Journey of the Magi – Epiphany
A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For the journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.
Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins,
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory
All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: 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.
– T. S. Eliot
We’re all seeking, journeying like those wise men; wise women; wise guys. Some are led to a child, the Divine in human form, in human relationship, on a human journey.
Others aren’t; others find different answers. My dad used to obsess about whether he was destined/pre-destined to be saved. All that pressure as a kid to pray for him so he would be saved. Kind of made me think he was freaking out about something he didn’t need to freak out about.
There are some who proof text some stuff in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians to say some are “in” and others are “out.” I’m glad to know that wiser minds than me (Martin Luther, for example) have thought that it’s probably best not to think too much along those lines. That it’s a temptation to try to figure that out. That’s good for me. Because then I can just rest and trust in what I hear: The essence of that promise is for everyone and God/the Divine/the Universe (call it what you will. seriously) is made known to each in the way each can know it.
I can tell you what my experience is. But ultimately, that’s what it is: my experience. Your results probably may vary.
That doesn’t diminish either journey, either quest, any question, any answer. It doesn’t diminish the epiphany of either. It doesn’t diminish the Epiphany, either.
We’re all just seeking Light.
Namaste.
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A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…
January 6th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Wow. Beautiful. Thank you. This is such a good message for me right now.
January 6th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Very nice post. it ties in so well with your blog title.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
And a happy new year to you, lady!