In Christian churches all over the world, people would gather before the covid-19 pandemic. On Jan. 6, in celebration of the Twelfth Night -- the Visitation of the Wisemen, who came to see the baby Jesus, was celebrated in churches through corporate worship.
I was asked to preach on this important Biblical event during our virtual worship service at St. Thomas. As I did my pre-writing research and prayed, I felt called to wonder about St. Matthew's conclusion to the story, "being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way" (Matthew 2:12).
I also remembered another world-wide significant day, July 28, 1914, the first day of World War I. WWI was called "The War to End All Wars." Thousands of military personnel and civilians were killed, and thousands of people were maimed. After the war that had enveloped the world in a great physical, moral and spiritual darkness, the ensuing years were an explosion of creative, inventive and challenging expressions in all disciplines. It was as if the whole world heard the warning and figuratively "went home by a different way." The "King Herods" were and still are a danger.
I was reminded of the poetry of T.S. Eliot that emerged after WWI. It was like his earlier poetry and at the same time very different. In the poem, "The Journey of the Magi," the beginning verses were written in a classical style and expressed classical theology. He wrote,
"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the winter sharp,
The very dead of winter."
T.S. Eliot pulled us in with the traditional literary form and theology; then he switched the season from dark winter to bright spring. His wise men passed through a temperate valley and by the three crosses of Good Friday on their way to the Christmas Manger/the Easter Tomb. He wondered if "we were led all that way for Birth or Death? I had seen birth and death but had thought they were different; this Birth was hard and bitter agony for us like Death, our death." We still say that bravely they "went home by another way."
These past months we have had wise men and wise women scientists visit us via television with great, life-saving gifts! They have given us useful gifts so we can make our way back home by washing our hands, social distancing, wearing a mask, gathering in small groups, and most recently, taking the covid-19 vaccine shot(s).
A positive side effect of these gifts that are being used, is that there are currently almost no flu infections in Arkansas, and because we are not driving as much, the carbon footprint has been reduced.
But, we have added a new day of infamy. In addition to Dec. 7, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Sept. 11, 2001, the attack on the Twin Towers, we added Jan. 6, 2021, the attack on our U.S. Capitol building.
Only time will reveal the effects of the pandemic and the recent Capitol attack. I believe it will be something new, fresh and powerful. We cannot go home by the same road we have traveled in the past because it has been washed away by a flood of distrust and resentment. Dear People of God, pack your bags. I deeply believe that the "Morning Star," Jesus, will lead us on a new road home.
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Ken Parks is the former rector of St. Theodore's Episcopal Church in Bella Vista. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.