Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, January 6, 2010

……. were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth,
certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had
seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different;
this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like
Death, our 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.

from “The Journey of the Magi”
by T. S. Eliot, on this Christian Feast
of the Epiphany


Whoever imagined the story of the journey of the Magi to Bethlehem was a master story-crafter. Eliot scuffs it up some – making us aware of the difficulty of such a long journey, even for wealthy people, in those days. That’s ok; he makes his point. I prefer the shining, brilliant, magical Biblical story – a star-filled sky, three fabulously arrayed Wise Men, the sound of camel bells jingling in the clear night, the golden caskets filled with exotic rich gifts of Gold, Frankinsense, and Myrrh with their mysterious meaning.

As I have come to understand it, this Story of the Magi is about each of us “coming to” our true full Selves. A story about discovering the core of who we are as human beings, and as the unique individuals we are.

Our humanity is glorious and brilliant enough – rich and wise and noble and beautiful like the Magi. This is an important aspect of the story: it is important not to denigrate the wonder of being human, or of personhood.

What we need to know about who we truly are is manifested – an epiphany! – in the little child in the manger. For the Biblical storyteller, the child Jesus is the Divine One. Emmanuel - God With Us”.

The Story of the Magi tells us that we will become fully human when we recognize the Divine within us, when we know that we are one with the great Mystery of Being that some call “God”.

Eliot is right. Once we know who we are, we are “no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation”. We must die and be born anew. This is the Journey we are all on. We are led to our simple humanity to discover that we are of royal birth.

[ Eliot’s poem can be found here in full: http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/t__s__eliot/poems/15123 ]

Brian+