Home By Another Way

I’ve been making mix tapes for years. Recently, they have evolved into mix cds, but the concept has stayed the same. A collection of songs that connect the receiver to the giver (me).

Every year since my son, Harry, was born, I have made him a mix of songs. Year one didn’t really register. Year two, he didn’t seem to care. But this year was, perhaps, the best response I have ever received to a mix that I have made.

Harry wanted to sit, song after song, and talk about why they were on his cd. What did they mean? Why were they important? The last song on the album (minus the “Larry Boy Theme Song” bonus track) was a standout. As Iron & Wine’s cover of “Such Great Heights” seeped out of the speakers, Harry looked at me with a knowing smile and asked, “What’s this song?”

A knowing smile, because Harry knows the significance of this song. This is the song I sang to calm him down the first time I ever held him. This is the song that shows up on Harry’s mix every year. This was the gift I gave to him when he was born.

On the heels of Christmas, I’m reminded this week of births and gifts and their meaning, because this marks the celebration of Epiphany. The story of Epiphany is the story of the Magi, the story of those who first declared Jesus to be “King of the Jews”. It’s a story that I am tempted to remember with the same fuzziness that I remember my own son’s birth. We all tend to imbue it with the same warm and cozy feel.
But this story isn’t any more warm and fuzzy than the Christmas story is. It, like the Christmas story, is a revolutionary one. The light of the Epiphany is political dynamite.

That’s because the gifts that the Magi bring to Jesus aren’t the kind of gifts you bring to a baby, they’re the kind you bring to a king. In their giving of gifts, the Magi declare that Jesus is the true king, the Messiah.
What makes this declaration so provocative is that they have been commissioned by another king to bring news of Jesus back to him. King Herod hopes to discover Jesus’ whereabouts, in order that he might kill Jesus.

So, in declaring that Jesus is King of the Jews the Magi call out Herod as a usurper and imposter. Herod hopes that they will be his representatives and co-conspirators, but they are warned in a dream of King Herod’s scheme and go home by another way. They are offered a choice of king and they choose Jesus.

Today is no different. The Powers That Be want our loyalty. They want to make our choices for us. They want Jesus brought to them in order that they might use Him for their own purposes and, ultimately, destroy Him. This is because His rule is a threat to all others. The beginning of His Kingdom means the end of all others.

The story of Jesus’ birth consistently mirrors the story of His death. Just as Herod hopes the Magi will act as his representatives, so Pilate acts as Caesar’s. Pilate’s soldiers are the first since the Magi to declare Jesus “King of the Jews”. Pilate also receives a warning in a dream not to do any harm to Jesus. But Pilate’s choice is different. The gifts he bestows are a crown of thorns and a cross. Pilate will choose to hand Jesus over to die. The Magi will choose another way.

In the mid-80’s, singer/songwriter James Taylor wrote a song called “Home By Another Way” which includes a verse that serves as advice for all of us:

Steer clear of royal welcomes
Avoid a big to-do
A king who would slaughter the innocents
Will not cut a deal for you
He really, really wants those presents
He’ll comb your camel’s fur
Until his boys announce they’ve found trace amounts
Of your frankincense, gold and myrrh

And so, as we remember this Epiphany, we stand in the sandals of the Magi and are offered a choice. The choice whether to sell Jesus out for money and power and security or to sell ourselves out to Him. The words of Joshua echo through the ages “Choose you this day who you will serve.” The words of Christ Himself remind us that we can give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but we must never give him what is God’s.

Every day of our lives, the Powers that Be demand our loyalties. Every day of our lives, Christ offers us a choice between kings.

So, as we enter into a new year, let us choose this day who we will serve. Let us prepare our best gifts and our very selves and offer them to Jesus as tribute to a King. Let us make the choice to go home by another way, the Way of Jesus Christ our Lord.