January 8, 2023 - Epiphany
First Congregational UCC of Manhattan, KS
Sermon by the Rev. Caela Simmons Wood
The first thing the Magi noticed when they drove into the City was how much it had changed. A couple of them had never been there before - and so, had no frame of reference. But two or three of them remembered going there as children. Twenty years ago the Capital had been different. Grittier. A little more run down. Dirtier, for sure. There had been a palpable energy there of things happening. Not necessarily GOOD things, mind, but movement.
“Oh, wow! Where did THAT come from?” one of them said from the backseat, pointing excitedly out the window. The rest of the group craned their necks, looking up at the massive sports arena looming overhead.
“And, holy smokes! Look at THAT!” yelled another. They whipped their heads the other direction, noticing a massive church. “I think that used to just be a strip mall when I was a kid.”
After parking, they waved their phones at the meter. Paying for parking, sure, but also checking in. Somewhere in the cloud AI checked their digital ID cards against facial-recognition software. No one really knew how it worked - or cared - but it was necessary for keeping the peace. Not all cities had this system, of course, but in the Capital City it was complimentary. Knowing who was where at all times kept things safe.
And the Capital certainly seemed safe. Secure. Quiet. The streets were clean. Hardly any people were out and about and those that were walked with purpose. They all looked clean-cut, professional. No homeless people cluttering up the sidewalks, that’s for sure. Come to think of it - no clutter of any kind, anywhere.
“Remember when we were kids and people hung all kinds of stuff on these lampposts?” mused one of the group. “Flyers, I think they were called, right? Like little tweets on pieces of paper. You could see upcoming concerts, meetings, protests. It’s so weird that’s all gone now.”
No protests in the Capital, that’s for sure. Those were outlawed back when The Leader rose to prominence. The Leader was responsible for most of these changes, of course. He wanted to ensure the City of Peace lived up to its name. And so he used his influence to shut down all the rowdy establishments. Concerts, art shows, even small gatherings of friends could only use approved media. Independent news outlets were slowly absorbed into the big conglomerate run by his corporation. He even lobbied Congress to make the Capital City a protest-free zone.
All of this was deemed necessary for peace to flourish. And, by and large, no one much minded. After all, people in the Capital City lived good lives. They had steady jobs, food on their tables, beautiful places to visit like the new sports arena and gorgeous new churches - all funded by the Corporation, of course. And so, even though things were a little more structured, a little stricter in the Capital, most people who lived there thought it was worth the trade off. No rowdy protests on the streets meant more time for work and play. Plus, what would they have to protest anyway? The residents of the Capital City even had access to healthcare through the Corporation’s hospital system. Something those outside the Capital could only dream of.
The City of Peace was finally living up to its name.
The Magi took the elevator up to the tippy-top of a gleaming skyscraper for their appointment. Waved through into The Leader’s office (with a retinal scan first, of course), they found themselves seated on the most expensive chairs they had ever seen.
One of the Magi cleared her throat and spoke in a steady voice, “Thank you for meeting with us. You’re probably wondering why we’ve come all this way. We need your help finding someone. As you probably know, we’re experts in mystical energy shifts. And we’ve noticed a significant change in the energy flow just in the past two weeks. Our findings led us here, to the Capital City. And we’re looking for a newborn baby. Our sources tell us he is The Leader.”
The man they came to see sat behind a gleaming glass desk. He took a slow, steady sip of his coffee. Years of playing hardball in boardrooms meant he had a great poker face. He was revered by 95% of the population and feared by the rest. He had slowly, steadily been building his dynasty, building up the Corporation, building up ties of loyalty, building up this City. No one in a million years would have guessed that fear roiled under the surface of his calm exterior. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. A flash of something that looked like anger passed over his face. But no one would have guessed fear.
Or confusion. After all, what were these kids talking about? They were looking for The Leader? But they’d already found him. The Leader was right here in the room with them. Sitting behind this glass desk, sipping his coffee. He had been given the title of Leader because he had earned it. He brought peace back to the City. He made it worthy of its name. And so he was The Leader. Why would they be looking for a baby? Who was this nameless threat?
The Leader’s assistant sat quietly to the side. Though her head had been buried in her phone a minute ago, she was looking out the window now, lost in thought. Like her mentor, she also had a great poker face. No one would have guessed at what was hidden beneath.
