Day 18 A Journey Undertaken

Day 18 A Journey Undertaken

2 1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 English Standard Version

I enjoy my conveniences. I live three and half minutes from my work. We just moved into a new facility. Oddly, my commute time did not change. My old commute was almost the same, give or take thirty seconds. All the places where I conduct my normal business are within easy driving, with the furthest being less than fifteen minutes. I conduct almost all my financial business via the internet. Christmas shopping, internet. Vehicle registration, internet. Entertainment, internet. Music, internet. My cellphone enables me to communicate, take photos, and complete a myriad of tasks from the palm of my hand. This devotion to my convenience extends into my worship.

In my practice of Christianity, I often choose based on convenience. I look for a congregation that embraces a theology I’m comfortable with. The worship needs to suit my needs. I need to respect the preacher. They need to challenge some, but not too much. I look for a group of people enough like me to rub shoulders with. Unlike men of old, I do not want to drive too far.

We do not know much about the wise men, mages. They researched, poring over dusty tomes at great length. We know that they came from the east; perhaps traveling for over a thousand miles. A journey of such length would entail a significant expenditure of funds and could not have been too comfortable. Yet, they made the journey to worship a newborn king. They did not consider ease and expense when choosing who and how to worship. They went to great length and expense to worship. It must have taken them far out of their “comfort zone.” Their tale challenges me.

What expense and distance would I go to for worship? How far would I travel to bend my knee to the Lord? What kinds of gifts would I bring? We do not know much about these strange visitors from the East. What we do know challenges. What we do know makes me think about my own faith and dedication. Am I a wise man, or am I too comfortable?