Season calls for life reflection, changes

Resolutions for Epiphany

In this Epiphany season, I read again “The Journey of the Magi,” a poem by T.S. Eliot. I had forgotten how much I had gained from Eliot in my understanding of the magi. As you may remember, the poem is a remembrance by one of the magi of the hard journey to find the Christ child.
In his closing reflection, he ponders whether the magi were led on this journey to find a birth. He concludes that they had experienced both birth and death:

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

In reading this poem I recalled how the message of the Incarnation has been reduced by our churches and cultures to a bland and wistful message of peace and harmony. God knows we need peace and harmony. But the message of Christmas confronts us with the deep changes we must make in the way we live. We are called to live as those who are ill at ease in the world as it is and with ourselves as we are.
As you make your resolutions for 2006, consider these practices that may foster our un-ease—and our rebirth:
> Read slowly through the gospel of Mark, paying close attention to who recognizes Jesus as messiah and who does not. Would you have received him?
> Christmas is celebrated because of the person Jesus grew up to be. What about the adult Jesus makes you uncomfortable? How would you respond to Jesus?
> Make an inventory of the things you worry about most and reframe those worries into prayers.
> Write down all of the “gods” that you and your church are prone to “clutch.”
> Discuss with a friend some ways the church should distinguish itself from prevailing cultural values.
In thinking about your next Advent and Christmas celebrations, what will you do differently?