Finding Our Place at the Manger-An Adult Advent Study Session

Adult Study from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com Participant Handout Session 4 Finding Our Place at the Manger: An Adult Advent Study

Wise Men and the Wisdom of Seeking

Introduction they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. One of the common memes of the Advent season comes They go from strength to strength, alongside quaint pictures of the three “wise men” who, till each appears before God in Zion. according to Scripture, visited Jesus and his family after (Ps. 84:5–7, NIV) his birth. There has been much conjecture about these • “Search, no matter what situation you are in. O characters (see “What Do We Really Know about the thirsty one, search for water constantly. Finally, the Wise Men”), but one of the most basic facts about them time will come when you will reach the spring.”1 is that they were not content with their existing spiri- • “The spiritual quest is not some added benefit to tual conditions. They wanted more. They were seekers. our life, something you embark on if you have the We are all on a spiritual quest, whether we are aware time and inclination. We are spiritual beings on of it or not. We seek meaning through many avenues, an earthly journey. Our spirituality makes up our some of them dictated by the idols and comforts of our beingness.”2 culture. Some of us are taking this quest at a slow pace, • “The spiritual journey involves going beyond others at a moderate speed, and some are running. One hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory, lesson we can take from the wise men is that it doesn’t continually moving forward. The most important matter how fast you go if you are making progress. aspect of being on the spiritual path may be just The spiritual life as a pilgrimage or journey is a met- to keep moving.”3 aphor embraced by many faiths. In the Judeo-Christian • Anne Rice has a character who says, “Very few be- tradition, we find some beautiful depictions of this ings really seek knowledge in this world. Mortal journey. or immortal, few really ask. On the contrary, they • Blessed are those whose strength is in you, try to wring from the unknown the answers they whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. have already shaped in their own minds—justifi- As they pass through the Valley of Baka, cations, confirmations, forms of consolation with-

Copyright © 2019 www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com. Permission given to the purchaser to copy this page for use in class. Finding Our Place at the Manger: An Adult Advent Study | Session 4 1 out which they can’t go on. To really ask is to open resort to dogma, fundamentalism, and a rejection of the the door to the whirlwind.”4 validity of other people’s journeys. Frankly, most of the conflicts and roadblocks I’ve These quotations remind us that seeking is far more encountered in ministry have been stirred by stage 3 than just an inspiring metaphor. It can literally mean folks. They have used phrases like these: life or death, growth or stagnation, when it comes to our spiritual lives. • Pastor, my uncle died, but I’m not sure he was In his landmark book Stages of Faith: The Psychology saved. of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning, the late • Jesus is the only way. James Fowler asked a basic question: If human beings • It’s sad when you think that people of so many grow through ethical and intellectual stages, do we other faiths will die without salvation. also progress spiritually in a recognizable way? Using • How can that (woman, gay person, immigrant) be Lawrence Kohlberg’s research on moral development allowed to lead worship? It’s not scriptural! as his main inspiration, Fowler outlined a theory of six • America has bent over backward to accommodate faith stages that we pass through as human beings. For this god of “multiculturalism.” We are, and will a moment, let’s focus on stage 3, which Fowler called always be, a Christian nation. Synthetic/Conventional faith. • I don’t know, Pastor. You seem to preach a lot of We usually enter stage 3 sometime in our teenage grace and love, but what about the consequences years. At this point, we belong to several different social of sin? Hell is real! circles and find a need to pull it all together, to synthe- • I’m thinking of sending my children to a Christian size. We commonly adopt some sort of all-encompass- school. Ever since they banned prayer from the ing belief system, most often the conventional one of our culture. This can be a political philosophy or reli- public schools, our nation has become more and gious faith. It can be an alliance with a group of people more godless. who have a distinct set of rules and regulations. On one Perhaps the most difficult issue when dealing with level, this is a natural, understandable way to find secu- those stuck at stage 3 is their self-appointed role as rity and a sense of belonging. “defenders of the faith.” They spend an enormous There’s only one problem: we too often get stuck at amount of time trying to prove that their worldview is this stage. We have a hard time seeing outside our box. correct and exclusive, trumping all others. This shuts We don’t recognize that we are inside a belief system. down effective dialogue. It makes it nearly impossible We are like fish in water that cannot imagine what it for conventional people to see the beauty and mystery would mean to breathe air on land. To protect our view- in the stories of others. point, we place authority in individuals or groups who However, if we are courageous and restless, like the represent and confirm our beliefs. We like belonging to wisemen, we will push on to the next stages, begin- our own herd. We become attached to the forms of our ning with stage 4—Individuative-Reflective Faith. This religion and get extremely upset when these are called is a tough transition, which I dub “a deconstruction into question. This is the stage in which many people petrify. More tragically, it’s the stage that has justified period.” We start seeing outside our box and realize persistent intolerance. there are other boxes. We begin to critically examine our As a pastor for more than thirty years, I have own beliefs and often become disillusioned with our encountered stage 3 development in the people I’ve former faith. Stage 3 people usually think that stage 4 served and in my association with individuals from people have become “backsliders” when in reality they other faiths and denominations. Certainly there is a need have actually moved forward. Those who break out of to hold on to spiritual stability. This world is so often the previous stage usually do so when they start seri- chaotic that we long for a spiritual port in the storm. ously questioning things on their own. A lot of the time, But the downside is that stage 3 people, when they feel this stage ends up being very nonspiritual, even cyni- their beliefs threatened by doubt or ambiguity, usually cal, and some people stay mired in a new negativity.

