Restless Journey

Two nights ago we talked about The Journey. Advent is really about journeys. In our living room, we have Mary and Joseph journeying closer and closer to Bethlem (one side of the living room to the other) and the Three Wise Men on their own journey towards the Baby Christ (starting from the other side of the room). Instead of placing them immediately at the manger, Advent reminds us that the birth of Christ involves a journey for everyone.

In W.H. Auden’s poem, “For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio," the Magi, upon finding the child, exclaim:

“O here and now our restless journey ends.”

They had traveled far in search of this child, and it has been a wearisome journey, or as they say, “a restless journey” from Persia to Bethlehem. But having arrived, they know that their journey has not been in vain. They have seen the child and presented their gifts. Now they can rest for a while, and when they leave, their feet will seem lighter, and the journey back home will not seem nearly so long, for they have found the One they were seeking. “O here and now our restless journey ends.”They are speaking, not for themselves only, but for every person whose restless journey has come to an end upon finding Jesus Christ!

But the biblical story tells us of others who visited the infant Jesus. According to Luke’s account, shepherds came from the nearby field and entered into the presence of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. Just as tradition brings the Magi and shepherds together to celebrate Jesus’ birth, so in Auden’s Christmas Oratorio, the shepherds enter, and we hear them saying,

“O here and now our restless journey starts.”

For them, the discovery of the Baby Christ is not the end, but the beginning of new journey - the journey of faith leading to Life (see John 14:6).

“O here and now our restless journey ends.”
“O here and now our restless journey starts.”

Have you found what you've been looking for? The journey starts and ends with the Baby.