Throughout December two groups of Wise Men could be found in Cole Camp. They were making their way to our church for Christmas Eve worship. Every few days you could find them in a new location. At night our family would drive through town marveling at Christmas lights and looking for the Wise Men; every time we found them the kids cheered and I wondered about their journey.
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For the third Christmas Eve in a row the kids and we found ourselves home rather than inside the church building. Three years ago the flu wreaked havoc in our home, last year Covid had us worshiping from the couch, and this year the stomach bug came home with our 1st grader. The luminaries around the church shone brightly against the night sky. The kids and I found delight in singing along with the computer and snuggling together in pajamas reading the Christmas story. Living across the street from the church I watched people flock to worship as the bells chimed, and I wondered about the journey each person took to arrive at church that night.
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The Bible isn’t clear about the journey the Wise Men took to find the baby Jesus. I wonder, really, how many were walking. I wonder about the conversations they had, and what challenges they encountered along the way. We do know that a group of them made it to see Jesus. There wasn’t one wise man, but at least three which makes me think that part of their journey involved taking care of one another. I wonder what their care for each other looked like. Did they have to slow down while someone tended their feet? Did they get sick and need to rest?
As we continue through this Epiphany season celebrating the arrival of the Wise Men coming to bow down before the newborn king, I’m giving thanks for those who do the work of tending to others and caring for the ones who are sick and weak. I’m cheering for the ones who go at the pace of the slowest member knowing that we all have a vested interest in the health and healing of others. I’m reminded, thanks to the Wise Men, that we are connected and play a part in bringing about the healing of communities. Because when we do care for one another and walk together, we are met and found by the baby who was born for all.
If you’d like to read more from Kim, you can sign up for her monthly newsletter, Walk and Talk. As a gift to readers and subscribers who sign up, she has a free downloadable resource: Walk and Talk with God: Reflection, Scripture references, and a how-to for your own contemplative walk. Kimberly Knowle-Zeller is an ordained ELCA pastor, mother of two, and spouse of an ELCA pastor. She lives with her family in Cole Camp, MO. You can read more at her website, follow her work on Facebook, or sign up for her monthly newsletter.