Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his
mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they
offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to
return to Herod, they left for their own country by another path. (Matthew 2:11-12 NRSV)
It began with a star: one that had never been seen before
in the night sky, and so was by definition something mysterious and
unexpected. To the wise men, scanning
the heavens far to the east of Bethlehem, the appearance of this new star was a
summons to embark on a journey—although their final destination was something
which would reveal itself only later.
Perhaps it was the wise men’s habit of seeking that
allowed them to perceive the star in the first place; to see it as something to
follow, where others missed its significance.
But for whatever reason, they were willing and ready to undertake this
unexpected journey. We can imagine that
with the star as their guide, every step along the way held a special meaning,
a sense of anticipation, precisely because of the mystery awaiting them at the
end.
We who are so familiar with the Christmas story know
where the wise men’s journey led them: to the infant Jesus Christ. We know from the Gospel that, finding
themselves in our Lord’s presence, they knelt in worship and opened their
precious treasures to honor him.
And the Gospel also gives us a fascinating detail, which
may resonate with our own spiritual journeys.
After being in Christ’s presence, the wise men were inspired to travel
“by another path”: a path different from the one that they would ordinarily
have chosen; different from the one that had led them to Bethlehem. Just as there had been a special significance
in every step towards the star, so too was there an urgent new meaning in every
step of the return journey. This time
their destination was perfectly familiar, but the wise men would arrive home
changed, having taken a different road in response to their encounter with
Christ.
It’s an experience many of us can relate to: of being led
to some situation we don’t expect, and then realizing that the unexpected event
has changed us—taken us down a new path.
My own path took just such a turn this year, when I led a pilgrimage to
one of the most inspirational spots in historic Armenia: the Church of the Holy
Cross on the island of Aghtamar.
Celebrating the holy badarak at Aghtamar was something I
had never expected to do, given the realities of our time. And yet this summer, I found that I would
have the precious opportunity to do so, and the sense of anticipation gave new
meaning to every step of my pilgrim’s journey towards Aghtamar island.
During the badarak—every badarak—we find ourselves in the
presence of the Living Christ: we are, as it were, in the place of the wise
men, coming before the Lord to worship him.
During the badarak at Aghtamar, that feeling bore down upon me with
extra force. And having had this
miraculous encounter, I came away from Aghtamar with new eyes, seeing new paths
open before me, and before all our people.
On my approach to the church, I found myself remembering
all the pilgrims of past ages who had come by the same path to worship
there. I thought of all the churches
built by pious Armenians—from the great monuments of centuries ago, to the
sanctuaries that have populated the world, wherever Armenian Christians have settled
to live and worship together. I thought
of the feelings of faith and foresight, and above all the feeling of love, that
every Armenian Church represents.
These were thoughts of the past. But as we sailed away from Aghtamar island,
my mind was focused on the future, symbolized by the open horizon which lay
ahead on Lake Van—a horizon filled with potential and hope. I envisioned our communities in America; our
miraculous Republic of Armenia—realities of the present day that the pilgrims
of former generations could not even have imagined. And I wondered to myself what other miracles
the future might hold—new pathways that we today have not even dreamed of, but
that God, in His good time, will make plain.
Such hopes are very much in the spirit of this season,
beginning with Advent—the time of anticipation—and continuing after our
celebration of Christmas, when we embark on a new year with renewed life and
energy. In the coming year, our Diocese
will explore these ideas through the theme, “Living the Gospel of Christ.” The life-in-Christ can begin with a spirit of
humble seeking, which ultimately draws us into a deeper, personal encounter
with our Lord. And having had that
encounter, we find ourselves changed, and open to the unexpected new paths that
now appear before us.
Like the wise men on the first Christmas, we should
approach Christ’s Nativity with a sense of anticipation and excitement over the
mystery that lies ahead. When we reach
our destination on January 6—which falls this year on the Lord’s Day, Sunday—it
will be a chance for us to open the treasures of our hearts before him.
And it can also be a doorway to a new path: a path that
may lead us to familiar places, but that leaves us fundamentally changed,
having experienced the miraculous revelation of Jesus Christ—born in the most
unlikely of places, for the most unexpected and wonderful of reasons: God’s
love for mankind. May we carry that
precious miracle in our hearts throughout the coming year, along with the
joyous refrain of the Armenian Church:
Krisdos dzunav yev haydnetzav! Orhnyal eh haydnootiunun Krisdosee!
Christ is born and revealed! Blessed is the revelation of Christ!
With prayers,
† Archbishop Khajag Barsamian Primate January 2013
# # #
PublicRelations [publicrelations@armeniandiocese.o
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder
Not: Yalnızca bu blogun üyesi yorum gönderebilir.