Copyright © 2019 www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com. Permission given to the purchaser to copy this page for use in class. Finding Our Place at the Manger: An Adult Advent Study | Session 4 2 Those who continue their quest find the beauties As we start out on life’s spiritual journey, we inherent in stages 5 and 6. This is when we begin usually begin on the path of our parents. Later to realize the limits of logic and start to accept in life, as we observe the competing claims of paradoxes. We begin to see life as a mystery. We often all the various faiths, we cannot possibly know return to sacred stories and symbols, but this time which, if any, leads to the kind of life we seek. without being stuck in a theological or ideological While, to the eyes of the world, we begin our box. We relish the diversity of myths and symbols journey by walking in the ways of our culture, some in our world, gleaning what they can teach us with of us construct in our hearts a secret temple that is an open mind. Not enough people reach this stage. consecrated to truth, beauty, and goodness alone. Those who do often live their lives in the service of While we cannot know if the religion of our others. They learn to dance, to join the chorus of what youth is true, we can usually know if we are being Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf called “the laughter of honest. While we cannot know if the rules we have the immortals.” been taught will work toward the highest good, A colleague of mine, Rev. Jim Rigby, has one of the we can usually discover eventually what makes keenest minds I’ve met. Here are some words from him for shared happiness. While we cannot know if that capture this movement through the stages of faith: religious rituals are truly sacred, we can often

What Do We Really Know about the Wise Men? • They were called magoi in Matthew’s Gospel. The word comes from the Greek magos (the basis for the English word magic). Magos itself comes from the old Persian word magu. This was the title given to priests in a sect of the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism. One of their duties was to divine meaning from the stars, a discipline that was considered highly learned and scientific. Most likely they were wealthy and held in high esteem, though there is no basis for calling them kings. • There were at least two of them. We traditionally set their number at three because of the three gifts they offered, but their number is uncertain. • They came from “the east.” Because of the etymology of the word magos, we usually think of their homeland as Persia, but some scholars contend that they could also have been from Babylon, practicing their art in that ancient, cosmopolitan city. • They used a “star,” some kind of celestial event to navigate their course, which fit with their training. • Somehow, they knew that Jesus was “king of the Jews,” and this filled them with joy. They were the first Gentiles to worship Jesus. • They gave at least three gifts to Jesus and his family. Christian tradition has ascribed meaning to each of them: gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, myrrh for burial. We really do not know the intent of the gifts, but we do know they were considered “treasures.” • We don’t really know the age of Jesus when they visited. Scripture tells us that he and his family were still in Bethlehem and not yet at home in Nazareth, so we know he was very young. • After being commissioned to find the child by Herod, whose intent was murderous, the wise men were warned in a dream to return home another way. From these scant details, florid legends arose in the early church, especially in a medieval book calledHis - toria Trium Regum (History of the Three Kings), written in the 1300s and attributed to John of Hildesheim, a Ger- man Carmelite friar. The wise men became royalty named Kaspar, King of Sheba; Melchior, King of Arabia; and Balthazar, King of Tarse and Egypt. Today, a famous reliquary called The Shrine of the Three Kings is reputed to hold their bones. It is a golden sarcophagus found behind the high altar in the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, visited by pilgrims from around the world.

