Fellow Pilgrims
By Stephen Reeves
“Christ the King” by Rebekah Krevens
Travelers fill the biblical narrative. Before the road to the cross, the road to Emmaus, or the road to Damascus, there was the road to Bethlehem, and Mary and Joseph’s trip did not go as planned. At Christmas, we remember that when God came to earth, he was born to travelers in a temporary, makeshift shelter. The best they could find, relying upon the kindness of a stranger.
We also remember shepherds who abandon their flocks, leaving the pasture to search for the one an angel of the Lord told them about.
At Epiphany, we celebrate those in the Christmas story with the longest journey. Whether you call them magi, wise men, astrologers, or the three kings, we know the men from the East traveled far. They were bearing gifts and felt compelled to go. Following the appearance of a new star, they surely had no idea where they were going nor how long it would take.
Later in the story, of course, the holy family themselves had to flee an insecure and threatened tyrant who made their homeland unsafe. The very real threat of violence meant they had little choice but to flee to safety in Egypt, beyond Herod’s jurisdiction.
This season I’ve been thinking a lot about these travelers. Our family is on a journey, too. Fortunately, we have a pretty good idea of where we’ll end up, but we’re not exactly sure when we’ll get there. In the last few months, we’ve sold our home in Georgia, watched as movers loaded up our belongings into a truck, and began a protracted period of in-betweenness while we await the completion of a new house.
We began our journey at a family cabin in the North Carolina mountains. Yes, this was significantly better than a stable.
While there we enjoyed the family Christmas Eve service at First Baptist Asheville. After several children took turns reading the Christmas story from scripture, two ministers talked about who they identified with most in the story. Associate Pastor for Children and Christian Formation, Amy Stertz, said that for her, it was the wise men, and she then recounted her family’s long, yearly holiday travels.
My wife Deborah leaned over and agreed that she certainly identified most with the travelers this year.
Just after New Year’s we arrived at a temporary rental in our new town of Dripping Springs just outside of Austin, Texas.
Less than a week later I was traveling once again, this time to Mexico. Pastor Eleuterio González of Iglesia Valle de Baraca (IVB) invited me to celebrate the Posada De Reyes in Matamoros on January 6th. I was reminded by Elket Rodriguez that “El Dia de los Reyes” or Kings Day, the day we call Epiphany, is a huge celebration in Latin America - most would say even bigger than Christmas.
On the way to the airport, I got a text asking if I could lead a devotional later that afternoon at one of the sites where we would be handing out toys, food, and other essential supplies.
You may not know this, but I’m not a preacher. In law school they don’t teach you how to make sure you always have a go-to sermon in your back pocket. I often get nervous at such requests, and I’m used to public speaking.
Not that day, and not on that occasion. Standing in front of a crowd of over a hundred migrants, including dozens of children, on sandy dunes a few hundred yards from the Gulf of Mexico amongst plywood shacks, I was confident of the message. I didn’t know all their stories, but I was certain they should know that just like the three kings, God is with them on their journey.
Many were probably unsure of where it will end, and none can be sure of how long it will take. They weren’t following a star, but they certainly felt compelled to leave their homeland.
Some were fleeing dictators and political oppression or corruption. Others a famine of failed crops and resulting hunger. It is quite likely that some were fleeing abuse and violence that local authorities were powerless to stop.
Perhaps some were fleeing religious persecution. We’ve heard many stories from Christian migrants who would rather flee than be forced to join cartels and take part in violence, drugs, prostitution, and extortion. Standing on their Christian conviction puts their very life at risk.
It was a blessing to be there as they gratefully received gifts that so many of you made possible through your contributions to Fellowship Southwest.
No, my family’s journey is nothing like the hardship migrants at the border face, but this Christmas, and this Epiphany, I’m glad for the reminder that even when we don’t know where we’re going or when we’ll get there, God is with us.
Stephen Reeves is the executive director of Fellowship Southwest.