Chosen by God- New Quests for New Years

¹ “Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
² See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
³ Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

⁴ “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters are carried on the hip.
⁵ Then you will look and be radiant,
your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.
⁶ Herds of camels will cover your land,
young camels of Midian and Ephah.
And all from Sheba will come,
bearing gold and incense
and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. ~Isaiah 60:1-6

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. ~Matthew 2:1-12

This morning Brad and I went to Shalom Mennonite Fellowship for worship. I attended Shalom regularly before I met Brad, and this morning we went seeking an answer from God. We went in prayer, asking for discernment, considering a change in our church family home here in Tucson. And so it was quite fitting that there we heard a sermon by Pastor Bryce Miller about a quest.

Using these two scriptures from the lectionary, Bryce commented on the quest undertaken by the "wise"men, questioning their wisdom, since they started in the East and supposedly followed a star from the East, talked about a new king to the current king not realizing the conflicts this might cause, and noticing that they needed to ask directions while there (v. 2). Nevertheless, these magi were wise in their understanding of the scripture and their realization of the truly special event that had occurred. They were among the first to worship the savior that was born.

It was a long journey, and it might've been easy to just stay at home and send word asking about this occurrence from afar. Sometimes we feel that way. We get comfortable where we are. We secretly seek something within our souls, but we never take the step, get uncomfortable and go on the quest. We may feel that we need rest, but without going on the quest, we won't find it. We may feel that we need a Christian community, but without actively seeking it, we'll still feel alone. Brad and I are on a quest, a quest for discernment in terms of our church home. We have been praying and continue to pray about where God wants us. We listen for an answer and ask for His wisdom as we take our next steps.

Stepping into Shalom today, it felt that we had made it. Although we were nervous about doing something different yet again, it felt so loving and warm. There is something truly special in the community there, that it always makes me feel at home. The people are so genuinely welcoming and wonderful, and I always love going back to visit. The sermon, the music, the scripture, Brad called the service very 'deep.' When going to visit Shalom, I always look forward to Sundays.

Similarly, I'm praying about this new semester. It's tempting for me to take as many courses as I can. (When interested in so many course offerings, it's particularly hard.)I know that I made it through last semester, but I also know that I was a little 'worse for the wear.' I enjoyed my coursework less when so much stress was added. I seek discernment in this regard as well. Perhaps the way to live my life most fully now is by taking fewer courses and enjoying them more, taking time to spend with friends, neighbors, in service to Him.

These quests are not finished just yet. Just like the wisemen, the journey is long. I still continue to pray, ask for directions like the wisemen, but I know that the quest will serve to help us hear those answers.