Copyright © 2019 www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com. Permission given to the purchaser to copy this page for use in class. Finding Our Place at the Manger: An Adult Advent Study | Session 4 3 recognize a holy beauty in nature all around us. society through his prophetic words and actions. We, If we follow a path of radical honesty, compas- too, are called beyond charity to actions that challenge sion and creativity, we may or may not remain the systemic injustices of this world. with the religion of our youth. We may, in fact, feel Joseph, an Unsung Hero called out of anything others would call religious, In our world that adulates the wealthy and powerful, but we will surely find that mysterious experience the real heroes are often those behind the scenes: that some have called “God” if we build a temple teachers, friends, neighbors whose simple devotion to 5 to truth, beauty, and goodness in our hearts. their tasks in life speak volumes to us. Joseph was this Though they were certainly seen as individuals who kind of man. He shows us two qualities to emulate that had the answers in their native settings, something help us find our places at the manger. deeper compelled the wise men to seek a greater First, Joseph was open to the “nonrational” ways understanding of faith and the Divine. The outcome at that God speaks to us, specifically through dreams. If the end of their quest was worth the journey, as we hear we are Christians who overintellectualize our faith, it in Matthew: behooves us to also become sensitive to dreams, intu- itions, and unusual circumstances as avenues our Cre- The star they had seen when it rose went ahead ator uses to communicate to us. of them until it stopped over the place where the Joseph was also a model of forbearance, an old-fash- child was. When they saw the star, they were ioned word that means to refrain from exacting punish-

overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw ment. Scripture tells us he was a righteous man, and the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed he compassionately chose to quietly release Mary from down and worshiped him. (Matt. 2:9b–11a, NIV) their legal betrothal when he found out she was preg- nant. If he had chosen to publicly disgrace or punish Conclusion to Our Advent Series her, history might have been different. We see echoes of We began this series by recognizing that the nativity this forbearance in Jesus’ words on the cross, “Father, scene can easily become overly familiar for most of us. forgive them; for they know not what they are doing” We see its stylized and romanticized presence every- (Luke 23:34). where during Advent and Christmas, which can lead The Shepherds and God of the Ordinary us to gloss over the importance of each of the charac- Though most of us never encounter shepherds, there ters we have studied. Our purpose has been to examine are two truths that arise from the angel’s announcement Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men indi- to these humble tenders of sheep. vidually, gleaning some of the important lessons we First, many of life’s epiphanies do not come in wor- can learn from their lives. In this way, we hope to let ship, on a mountaintop, or at a spiritual retreat. We find our humanity intersect with theirs and find our own them during our normal routines. The shepherds call places at the manger. Below is a summary of what we us to be alert and receive these daily surprises. have covered. Second, once the shepherds had confirmed the truth Mary, Theotokos, Bearer of God of the angelic prophecy spoken to them, they shared In her famous song we call the Magnificat, Mary shows the good news enthusiastically with others. We looked us two themes that can enrich our lives if we put them at how “evangelism” does not have to mean imparting into practice. First, she recognized that God had chosen fixed notions or creeds but simply and vulnerably shar- to use her, a Palestinian maiden, for divine purposes. ing of our own faith journeys, allowing our spiritual We, too, have been chosen by God, each of us given adventures to intersect with the lives of others. spiritual gifts to help advance the kingdom of God. We Wisemen and the Wisdom of Seeking are called to ignite these gifts. Even though the wise men had stature as religious Mary also glimpsed the future role of Jesus as one leaders in their own cultural setting, they were still who would overturn the pyramidal structures of hungry for more. This is the most basic fact about them.

Copyright © 2019 www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com. Permission given to the purchaser to copy this page for use in class. Finding Our Place at the Manger: An Adult Advent Study | Session 4 4 Truth and a thirst for deeper revelations of Spirit drove 3. Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice them on a quest far from home. for Difficult Times (Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., Seeking and journeying are integral to growing faith 1997), 18. lives. We are all called to move beyond what James 4. Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat (New York: Alfred A. Fowler called stage 3 faith into the joys of a broader, Knopf, 2004), 314. richer, and more inclusive experience of God’s presence. 5. Krin Van Tatenhove, Invitation to the Overview (San When our churches become way stations for seekers, Antonio: Torch of Faith Publications, 2015), 47. places where dialogue and individual experience are celebrated—no matter what box they fit into—perhaps we will find our times of worship filled to overflowing. Krin Van Tatenhove has pastored various Presbyterian Notes parishes for thirty years. He has a doctor of ministry in parish 1. Rumi, Travelling the Path of Love: Sayings of Sufi revitalization and directs a small nonprofit called Torch of Masters, ed. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (Point Reyes Faith, which offers low-cost development services to other Station, California: The Golden Sufi Center, 2014), 26. nonprofits promoting social justice. He is coauthor, with 2. John Bradshaw, The Family: A New Way of Creating Robert Mueller, of Neighborhood Church: Transforming Solid Self-Esteem, rev. ed. (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Your Congregation into a Powerhouse for Mission Communications, Inc., 1996), 247. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2019).