Journeys

You may have noticed (if anyone actually reads this!) the sudden spurt of posts lately. Holidays have probably contributed to this, so don't get to used to it! I've also been tweaking the site layout lately, hope you like it (if you notice!)

Anyway, it's a bit late (or early, depending on how you look at it!) to be posting about Christmas, but I wanted to say something about this poem, T.S. Eliot's "Journey of the Magi." Eliot's a poet whose work I enjoy reading, although often I'm not sure exactly what he's on about! I didn't know this when I set out to write this post, but apparently this poem was was written soon after Eliot's conversion and baptism into the Anglican church (you can read comments on it here), and scholars believe it may reflect his own journey from agnosticism to faith.

What strikes me about it is the sombre ending. You expect a poem about the three wise men to end on a high note, as they find and worship Christ, or at least on a note of rebellion as they return to their own lands a different way to avoid Herod's murderous intentions. Instead, finding Jesus, the object of their long journey, is just described as "satisfactory."

Like the carols I wrote about earlier, the birth of Jesus is inextricably linked to his death, to the point where the magus is unable to distinguish the two: "this Birth was hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death." The poem contains references to Jesus' crucifixion, from people playing dice for pieces of silver to "three trees on the low sky." The speaker leaves us in no doubt that the encounter with the infant Christ changed him, left him feeling uncomfortable and "no longer at ease here...with an alien people clutching their gods." The encounter makes him realise the falsity of everything else, when confronted with the truth of Jesus.

I wonder how many people today feel that disturbed by encountering Jesus, or indeed if they have the opportunity to encounter him at all in a meaningful way that allows them to be disturbed? Before, on his journey to Jesus, the magus describes "voices singing in our ears, saying that this was all folly." Travelling all those miles with no clear idea where you're going to search for a baby sounds like folly to our rational minds. Searching for Jesus can still seem irrational today, our minds can tell us it's a silly thing to do, we don't need supernatural beings these days. But this poem tells two stories, both the fictional magus's and the poet's, of encountering a very real person. The challenge for Christians and churches, not just at Christmas but all year round, is how to help and allow people to encounter this life-changing person in a way that touches them.