week I skied at Copper Mountain, Colo. The lift attendants ushering skiers to the chairlift scan ski passes with scanner that sound like futuristic lasers. The attendant who scanned my ticket asked, “How are you doing today?” Of course I was doing great. I was skiing. I asked back, “How are you?” His reply blew me away with its authenticity and joy. “I’m living the dream, man, living the dream. At least my dream, anyway.”

The thing about Copper Mountain employees is most of them really are doing what they love. They want to live in those mountains, near those slopes, among those people. Many it seems would rather ski than eat.

I learned this was true, literally, when I attended the midday Sunday worship at the top of the mountain. Copper Mountain Community Church off ers Sunday worship at the bottom of the mountain at 8:30 a.m. Sunday mornings.

The pastors then spend the morning distributing bags of cookies to employees at all the lifts, restaurants and safety stations around theresort, ending their morning with a mountain top chapel service at 12:30 p.m. They take joy at the beginning of worship in describing their ministry, which is new to most of us who are simply there on vacation.

Their ministry is inspiring. The pastors have found some beautiful ways to do vibrant and faithful ministry with people who work as service staff at the resort. One way they do this is by organizing a free community meal, strategically timed the day before paychecks are issued. Afew hundred folks show up for the monthly meal.

This ministry puts me in mind of the wise men. The wise men were far from home. Along the way they would have had occasion to pay for guest lodging or purchase food. Jesus, Joseph and Mary themselves were soon to be displaced to Egypt, fleeing for safety from Herod. Put a bit of realistic flesh on the story, and you start to see all the ways that wealth, culture, class and more are juxtaposed and vivid in the visit of the wise men to the child King.

Perhaps in this Epiphanyseason there are some simple lessons to be learned. For one, be mindful toward those who serve you. Do not take your waiter, custodian or ticket attendant for granted. They are real people. For another, when you travel, you are both a guest and one bearing gifts. You bring something to give - new knowledge, a gentle smile, frankincense. Third, the strangers in our midst often understand us better than we understand ourselves. The great gift of hosting refugees, immigrants, foreigners, is both the opportunity to get to knowthem on their own terms, and to learn more about ourselves in the encounter.

The local and the distant, the foreign and the familiar,the secular and the sacred, all are tied together somehow, in an arc of justice, joy, and peace. Epiphany blessings to you and yours.

THE REV. CLINT SCHNEKLOTH IS PASTOR OF GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH IN FAYETTEVILLE.

Religion, Pages 6 on 01/05/2013

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