You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Until you’re there, you’re not. This is a truth I relearn every time I take a long journey. I want to be through the miles, onto the next leg of the route, arriving – but I can only be where I am at each moment. Until you’re there, you’re not.
The sages who had come so many miles in search of the new king whose star they’d seen rising in their night skies had reasons for wanting to get there. They had invested a great deal in this trip, trusting the stellar guidance as they read it. Maybe people at home had called theirs a fools’ errand; maybe they’d read the stars wrong. This Herod fellow certainly hadn’t known anything about a new king; he just sent them off toward Bethlehem. They didn't even know where "there" was. Until they were there, they weren’t.
But they had that star as a beacon: ...they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
Imagine what these star-followers felt when the guidance held true! Real men or mythic figures – or both – these sages were overwhelmed with joy when they were led to a simple house. And if they were surprised to find there an ordinary young family, we see no indication in their actions: On 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.
What a way to greet a king, even one who didn't t look like one: in a house, not a palace; attended only by his mother. Our wise travelers were unfazed. They knew they had arrived where they needed to be. They had come with three goals – they wanted to see, they wanted to honor, they wanted to gift. And when they had done what they came to do, they went home, guided by the wisdom that had brought them to Bethlehem, to be ready for the next adventure.
Maybe we can find in their goals a guide to our devotion:- To want to see Jesus. Make that a prayer; ask the Spirit to expand your faith vision to see Jesus wherever he might be in your life this week, in prayer, in worship, in his Word, in the poor, in other people…
- To want to honor Jesus. Offer Him praises, adoration in your heart, with your voice, in your actions…
- To give him precious gifts. What is precious to you that you want to offer Jesus? Your time? Energy? Relationships? Maybe ask what he would like you to give… you might be surprised at the answer.
This journey of seeing, honoring, giving is one we make over and over again, arriving “there” only to leave again. Each time we arrive where Jesus is we are strengthened for the next trip, which might be in five minutes, or five weeks; and on each journey we see the sights somewhat differently. Until we’re there, we’re not.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there,” the Cheshire Cat says (in somewhat different words) in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. That is an approach to life many have adopted – drift and see where you land. Others take the route of intention. Our star-gazing magi were of the latter variety.
As we start a new year and consider what intentions or goals we may want to set, destinations for which we may want to chart a course, let’s see what wisdom these wise ones might share with us, what steps we might follow to live our life in God with greater purpose.
Discern – Notice what God is up to. Those magi studied the heavens and knew when a new star arose (perhaps a supernova). They were intrigued and explored what it might mean. So we need to be awake to what snags our attention – perhaps a need around us, a passion within us, joy, pain, outrage, tenderness – where has God set a star for you?
Chart a course – How will you get where you are going? What route is best for you – fast, scenic, with or without tolls? Even when we’re not sure of our destination, like those magi, that star we’ve seen gives us a direction. If there are some things you’d like to accomplish this year, or this week, break down the steps required to get there.
Pack – What do you need for this journey? A time set aside each day? A place? A journal? A companion to travel with, someone to share insights and pitfalls as you go? Gifts to bring when you arrive?
And what might you choose to leave behind? Packing is a process of selection, after all. Distracting activities or people? Disappointments in faith? Previous attempts at spiritual discipline? Patterns that no longer serve you?
Dare - Those magi came to Bethlehem from a faraway land, risking injury, robbery, danger, losing their way. As we embark on our spiritual adventure, let us pray for some of their courage, to be open to what lies ahead, trusting God’s presence with us in challenges and victories, trusting God’s gifts that sustain us on the way, trusting God’s guidance as we move closer to God’s heart.
The term “spiritual journey” is over-used but not inaccurate. Our life in God always involves movement forward, an unsettled yearning, pilgrimage. Yet even on the journey we can be alive to the gifts we receive, like a good meal and conversation in a warm place after a day of hiking. As one of my favorite bands, Calexico, sings in Cumbia de Donde:
I'm not from here, I'm not from there. Where am I going? Should I care?
When will I get there? Can you even say? I'm in the moment; I'm on my way. I'm on my way
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
