Those magic men the Magi
Some people call them wise
Were Oriental, even kings
Well, anyway, those guys
They visited with Jesus
They sure enjoyed their stay
Then warned in a dream of King Herod's scheme
They went home by another way
Yes, they went home by another way
Home by another way
Maybe me and you can be wise guys too
And go home by another way
We can make it another way
Safe home as they used to say
Keep a weather eye to the chart on high
And go home another way
lyrics by James Taylor
You want to ask me how I know it's the Epiphany? I went to church today. Seriously. I didn't even catch on fire.
Why did I go to church? Well, Lauren asked, "Can we go to church?" She wanted to go because all the kids in her class are always talking about church.
My friends attend the local Reformed Church. I don't know anything about the Reformed Church, other than I'd met the pastors at the pool and they seemed nice enough. Because we chose The Epiphany, which marks the day that the Magi visited Jesus, the service was a bit longer than usual. It was also the first Sunday of the month when they receive Communion, and the day they were indoctrinating their new elders and deacons. About an hour into the service, Lauren beamed and said, "Can we come back next Sunday?"
"Sure." I replied.
I'd love to say that there was something about the experience for me that changed the way I feel about being at church, but as all the other services I've attended (maybe about a dozen), I felt like I was the only one in the dark about what happened next despite having the program, Bible, and hymnal. I also felt like people were trying very hard to be inclusive and yet that only made me feel more awkward and anxious.
1 comment:
Ritual can really pull you in, especially when you're little. When I lived in Yugoslavia for that year I was a Pioneer. We got pretty red scarves and danced and sang. It was fun. What I didn't realize was how much of the "liturgy" I'd absorbed, not until later when I got back to the US. We never went to church when I was a kid or even talked about God but I understand the draw. But you have to be comfortable with it or you will feel left out. Not a bad thing. If you're not comfortable perhaps you need something different.
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