If these Magi, who everyone knew were very wide indeed, were looking for a baby they called Leader, what did that mean? What if this baby really was a new Leader? A threat to everything they had been building? She thought about her girlfriend, working several floors down. And the new house they had just built on the west side of the City. And the new vehicle they had just financed. And the money they had already put down on a vacation to Greece next year. Not to mention her dreams of buying an engagement ring, paying for the wedding, setting their future kids up for success. Was she going to lose her job?
She was snapped out of her worry-cycle by the sound of one of the Magi humming quietly. She knew this song. What was it? She couldn’t quite place it.
But then she remembered. It was a song her grandmother used to sing long ago. What were the words?
“The Living God has spoken,
Earth answers with a song.
Weapons of war are broken,
the week are feeling strong.
See, we no longer hunger, crying out for bread.
Our God restores to life and raises us from the dead.” [1]
God, she hadn’t thought of that song in years. She hadn’t thought of God in years, either. What a funny thing - to forget about God. But she hadn’t needed to think about God. She hadn’t needed anything, really. She had everything she wanted. Everything she needed. Which is why this news of a new Leader, a different Leader, was so very disturbing. When you have everything you want, everything you need, why would you want anything to change?
The Leader - the one sitting behind the desk, not the baby - cleared his throat. “Why don’t you all go have lunch? My private chef will take care of you. I’ll check around, see what I can figure out, and then I’m sure I can assist you in your quest.”
The Magi shuffled out. And other experts shuffled in. These were insider-experts, very different from the caravan of artsy weirdos who came from afar. The insider-experts gathered round the glass desk and their presence immediately made The Leader feel more at ease. They had the answers, of course they did.
They spoke of an ancient prophecy. They told The Leader where this baby, this threat, could be found. It wasn’t in the Capital City at all, but in an outer suburb.
The Leader sent word to the Magi. Their phones flashed as the messages came in:
Found the baby. You were just a few miles off. He’s in Bethlehem. Just five miles south. I took the liberty of sending an update to your vehicle with the GPS information. So your van should drive you right there.
I hope you have a great visit. Once you find him, please do let me know. I’d love to go visit him, too. Safe travels.
The Magi finished lunch and hopped back into the van. Sure enough, the van knew just where to go and drove them on autopilot.
As they left the Capital City, things started to look different. More run down. Trash on the streets…but also people, colors, the sounds of music, and pick up games in the park, and vendors selling their goods. They even passed a small protest on a corner. And saw flyers for a new art exhibit opening in the farmer’s market.
The energy shifted. And they knew, even without the van’s autopilot guiding them, just where to go. They could feel the energy pulsing, emanating from the bakery on the corner. “House of Bread,” the sign said, and they felt themselves pulled up the stairs to the small apartment above the shop.
And there he was. The baby. The Leader. Tiny, perfect, like any other newborn.
His parents were gazing at him with the tired, love-soaked eyes of new parents everywhere. They didn’t seem surprised that the Magi had come. They didn’t need to be convinced that their baby was special. Around the space heater in that tiny apartment, strangers became friends. They opened their hearts to new possibilities as they shared stories.
Joseph, the father, spoke in hushed tones of a dream.
Mary, the mother, quietly explained, “There was an angel…”
The Magi puzzled over the flash of anger they had seen in Herod’s face when they asked him how to find The Leader.
As the day wore on, they broke bread and sang songs and told jokes and showered gifts and love on the baby, who really did seem awfully special.
“What’s his name?” they asked, finally.
“Jesus,” answered his parents, in one voice.
“Jesus,” mused the Magi, “One who saves. That seems like just the right name for one who is meant to be The Leader of his people.”
As night came close, the group of travelers found places to bed down. Couch-surfing, a sleeping bag on the floor of the hallway, an air mattress squished into the kitchen.
One of the Magi rocked the baby, singing in hushed tones:
“The Living God has spoken,
Earth answers with a song.
Weapons of war are broken,
the week are feeling strong.
See, we no longer hunger, crying out for bread.
Our God restores to life and raises us from the dead.” [1]
After a night of fitful sleep and disturbing dreams, the Magi awoke before dawn. They packed up quietly, so as not to disturb the exhausted parents or sweet child.
Having been warned in their dreams not to return to Herod, they deleted his messages from their phones, carefully removed the GPS update from their van, and returned to their home country by another route.
Notes:
[1] “My Heart is Overflowing” based on 1 Samuel 2 (Hannah’s song). Lyrics by Miriam Therese Winter
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