Taking the news home

The image I had of the wise men this year was not so much about finding the manger where Jesus was born, but rather about their return home to report on it. It hit me that we who have been there cannot just walk away and say 'that was neat.' We do need to tell someone. In fact we are challenged to tell someone.

All of that was fresh in my mind as I met with a group of young adult staff at a facility where I do some work. These are street smart people,and they are forever teaching me about what young people are confronted with everyday out there. One of them, who knows I am involved in Church stuff, mentioned he had gone to a Christmas service. We discussed it a bit, and I talked about my ministry and how busy things were at St. Paul's over Christmas. He said how it felt neat being at the Church where he had gone, and suddenly we were discussing liturgy, being taken to Church by our parents when we were young, and so on. Next thing I know, 5 or 6 of the other guys are joining in. People from Pentecostal, Anglican, Catholic, and other traditions, not practicing as far as I could tell, freely sharing about their religion backgrounds in a positive way.

I would never have guessed that such a discussion could take place in that setting. I shudder to think that if I was wrong there, how many other times have I been wrong, and missed great opportunities? I suspect the wise men told their news to a pretty skeptical audience. Did they do it with enthusiasm, with conviction? Did they look for opportunities to do it?

We have been to the manger. We are the wise men, the 'visitors from the east' returning home. Have we told anyone?